Wireless Network bad for online gaming?

[dart321]

Alright so it seems I'm getting a wireless router and adapters for my new DSL connection (not my choice).

I'm getting the DSL "Extreme" Package which is 3Mbps down/ 384 Kbps up. The wireless router and my computer and Xbox (getting Xbox Live) are no more than about 6 feet away ( from the router) with no walls or anything that could interfere with the signal at all. It's basically just thin air straight to the wireless adapters. I don't know the brand or model of the router, modem, or adapters because they are included in our DSL package by our ISP. I would guess that everything they're providing is standard. (My ISP is Bellsouth btw. Anyone have them and can comment on their equipment?)

Anyway, I have a few questions that I really can't seem to find an straight-up answer to.

- How different (in speed and stability) is a wireless connection over a wired connection?

- Will I lag a lot in online game? Do wireless connections cause bad ping spikes?

- Will a wireless connection affect my overall speed like downloading a file or web browsing and if so, how bad?

Technically I can go to a wired router setup but I'm hesitant to do this because:
1) I'd feel kind of stupid shelling out money (probably a good bit of money, yes?) for a wired router when I'm getting a wireless router for free.
2) To be honest, wireless seems very appealing to me because I wont have to look at or deal with ugly wires crossing my hardwood floor to get to my computer/Xbox. Sounds a bit crazy, but it really looks horrible in my office setup.

Basically I want to know if the freedom of wireless comes with severe penalties in other areas, in particular, online gaming and download speeds. (Key word being severe) What do you think?

 

[giant384]

the speed might change because they will prob. give u a g router (54mbs) transfer which normally the wired dsl is 100mbs and it would only slow down if u get inteference but since u dont have any walls in the way it shouldnt be a problem so

 

[psyno]

You won't notice a difference (from a wired router). There may be a slight increase in latency on the order of milliseconds. Absolutely no effect on throughput.

 

[xLostx]

Do it right and wireless is great. I love the wireless capability of my laptop, I don't recognize any difference when downloading music, browsing or even playing c-s. Unless you got lead walls in your house then wireless should be fine. Just beware of EMI devices (Electro Magnetic Interference) like cordless phones, anything over 900 mhz can **** up the wireless signal. I've seen microwaves, fridges, and even chainsaws cause EMI, as to why some guy had a chainsaw running in hise house...don't ask.

 

[dart321]

You won't notice a difference (from a wired router). There may be a slight increase in latency on the order of milliseconds. Absolutely no effect on throughput.

And "a slight increase in latency on the order of milliseconds" is not a big thing right? I mean, lets say I have a 100 ping on a server with a wired Ethernet connection. What do you think my ping would be on the same exact server, with all things the same except that I'm on a wireless connection?

And yes, if you can't tell by now, I'm pretty much a complete idiot and new guy at networking and such.

 

[psyno]

Well, to give you a sense:
My average ping to the neighbor's wireless router is 2 milliseconds. I actually have no idea where that router is, except to say that it's out the window, through a nice leafy tree, and probably through at least one of my neighbor's walls. If you were to assume that a wired connection had absolutely no latency, then the maximum would be an average increase of 2 milliseconds over a wired router. Of course, wired routers do add latency, and that difference is probably less than the difference between brands/models anyway.

Btw, ping is measured in milliseconds (just in case ).

 

[giant384]

gasp psyno ur stealing there internet lol