If you’re a gamer, you already know that ethernet is preferable for online gaming. A wired connection has much lower latency than Wi-Fi.
Therefore, when you purchase a Wi-Fi router mainly for ethernet, you might wonder whether the router you get matters much. Wi-Fi routers provide many additional features, but do those features matter if you only use ethernet?
In this article, we’ll discuss whether high-end Wi-Fi routers are worth it if you primarily use ethernet.
Here’s Whether High-End Wi-Fi Routers Are Worth It If You Mainly Use Ethernet:
High-end Wi-Fi routers are not worth it if you mainly use ethernet. Most Wi-Fi routers have gigabit ethernet ports and can easily handle regular internet speeds without slowing down. Wi-Fi-related features like Wi-Fi 6, multi-band Wi-Fi, and beamforming are also not worth it if you primarily use ethernet.
Does It Matter What Wi-Fi Router You Get If You Mainly Use Ethernet?
The Wi-Fi router you get doesn’t matter much if you primarily use ethernet. A Wi-Fi router with a gigabit ethernet port can easily handle regular internet speeds.
Also, Wi-Fi-related features like Wi-Fi 6, dual-band/tri-band, MIMO, beamforming, and many others don’t matter for ethernet. So paying too much for such unnecessary features is not worth it if you mainly use ethernet.
However, if you have a fast internet connection, like a fiber multi-gigabit connection, you’ll need a router with a multi-gigabit ethernet port, a fast CPU, and enough RAM.
You’ll also need a router with a fast CPU and more RAM if many devices connect to your router.
Are Gaming Routers Worth It If You Mainly Use Ethernet?
Gaming routers are usually not worth it if you mainly use ethernet.
Most routers have gigabit ethernet ports and can handle up to 1 Gbit/s ethernet speeds. They also have minimal latency on ethernet, which is essential for online gaming.
Also, most gaming router features, like lower Wi-Fi latencies, beamforming, dual/tri-band connections, MIMO, multiple antennas, and the latest Wi-Fi standards, are all targeted for Wi-Fi and won’t affect ethernet.
On the other hand, router QoS can affect both Wi-Fi and ethernet. However, when you only have a few devices connected to your router, and the router only handles average traffic, you don’t require such QoS features.
Do You Need A Router For Ethernet?
You don’t need a router for ethernet; you can plug the ethernet cable directly into your modem’s ethernet port. However, in this case, you won’t be able to share your internet connection between multiple devices.
To share the internet connection, you need a router; it can be a wired-only router or a Wi-Fi router.
With a wired-only router, you have to connect all devices to the router using ethernet cables. On the other hand, most Wi-Fi routers allow you to connect both wired and wireless devices.
Some internet modems also have built-in wired or wireless routers. In that case, you don’t need any additional routers.
Is Ethernet Faster On Modem Than On Router?
Ethernet on the modem can be faster than ethernet on the router.
When the router supports the modem’s maximum speed, the modem can still have a slightly faster ethernet speed than the router. This is because of the slight overhead added by the router.
However, this difference is negligible and only matters for the maximum data rate. When the internet speed is below the maximum supported speed of the modem, the router will not even slightly slow down the internet speed.
On the other hand, if your router is slower than your modem, the ethernet speed on the router can be significantly slower than on the modem.
For example, if the router is only 100 Mbit/s and the modem is 1 Gbit/s, then the ethernet speed on the router will be limited to 100 Mb/s maximum, while ethernet speed on the modem can be 1 Gbit/s at maximum. In this case, the ethernet on the modem will be significantly faster than on the router.
You also usually have multiple devices connected to your router, and all connected devices can consume internet bandwidth, limiting the bandwidth available on the router’s ethernet port. On the other hand, modems usually have only one ethernet port, and that port will give you the total internet bandwidth.
Conclusion
You don’t need a high-end Wi-Fi router if you mainly use ethernet. Most Wi-Fi routers have gigabit ethernet ports and can easily handle ethernet speeds up to 1 Gbit/s.
Wi-Fi-related features like Wi-Fi 6, dual-band/tri-band, MIMO, and beamforming also don’t matter if you primarily use ethernet on your router.
However, if you have a multi-gigabit internet connection, your router should have a multi-gigabit ethernet port, a fast CPU, and enough RAM.