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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallEthernet delivered lower, more stable latency than Wi-Fi in RTINGS’ controlled router-level comparison. That makes a wired connection the better choice when consistent competitive play matters and running a cable is practical—but the test does not establish a fixed number of milliseconds every player will save. Your game’s ping also depends on the server, your ISP’s routing, and conditions beyond the local wireless link.
What the wired-versus-wireless test found
RTINGS’ comparison, updated June 5, 2025, measured latency and jitter at the router level while testing 11 routers. For the wired-versus-Wi-Fi portion, it compared Ethernet with Wi-Fi near the router and Wi-Fi in a closed room 40 feet away. During measurements, a second device downloaded at maximum speed. The setup connected Linux and Counter-Strike 2 servers on the WAN side of the router through a switch. RTINGS reported a clear advantage for Ethernet in its data, with a small positive effect from being nearer the router when Wi-Fi was used. RTINGS’ methodology and findings
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The reported graphs focused on the 5th, 50th, 75th, 95th, and 98th percentiles. Looking beyond the median helps reveal occasional slow packets and lag spikes that a single average can hide. The results support Ethernet as the more consistent local connection in that test; they do not provide a universal millisecond saving for every home, game, or internet route.
Why the connection can change gaming latency
Wi-Fi adds a local wireless segment
Wi-Fi is a shared, half-duplex medium: devices and network-management traffic take turns using airtime. Competing activity can add delay or make latency less consistent. Distance, walls, nearby wireless networks, and other devices can also weaken or interfere with a signal. Ethernet avoids that wireless airtime link, which is why it can reduce local variation.
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Your game’s ping includes the rest of the route
Latency is the time data takes to travel to a destination and back; ping is commonly shown in milliseconds. The connection from your device to the router is only one part of the trip to a game server. Server distance, ISP routing, and congestion elsewhere can affect the displayed ping whether you use Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Selecting a geographically closer game server may reduce the distance packets travel, but a wired connection cannot remove delays farther along the route. Intel’s guidance on wired and wireless gaming
How to compare Wi-Fi and Ethernet in your home
- Ping your router over Wi-Fi. Find your default gateway address in your device’s network settings, connect over Wi-Fi, and run repeated pings to that address. Nexon recommends comparing pings to the router on each connection. Nexon’s connection comparison guidance
- Repeat over Ethernet. Connect the gaming device to the router with a suitable Ethernet cable, confirm the device is using the wired connection, and repeat the pings to the same gateway.
- Compare repeated results, not one reading. Check typical latency and whether results vary or spike. If possible, compare under similar conditions, including the same location and network activity. A download-speed result alone does not show whether latency is stable.
- Check the game separately. Use the same game server or region and compare its displayed ping under similar conditions. A better result to the router but little change in game ping suggests that much of the remaining delay lies beyond the local link.
What to try if Ethernet is not practical
- Place the gaming device closer to the router and reduce obstacles where possible.
- Prefer the 5 GHz or 6 GHz Wi-Fi band over 2.4 GHz when the device and router support it and the signal remains strong.
- Limit competing network traffic during play if congestion is contributing to delay.
- Compare results at different times or with other devices’ heavy downloads paused to see whether network load is a factor.
These steps can improve wireless conditions, but they cannot guarantee that Wi-Fi will match Ethernet in every home. Nexon also identifies interference as a factor in the wired-versus-wireless comparison. Nexon Support Center
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When router settings or a new router may help
QoS (Quality of Service) or Smart Queue Management can help when traffic is saturating the internet connection and creating a bottleneck the router can manage. They are not general-purpose fixes for a distant game server, poor ISP routing, or the wireless link itself. RTINGS says router upgrades generally have little effect on gaming latency unless there is a genuine router capability or congestion problem. RTINGS’ 2026 gaming-router testing context
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Consider a different router only if troubleshooting points to a router limitation or congestion problem that its features can address. Buying a gaming-focused model by itself will not make packets travel a shorter route to a faraway server.
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Choosing a cable for a wired test
A suitable Cat 5e or Cat 6 Ethernet cable is enough for many home connections. Intel lists both as common consumer cable types capable of up to 1 Gbps and advises matching the cable to the ISP connection speed. Also check the capabilities of the router and gaming-device ports, and choose a length that reaches safely. A more expensive cable is not a latency upgrade if an existing cable already supports the connection. Intel’s cable-selection guidance
Quick Recap
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- 40 Gbps 2000 Mhz High Speed: The Cat 8 ethernet cable support max. 40 Gbps data transfer and 2000 MHz Brandwith, ideal for gaming and streaming, greatly improving upload and download speed, sound, image and resolution quality
- Excellent Anti-interference: The ethernet cable comes with 4 shielded foiled twisted pairs (F/FTP), pure copper core and gold-plated RJ45 connector, reducing interference, noise and crosstalk, making network speed faster and more stable
- Marvelous Durability: Internet cable wrapped with quality cotton braided cord, which makes the LAN cable stronger and more durable. The test proves that this internet cable can be bent at least 10000 times without broken, very suitable for long-term use
- PoE Supported: All lengths of ethernet cord can support the PoE power supply function except 65ft. You don't need additional power supply when installing a PoE camera, which is very convenient and safe
- Wide Compatibility: With the RJ45 Connector, network cable can be perfectly compatible with computers, laptops, modems, routers, PS5, X-Box and other networking devices. It can also be fully backward compatible with Cat7, Cat6e, Cat6, Cat5e, Cat5
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