internet connection

[Flyboy]

hello,

is there any problem with using home wifi as my internet connection?
also is a ping of around 200 is reasonable\ playable?

thanks!

[FLS]

A 200 ping is fine if the variance is low and you don't lose packets.

Wifi is not good. You should use a wired connection.

[100Coogn]

Even a 56k dial modem will have a better variance than WiFi.
I played several years with one without much problems.  It just tied up my telephone.

Coogan

[Randy1]

I could not tell much of a difference between wifi and hardwired on my home network when playing AH but I did have a strong signal with good equipment.  Hard wire would still be a better choice if hardwired is practical.  Some of the guys run their using the plug in the wall outlet setup and they say that is better than wifi and is near hard connection quality.

Do a search on the plug in the wall devices if hardwired is not practical.

[Skuzzy]

There are two short comings of Wifi.

1)  It is not a full duplex connection.  In laymen's terms, data cannot be sent and received at the same time, like it can over a wired connection.  This can cause data collisions to occur which causes packet retries.  If the packet is UDP, such as our voice comms, then that packet is lost forever as UDP does not allow for retries.

2)  The bit error rate is always going to be higher with Wifi, versus wired.  Bit errors cause packet retries or lost packets, in the case of UDP.

Neither condition is optimal.  It it is possible, a wired connection will be much better.

[Flyboy]

i'm using a cable modem that works with WiFi and wire connection.

so far i only use the WiFi because i don't have a PC just laptop and smartphone
switching to a PC and hardwire will force me to put a wire in the living room since there are wires in the walls.
will give it a try via WiFi and if it doesn't work will switch to hardwire

thanks a lot for the help!

[Skuzzy]

If you have to use Wifi, then try and minimize obstructions between you and the router.  It will not prevent the collision issues, but it can reduce bit errors.

[Bizman]

Also, if your modem/router has to be in another room than your computer, there's this thing called powerline ethernet by which you can have a wired connection from your computer (even your laptop should have an ethernet jack) to your modem without a mile long (or even less, for that matter) wire running across doorways.

[Flyboy]

that's an interesting option
any knowledge on how it performs vs a standard ethernet cable?

thanks alot for the help!

[Bizman]

that's an interesting option
any knowledge on how it performs vs a standard ethernet cable?

thanks alot for the help!

Basically it should work like any built-in ethernet cabling. It has been around already for a decade so any issues should have been solved long ago. I must admit I've encountered a problem with one system where the powerline ethernet was supposed to work as a wireless extender. That too worked flawlessly when wired.

[Flyboy]

hello again,

i am thinking of buying this:
http://www.dlink.com/uk/en/home-solutions/connect/powerline/dhp-309av-powerline-av-mini-adapter-starter-kit
i was told it should work on my home although it has three phase electrical grid

but since i know little to none about those things i would like to hear what you guys think of it, will it do the job for me?
thanks!

[Bizman]

It should do the job. If in doubt ask the vendor to install it or if that's not possible, ask for the right to return it if it for some reason doesn't work.