Internet connection type question.

[UnluckyGenius]

So I currently live at home with my parents and am in the process of building my first computer. My mom works from home and is concerned about my new computer slowing internet speeds to the point where she won't be able to get work done (all of her devices are connected via wifi). She is so concerned about this that right now my little Chromebook and my phone are on a separate guest network similar to one you'd use in a hotel (meaning I can't use my new chromecast either).  So my question is, would it be better for her connection strength/speed if I directly wired my new pc into the router so there isn't another computer on the same wifi network? I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm very new to all of this.

 

Thanks!

[Cyrus49]

Yes, because routers have to give turns to each wifi device, the more devices, the less often the turn comes around. [happens very quickly]. This does not have to happen when you're plugged in.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Technically, yes. It would make the WiFi network less congested. However, if she's worried about the speed, it will change nothing, unless you're using a lot of bandwidth, regardless of if you're connected via WiFi or Hard wire. If you have a dual band router, you can have your PC on the 5GHz signal, and her devices on the 2.4GHz signal to put less strain on the WiFi network. 

 

EDIT: My Personal advice would be to use hardwire or powerline for your PC. It's better than WiFi anyway. As for speed, it will only effect her when you're using a lot of bandwidth (HD video streaming for example). 

[UnluckyGenius]

Technically, yes. It would make the WiFi network less congested. However, if she's worried about the speed, it will change nothing, unless you're using a lot of bandwidth, regardless of if you're connected via WiFi or Hard wire. If you have a dual band router, you can have your PC on the 5GHz signal, and her devices on the 2.4GHz signal to put less strain on the WiFi network. 

 

EDIT: My Personal advice would be to use hardwire or powerline for your PC. It's better than WiFi anyway. As for speed, it will only effect her when you're using a lot of bandwidth (HD video streaming for example). 

So if I was using a lot of bandwith by gaming online of downloading large files it would slow it down? Would just regular internet browsing cause a major slowdown as well?

[Oshino Shinobu]

So if I was using a lot of bandwith by gaming online of downloading large files it would slow it down? Would just regular internet browsing cause a major slowdown as well?

Yes, that would slow it down for her, and other devices. However, how bad it would make the experience for others will depend on your connection speed. If you have a 100/10 connection, HD video streaming won't slow it down for anyone else really, as it doesn't take a lot of bandwidth, relative to your connection speed. 

 

General internet browsing won't slow it down on any reasonable connection. 

[Wombo]

Just a question to help give a well-rounded answer, what are your current internet speeds for download and upload? If you have anything 25Mbps or higher I wouldn't be worried at all. At that speed there won't be any noticeable effects for most users. However, the faster your internet can be the better.

 

Wired is always better than wireless as was stated by others. I always use a wired connection when it is available and I highly encourage others to do the same.

[.:MARK:.]

You're asking about internet congestion, yet you don't tell us your internet speeds, if you don't know just visit speedtest.net.

Also, what kind of work would your mom be doing, email, browsing, VPN? Or heavier workloads?

As long as you connect by ethernet on your PC and you have decent internet speed, you should have nothing to worry about.

[UnluckyGenius]

You're asking about internet congestion, yet you don't tell us your internet speeds, if you don't know just visit speedtest.net.

Also, what kind of work would your mom be doing, email, browsing, VPN? Or heavier workloads?

As long as you connect by ethernet on your PC and you have decent internet speed, you should have nothing to worry about.

 

 

Just a question to help give a well-rounded answer, what are your current internet speeds for download and upload? If you have anything 25Mbps or higher I wouldn't be worried at all. At that speed there won't be any noticeable effects for most users. However, the faster your internet can be the better.

 

Wired is always better than wireless as was stated by others. I always use a wired connection when it is available and I highly encourage others to do the same.

 

Ping:27

Download:18

Upload:6.25

But as I stated in my original post, I am on a guest network similar to one you would use in a hotel. When my computer is built I will most likely get access to a regular network, so I don't know if that would increase my speed. 

[Wombo]

At 18 down you are most likely fine. Just get wired in on devices that can be. I highly doubt your mom will see any issue with speed unless you, or her, are heavy users. Perhaps you can let us know what your mom does and what you do or plan to do with the internet connection you currently have.

 

Most games only need a few hundred kilobits per second to operate well, sometimes even less. The largest use of bandwidth for most people is streaming video which takes around 4.5-6Mbps or around 0.7MBps. 720p video is approximately 2/3 of this. These are more minimum values, so keep that in mind however your internet speeds should be adequate for most use.

[.:MARK:.]

All your devices should be on the private network, turn off the guest network too.

With those speeds, you will not have issues with your devices just slowing internet down, unless you are downloading/uploading games or torrents or high traffic stuff constantly.