Gigabit Ethernet vs High Speed Wireless N

[88keys]

I notice some of the new wireless N routers are promising speeds up to 450mbps. I'm sure those are optimistic claims, but how well would they perform against wired gigabit Ethernet.


The reason I ask is that I'm moving to a townhome soon, and I could wire the house myself like I've done in the past. The materials arent that expensive really, probably cheaper than a good N router and cards. But it is alot of work, and if I can get close to the performance I get out of my gigabit ethernet via wireless n, I might just go with that.

My wired network includes my NAS, and desktop rig (sig), PS3, and my Yamaha Keyboard.

 

[lakedude]

I notice some of the new wireless N routers are promising speeds up to 450mbps. I'm sure those are optimistic claims, but how well would they perform against wired gigabit Ethernet.


The reason I ask is that I'm moving to a townhome soon, and I could wire the house myself like I've done in the past. The materials arent that expensive really, probably cheaper than a good N router and cards. But it is alot of work, and if I can get close to the performance I get out of my gigabit ethernet via wireless n, I might just go with that.

My wired network includes my NAS, and desktop rig (sig), PS3, and my Yamaha Keyboard.

You already know wired is going to be better, faster and cheaper.

Thing is how much speed do you need? Fast enough to stream 1080p? Are you doing large file transfers on a regular basis?

 

[donfm]

I notice some of the new wireless N routers are promising speeds up to 450mbps. I'm sure those are optimistic claims, but how well would they perform against wired gigabit Ethernet.


The reason I ask is that I'm moving to a townhome soon, and I could wire the house myself like I've done in the past. The materials arent that expensive really, probably cheaper than a good N router and cards. But it is alot of work, and if I can get close to the performance I get out of my gigabit ethernet via wireless n, I might just go with that.

My wired network includes my NAS, and desktop rig (sig), PS3, and my Yamaha Keyboard.

Theoretically your router does up to 450Mbps....and Gigabit does up to 1000 Mbps with no radio interference from outside sources.....do the math.

 

[Broheim]

wired is cheaper, faster and more reliable. you won't get the same performance with wireless even with the new AC standard.

 

[ericloewe]

If you're really lucky, you get the throughput of 100Mb/s ethernet with more latency and a less stable connection.

 

[JackMDS]

The numbers that are used to Rate Networks are usually the Speed that the chipsets of the devices are operating at, Not the actual Transfer (bandwidth) rate that they produce.

As and example a 802.11g Wireless network Devices in optimal condition that are rated 54Mb/sec. usually yield between 18 to 22 Mb/sec functional transfer (that less than half of the inner "Speed" of the Chip set).

Similarly are the 802.11n and other newer concoctions.

Given the distance and environmental factors (like signal noise and physical obstructions ) many time the end result can be fraction of the chipset rating.

In case of wire network the general lose from rating is smaller and the stability's not an issue as with Wireless. Thus the actual transfer rate is closer to the chipset rating.

 

[Mir96TA]

WiFi is broadcast domain (Bus Design)
Wired GiG is ethernet. 1 Gig one way direct connection.

 

[88keys]

You already know wired is going to be better, faster and cheaper.

Thing is how much speed do you need? Fast enough to stream 1080p? Are you doing large file transfers on a regular basis?

I do stream 1080p video from my NAS to my PS3, and I do often transfer large files when I'm backing up stuff on a friends PC to re install/upgrade the OS.

Not everyday mind you, but I just did some file transfers that was over a TB, god only knows how long that would have taken over 100Mbps or Wireless.

 

[ch33zw1z]

+1 for gigabit.

 

[lakedude]

If the wiring is really such a pain in the rear, you could go wireless and just move both boxes into the same room (or run a long cat6 cable on the floor) when you need to transfer large blocks of data.

My buddy eventually ran a wire cause the wireless could not keep up with a high bit rate 1080p stream. All 720p stuff (or less) played fine and even some 1080p stuff played fine but a 1080p copy of Casio Royal just would not work on wireless, even after trying several routers and adapters (let him borrow some of mine).

 

[88keys]

We'll see. I'm gonna look at where my NAS will be placed along with deciding which room I'll use for my office/music room.

I may just run Cat5e in the office, and have a wire connecting to my PS3, and another to my NAS where ever that ends up. I can but the flat kind and pull the trim from behind the wall and run it underneath carpet.

One plus side is that this house was built in 2004 so it will be alot easier than the ones I've done it the past. Most of the homes I've lived in are 100+ years old and renovated, but fishing wires and installing junction boxes in old walls is a PITA.

