which ethernet cable for gaming

Why use an Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi?

This is the most obvious question. Why would you go to the trouble of running an Ethernet cable (or LAN cable) to your console when you could just use the Wi-Fi? Well there are really two main reasons:

1. Latency
​

Wi-Fi is fantastic and even the worst routers provided by internet services providers (ISPs), are fairly decent these days. However Wi-Fi can become overwhelmed, especially if there are numerous bandwidth greedy devices connected at the same time. Wi-Fi traffic has to take turns to talk the router and although the delays may be very brief they can cause a slight lag in online gaming. As we all know, in the world of online gaming, that split second delay can be the difference between being alive or being dead!

2. Connection reliability

It is unusual for a Wi-Fi connection to drop out, but certainly not unheard of, especially if you are some distance from the source. This won’t happen with Ethernet, you will have a completely consistent connection.

​For tips on improving your Wi-Fi signal check out our blog 'How to improve your Wi-Fi coverage'.

What Ethernet cables are available?

​There are 4 types of Ethernet cable you could use, Cat5e Cat6, Cat6a and Cat7. We are just going to be looking at Cat5e and Cat6 as the speeds for Cat6a and Cat7 are the same as Cat6 (they can just maintain them for a longer distance). 

Cable makeup

Both cables are made up of 8 strands of copper cable twisted in to 4 pairs, covered with an outer sheath (see picture of Cat5e above). On initial inspection there is very little difference in their make-up although Cat5e is quite clearly skinnier. There are two reasons for this, firstly the twists on the pairs of cables are much tighter on Cat6 meaning there is more cable per cm. Secondly the Cat6 has an inner separator which is designed to keep the 4 pairs apart and prevent crosstalk, this inner separator also makes the cable fatter. 

For more details on the difference between the cables, check out our video below.

Cable speeds

Although the physical differences in the cable's make-up are fairly subtle the difference in theoretical speed is quite significant. Cat5e can theoretically manage speeds of up to 1000MBps (or 1Gps) and Cat6 can theoretically manage eye watering speeds of up to 10,000Mbps (10Gps) so 10x faster.

To learn more about Ethernet cables check out our blog 'Ethernet cables explained'.

Capability of the network ports on games console

All the Xbox One and PS4 models have 1000Mbps ports, the Nintendo switch requires an adapter for Ethernet, and although there are several types available I haven’t seen any that are over 1000Mbps. 

Obviously this matches the speed of Cat5e, so in theory this cable should be absolutely fine, but you may be thinking that you want a bit more capacity in the cable to be doubly sure you can get the maximum out of the Gigabit port.
In steps Cat6! Not just a bit faster. 10x faster.

Speed of internet connection

It is all very well talking about Gigabit ports and 10 Gigabit cable but your online gaming will only be as fast as your slowest point, which for most people in the UK will be their broadband connection. The average speed of broadband in the UK is around 16.5 Mbps, which is clearly significantly slower than 1000Mbps. Even with Virgin’s superfast broadband at 350Mbps you’ll barely be touching the sides. Only those with Fibre to the home or building (FTTB) and speeds of over 1000Mbps will be truly testing the port or cable, and at the moment, in the UK at least, these speeds are really rare.

Speed requirements of gaming

Ok so let’s say you did live in an area with Fibre to the home and you used Cat6, plugged into the Gigabit port on your console. How much of that speed would your console actually use? Well at the moment HD gaming uses around 10Mbps, a minuscule amount, and 4K gaming uses 100Mbps. So although 4K is 10x HD, it still isn't testing the consoles or the cable. ​

So which Ethernet cable should you use?

Well it depends. If you are going to tuck a cable behind your sofa in a quick temporary arrangement, then Cat5e is fine. However if you are planning a more permanent installation then you should definitely consider using Cat6.

It won't be too long before the next generation of consoles come out (Xbox Scarlett 2020 and PlayStation 5 2021) and the next generation will almost certainly step up their game. Apple are already producing computers with 10Gps ports and it likely to become standard over the coming years and although the UK average internet speed is pretty slow at the moment, the government plan to have superfast broadband across the country by 2033.
For these reasons future proofing is almost certainly the way forward and Cat6 will ensure you are ready for the new tech. There isn't a huge difference in the price, so you might as well spend a few extra pounds to ensure you have a more permanent solution. 

Please like, comment and share if you found this post useful. 

Thanks for reading I hope you have found this article useful. If you enjoyed the post please like and share. Remember you can also check out my other blogs for more network related articles or if you prefer watching video you can view my Youtube channel.