How big is the difference between 802.11 WiFi vs a 10/100/1000 ethernet via USB 3.0 adapter vs Gigabit ethernet via a USB-C (thunderbolt) adapter

bbobobo · July 27, 2016

Thanks in advance for the help. Unfortunately, I can't test these things my self.

Damocles · July 27, 2016

Ethernet through USB 3.0 and Type C won't have much of a difference with the exception that the type C may provide more power and boost signal strength. Speed wise, neither of them matter. Wifi is convenient, but is less reliable as the connection speed may be faster or slower at times and is simply less consistent overall because it's wifi. Use wifi for portability, ethernet for gaming because it's consistent. Type C or USB 3 should not bottleneck your speed.

ARikozuM · July 27, 2016

If you're playing FPS, ping matters and you should grab ethernet whenever possible.

If you're playing something like Rocket League or an RTS, ping in the 80's usually don't affect your game.

But ethernet is always preferred to wireless when it comes to multiplayer gaming.

bbobobo · July 27, 2016

45 minutes ago, Damocles said:

Ethernet through USB 3.0 and Type C won't have much of a difference with the exception that the type C may provide more power and boost signal strength. Speed wise, neither of them matter.

Doesn't "signal strength" mean more speed? I'm confused. I'm trying to figure out if there's a difference between type and 3.0. any idea what's faster?

Donut417 · July 27, 2016

3 minutes ago, bbobobo said:

Doesn't "signal strength" mean more speed? I'm confused. I'm trying to figure out if there's a difference between type and 3.0. any idea what's faster?

Both go hand and hand. Generally when your signal strength gets lower, your speed will also lower. As you get further from the router speeds will drop. WiFI can be ok ish for gaming is your not too far from the router. Also, newer standards like AC play a big role. Better standards give us greater speeds and some times a little better range. On top of that WiFI is half duplex. It communicates one direction at a time. Ethernet is full duplex is communicates both directions at a time. Thats why you take WiFI speeds and cut them in half. USB 3.0 should be capable of 5Gbps. So I would assume an Ethernet USB device would be better and more reliable then WiFI. Thunderbolt is much faster than USB 3.0 but even then I dont think you will see much difference in a USB 3.0 Ethernet adapter and a thunderbolt one. The only thing about USB is its a shared bus. That means all USB devices drive on the same high way. So if you do get multiple USB devices that use a lot of bandwidth then it could cause a general slow down. Mice, Keyboard and I would say portable hard drives wouldnt cause any issues.

bbobobo · July 27, 2016

9 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Both go hand and hand. Generally when your signal strength gets lower, your speed will also lower. As you get further from the router speeds will drop. WiFI can be ok ish for gaming is your not too far from the router. Also, newer standards like AC play a big role. Better standards give us greater speeds and some times a little better range. On top of that WiFI is half duplex. It communicates one direction at a time. Ethernet is full duplex is communicates both directions at a time. Thats why you take WiFI speeds and cut them in half. USB 3.0 should be capable of 5Gbps. So I would assume an Ethernet USB device would be better and more reliable then WiFI. Thunderbolt is much faster than USB 3.0 but even then I dont think you will see much difference in a USB 3.0 Ethernet adapter and a thunderbolt one. The only thing about USB is its a shared bus. That means all USB devices drive on the same high way. So if you do get multiple USB devices that use a lot of bandwidth then it could cause a general slow down. Mice, Keyboard and I would say portable hard drives wouldnt cause any issues.

Thanks so much.

I just got a dell xps 13 and it has usb 3.0 and one usb thunderbolt. I'm pretty sure this is the only usb-thunderbolt adapater in the world less than $50 that does 4k at 60hz via HDMI (my TV doesn't have DP). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FIVSC6Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ

This leaves me with using the other usb port for internet, or just going with wifi.