 

[m1ldslide1]

Not sure I agree that wired is cheaper - especially since you're probably going to do some kind of wireless regardless (ipads, TVs, iphone, etc). Since you're looking at a townhome, a single higher-end 802.11n AP with dual-band is probably going to be sufficient, or maybe another .11n repeater if necessary. Total cost will be around $150, give or take, so is that really more expensive than pulling a Cat6 drop into every room? I sincerely doubt it - especially if someone else pulls the cable.

Also if you are talking to the Internet, your speed bottleneck is going to be your ISP here in the states (20Mbps?). For local file transfers and the like, you will see better performance on the wire for sure. But will it make enough of a difference to eschew wireless? I doubt it. Your streaming video should be just fine over 802.11n. Especially on the 5Ghz band - even your neighbors AP's shouldn't interfere much in that spectrum.

My $.02.

 

[alexruiz]

The numbers that are used to Rate Networks are usually the Speed that the chipsets of the devices are operating at, Not the actual Transfer (bandwidth) rate that they produce.

As and example a 802.11g Wireless network Devices in optimal condition that are rated 54Mb/sec. usually yield between 18 to 22 Mb/sec functional transfer (that less than half of the inner "Speed" of the Chip set).

Similarly are the 802.11n and other newer concoctions.

Given the distance and environmental factors (like signal noise and physical obstructions ) many time the end result can be fraction of the chipset rating.

In case of wire network the general lose from rating is smaller and the stability's not an issue as with Wireless. Thus the actual transfer rate is closer to the chipset rating.

Great write up Jack! :thumbsup:
I would also add encryption. WPA-2 will cut whatever amount you already had reduced by a good chunk.

I have wireless available in the house just for convenience, but after going GbE, I rarely use the wireless. I can average ~110MB/s transfers over GbE. I could bet 450n would be lucky to reach 1/10 of that

 

[88keys]

Not sure I agree that wired is cheaper - especially since you're probably going to do some kind of wireless regardless (ipads, TVs, iphone, etc). Since you're looking at a townhome, a single higher-end 802.11n AP with dual-band is probably going to be sufficient, or maybe another .11n repeater if necessary. Total cost will be around $150, give or take, so is that really more expensive than pulling a Cat6 drop into every room? I sincerely doubt it - especially if someone else pulls the cable.

I personally use Cat5e which costs about $25 for 100' Or maybe $35 if I wanna get the flat kind. And about $2 per wall plate/junction box assy. I already have a 16 port Gig switch so the whole deal is gonna cost me $40-50 for self installation.
If I decide to wire the house for gigabit, I would most likely stay with Wireless G until my router dies because the only thing I use wifi for is my laptop, smartphones, Gaming consoles (other than my PS3), none of which need Wireless N. If signal is an issue in some areas I can boost the antenna voltage with DDRWT, and it should compensate.

Great write up Jack! :thumbsup:
I would also add encryption. WPA-2 will cut whatever amount you already had reduced by a good chunk.

I have wireless available in the house just for convenience, but after going GbE, I rarely use the wireless. I can average ~110MB/s transfers over GbE. I could bet 450n would be lucky to reach 1/10 of that

Use Channel 14....

 

[SonicIce]

I can average ~110MB/s transfers over GbE.

a lot of hard drives can't even go that fast

 

[Primergy]

Had Extreme N (D-Link) stuff in our old rental house... Upto 300mbps! Did actually work pretty good... within 8ft w/o a wall!
Crossing several walls FORGET IT! With one device talking to the router it was bearable. With 2+ talking to the router from the same room it was hell, trying to watch video from own server, transfer data.

Threw a wire across the hallway in our current rental to reach the Home Theater setup (cannot drill holes here), finally gigabit connections. As mentioned by Alexruiz, all of a sudden all file transfers are capped by HDD capabilities (no SSDs involved obviously).

If I would own a house, I certainly would invest in a few outlets and some decent (10?)gbit wire. Not saying I would give up on wireless, still want to browse AdnandTech on the loo!

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

a lot of hard drives can't even go that fast

Older desktop HDDs and laptop HDDs sure, but any decent modern 7200rpm HDD can.

 

[Mir96TA]

OP did you look into Powerline Ethernet Adapters ? Specially500 Mbps?

 

[Dulanic]

In my townhouse I tried 2.4ghz wireless N but it would stutter streaming some times. Power line worked like shit even with it being new wiring. Maybe 200kb on bad times 500 on good days.

I finally picked up a dual band router and 5ghz wireless N works great. Never any issues since far.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Wired is faster, no contest. Full duplex, little to no retransmits and higher reliability.