Wifi Vs Ethernet for PS4 – Which is the faster choice for PS4?

Today, more and more people are embracing online gaming and game purchases through their consoles. There is therefore a serious need for fast internet for this tasks. The following is a performance comparison of wireless and wired connectivity for PS4.

Online gaming is changing everything in the game industry. Among the best gaming consoles, Sony’s Play Station has been leading the list both in performance and sales. The games however need fast internet and high bandwidth. Choosing whether to use Wi-Fi or Ethernet for connection depends on a few factors that we’ll look at below. Furthermore, games today are made available online so that you don’t need to go to the store and buy a physical copy. In addition, there are games such as Fortnite that are solely available online with no physical copies. Such games also don’t have offline mode of play, the player will therefore require an internet connection to access and play such games. To determine whether to use wireless or Ethernet connection for your PS4, consider the following factors.

Factors to consider when choosing Wi-Fi or Ethernet for PS4

There are a few things to always keep in mind when making the decision of whether to buy an Ethernet cable or use Wi-Fi for the console.

Internet speed plan

The internet provider’s speed plan you use majorly determines whether or not to use a cable. If you are on a slow internet plan of say, 15 Mbps per month, then you might need to connect via Ethernet. This is especially true if the internet is share among many users. On the contrary, if you have a fast internet play of above 50 Mbps, then Wi-Fi is a viable option for you. However, Ethernet is always the better choice as there is minimal loss of bandwidth for uninterrupted connection

Distance from the router

When gaming online, the last thing you want is a slow or unsteady connection. This may happen for a number of reasons over wireless connectivity. Among the top reasons is the distance the console is from the router. Say the router is in the living room, and the console is in a separate game room. Such distance heavily interrupts the signal as there are obstacles and other devices along the way that attenuate the signal. Here, an Ethernet cable will be the best choice. There are very long Ethernet cables, over 50m that are built for such situations. But if the router and console are in the same room, Wi-Fi would also work great

Type of game

There are thousands of games to play online and each uses different graphics, effects and memory capacity. Large games with superior graphics will need a stronger and consistent connection than smaller free games. Games such of Call of Duty that even come in 4K resolution will need the best connectivity there is. And here, an Ethernet connection will be your best bet. Wireless signal is affected by objects and other home device such as microwaves making the connection unsteady. Low graphic games can however be played over wi-fi.

Router performance

One thing we should all invest in today is a router. With home internet being used more than ever, you need a high quality router that supports high speeds, provides stable connection and has excellent range. If your router suffers from instability and you’re always restarting it in the middle of the day, ensure the console is connected via cable. This is because stutters can be quite irritating when playing a game online. Otherwise, if the router delivers steady performance constantly without need a restart in weeks, then Wi-Fi is a great option.

Number of connected devices

The final consideration when choosing between these two is the number of users or connected devices to the router. Since different router have different capacities, always check to see the maximum limit of connected devices wirelessly. If your router supports up to eight connected devices comfortably and this limit has been reached, consider using a cable for the PS4. A speed test will also reveal how much bandwidth each device is using and this should guide you. All in all, an Ethernet connection will always be the better choice for gaming.

Best gaming routers

For the best gaming experience, you may want to splurge a few hundred bucks for a gaming router. The following are some of the best in the market today.

Asus RT-AX88U

ASUS AX6000 WiFi 6 Gaming Router (RT-AX88U) - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router, 8 GB Ports, Gaming & Streaming, AiMesh Compatible, Included Lifetime Internet Security, Adaptive QoS, MU-MIMO

• Next gen Wi-Fi standard 802.11Ax Wi-Fi standard for better efficiency and throughput; ultrafast Wi-Fi...
• Certified for Humans – Smart home made easy for non-experts. Setup with Alexa is simple.

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The Asus Company is known for its focus on high end performance and gaming routers. The RT AX88U is one of their most recent releases that has stirred positive reactions among its users. It features recent Wi-Fi 6 technology that allows very high internet speeds of up to 4 Gbps. On top of this, it comes with an astounding eight gigabit Ethernet ports that support link aggregation, LAG. With this feature, all the ports can be used together to provide a speed of 8 Gpbs. But perhaps the best thing about the router is the amazing AsusWRT interface. It is one of the best router interfaces that provides detailed controls for every aspect of the router. Because of this, features such as adaptive QoS work perfectly. The unit also comes with security through the preinstalled Trend Micro antivirus.

In addition, we also know that gaming routers should have a signature menacing look, and the Asus might be the toughest unit there is. With sharp bends and edges, coupled with the amazing black and gold color, the unit is quite attractive. There are also four antennas on the back, all detachable.

Pros

• High speeds of up to 4000 Mbps make gaming a wonderful experience
• Comes with a robust antivirus system known as Trend Micro
• Amazing Asus interface allows for granular control of all features
• Fantastic adaptive QoS handling

Cons

• The unit is expensive

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Netgear Nighthawk XR700

NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500 WiFi Router with 4 Ethernet Ports and Wireless speeds up to 2.6 Gbps, AC2600, Optimized for Low ping (Renewed)

• Minimize ping and maximize performance with four 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports for lag-free, wired...
• Amp up your WiFi with AC2600 dual-band router that delivers blazing fast speeds up to 2.6 Gbps

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The Netgear Nighthawk consists of powerful routers designed for the gaming community. The XR700 is a wonderful follow up to the XR500 released early in 2019. Today, the XR700 is one of the fastest routers you can buy. It is a triband router with following ratings 4600 Mbps on one 5 GHZ channel, 1733 Mbps on the other 5 GHz and 800 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. Although these speeds are purely theoretical, they translate to very high speeds in real life. A test revealed that the unit provides up to 332 Mbps which is enough for basically anything. Furthermore, it comes with one WAN port and six LAN ports where you can connect your PS4 among other devices. Like the previous router, this one also features link aggregation. There are lots of other performance boosting features the Netgear XR700 has such as: Geo-filter technology, QoS, Traffic optimization and analyzer among others.

Pros

• Comes with 10 GB SFP LAN port for high speed connections
• Link aggregation allows for excellent speeds
• The router has great range of up to 1800 sq. feet
• QoS and traffic optimization features allow for steady and seamless connection

Cons

• The design is too bland for a gaming router

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Conclusion

Overall, gaming requires the best connection there is. Ethernet connection will always be better and more reliable than Wi-Fi for PS4 and other gaming consoles.