Submitted by Pure-Fold-5717 t3_yim5oo in gaming

Does having an Ethernet cable coming from a router make any real difference to latency or not?

I currently have my console right by my router with the Ethernet cable plugged and my connection is always great. I get around 100mbps download speed as well. I’m thinking of moving my gaming set up to the back room upstairs, which isn’t really that far away from the router, but still unsure as to whether it could ruin my online experience.

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Defiant-Giraffe t1_iujbwoj wrote

Yes.

If you have a 29,900 meter long cable, it will increase your latency by 1ms.

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xvszero t1_iujbite wrote

Depends on the length. Generally speaking, no, but if you're running a super long cable it might. Cat5/6 is supposed to be good for up to 300 feet or so.

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tezoatlipoca t1_iujchwc wrote

And if you don't want to have a long ethernet cable snaking through your house, look into ethernet-over-power balens or powerline adapters- they start at ~$60 for a pair.

Though, really if you're going from one side of the house to another why not just go wireless? Unless its an older console that isn't wireless, even then get an ethernet to wireless adapter/access pt. I assert that unless you are god-tier ranked globally your play is not going to be significantly impacted by a few extra ms of latency from a wireless setup.

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kerrigan_queenn t1_iujdj8d wrote

theres no reason not to run a cable. wifi can get all kinda interference and is less reliable

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MrThr0waway666 t1_iujk5zr wrote

You'll get way faster speeds with a hard line, and if you're going across the house just run it under the floor or behind a wall.

It's not just about your ping in gaming, you can also enjoy much better download speeds with a hard line. I went from 20mbps download over wifi to ~115mbps with a cable. The biggest games take maybe 40 minutes to download compared to well over an hour or two.

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muklan t1_iujkddk wrote

Thats...not how latency works, on the last mile.

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KennKanifff t1_iujh2ah wrote

Technically yes, but you'll never notice the difference.

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Tyrian-Hunter t1_iujbtxq wrote

Unless you're running it a few 100m no, there's no latency.

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NeoTroll42069 t1_iujbu6y wrote

Probably not for you it needs to be hundreds of feet long to matter what makes a difference is the cat number

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Pure-Fold-5717 OP t1_iujbxhd wrote

It’s a cat 5e

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NeoTroll42069 t1_iujc8yl wrote

That’s fine those are good for a thousand megabytes of speed I recommend a cat 6 but youre good

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kerrigan_queenn t1_iujdc7b wrote

no those are trash

use the max spec available

it doesnt cost more

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NeoTroll42069 t1_iujdslt wrote

Gets me consistent 1000mbps on 100ft cable to me series x

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kerrigan_queenn t1_iujkdp3 wrote

EDIT:

im talking about cat 5e btw.

cat 6 is fine, still no reason not to get the highest lol

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dhork t1_iujj6t8 wrote

Speed of light is (roughly) 1 ns per foot. Your problem won't be latency, but signal degredation. Standard Ethernet uses twisted pair copper wire, most of the time good quality cables can only go about 100m before having signal issues. cheap cables will degrade over shorter runs.

So get some decent Cat 5e or Cat6 cable for this, even if your run is only a few 10s of meters.

https://www.diffen.com/difference/Cat5e_vs_Cat6

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Waltzing_With_Bears t1_iujvccl wrote

Yes but no, technically it can but not at lengths you can buy from a store

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Sekhen t1_iujcaew wrote

The signal travel at the speed of light. Longer cables add latency. Immeasurable levels. But still....

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MooingWaza t1_iujbllw wrote

On a console it won't matter, since your tv has higher latency and so does your controller

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kerrigan_queenn t1_iujdf0e wrote

this is terrible advice network latency is completely different

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kerrigan_queenn t1_iujd5cu wrote

if you dont wnna worry sbout it just run a cat 8 cable u can run up to 328 feet with no signal loss up to 10gb speed

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