Wireless or Powerline ethernet?

[Deleted]

Does anybody here use Powerline ethernet instead of wireless? I would love to know what product you are using and what your experience with that is.

I am upgrading my broadband to fibre and I will get around 70 Mb/s, but the router will be some ways from my devices (3 PCs, TV, PS3, xbox), so I am either going to have to go completely wireless, lay out some cabling or make use of this Powerline tech.

Any suggestions on the best way forward?


Thanks!

[chazus]

There's some pull and push with either.

Powerline Pros
-Better over longer distances than wireless usually
-More stable than wireless

Powerline Cons
-CAN be more expensive
-Older houses with poor wiring can cause issues, effectively a non-fixable problem.

Wireless Pros
-Can be cheaper
-If you don't already have a wifi router, getting one will give others access to it as well (Friends with laptops)

Wireless Cons
-Budget or poorly made devices can give crappy signal
-Even good ones can sometimes have problems with signal interference of neighbors, other high power devices (fridge, washing machine, microwave, etc)

I've tried both, and have had both good and bad experiences with both. Powerline isn't new technology, but it hasn't got a large market hold, so it probably hasn't had as much R&D

[Deleted]

I'd probably go with either Wireless or standard ethernet. I haven't had much experience with the Powerline-tech, so it might just be me being old-fashioned and not wanting to dive into something new - however from a trouble-shooting point of view, I'm expecting nightmares if you need to look at the powerline-stuff.

Wireless with proper gear is probably my favorite depending on your living situation. With 5 units that needs the connection, it will probably be the easiest and cheapest way to get it solved. Maybe I'd throw a single cable towards the #1 gaming station if you play competitive online. With the standard on wireless today it might not even be an issue, but you could maybe get some small latency-issues while on wireless.

My suggestion would therefore be: Wireless with optional ethernet for primary gaming PC.

[Deleted]

I use Devolo PowerLine adapters for a few devices (I used wired Ethernet for my PC which ultimately is the best solution if you can go down that route). The PowerLine adapters are the 200Mbps ones, and they run at 185Mbps. That's a total speed, so effectively I get around about 90Mbps each direction. They add about 3-5ms of latency (I'm guessing partly due to data encryption and partly the way the tech works). They're totally reliable, been running happily for years without interruption.

From my experience PowerLine works well in my building, although I know others have reported varied results where they live.

[The Cat]

I use MoCA. Basically it's a similar idea to Powerline except it uses Coax cable. So if your place is already wired with Coax cable it's another avenue to investigate. I'm not sure how popular it is anymore, but it works like a charm. Solid as if it were straight ethernet connection. Get about 90-100Mbps with no added latency.

[Kujako]

I use NetGear XE103 adaptors in a few places, they work well enough but it really depends on how good the wiring in your house is. It looks like you can get the XE104 (which I would recommend over the 103) for around 20$ on eBay.

[EllishaPally]

I'm using the wd powerline kit and from my experience it's far far superior to wireless. In my case my wireless signal would randomly drop while gaming. I tried different adapters and repeaters but nothing solved my issues. Got a powerline setup and bang rock solid, less ms than my wireless and a faster connection overall. Have it supplying my desktop and my xbox 360

Couldn't be happier. (Well unless the modem was in my room instead of the living room lol)