Wi-Fi 6E is the latest standard of Wi-Fi which works on 6 GHz instead of only working on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz like previous standards. And it promises many improvements over previous gen, such as higher speed, less interference and most notably, less latency. So, some might be wondering if Wi-Fi 6E is going to improve their gaming experience.
A lot of people mainly game on their PC or console, meanwhile, mobile gaming is getting increasingly popular too. For mobile gamers, it’s mainly pointless to use ethernet because it’s just too much troublesome to use ethernet adapter. And even after that, ethernet cable’s weight will ruin your gameplay. So, here we’ll just talk about PC or console gamers.
People who play on their laptop or console often use Wi-Fi to play because it’s not always convenient to use ethernet adapter. And PC gamers, of course, freely use ethernet cable. However, with the introduction of Wi-Fi 6E, gamers might be wondering if they can finally ditch their ethernet for independence from the wires.
How is Wi-Fi 6E compared to Ethernet?
While it is definitely better than previous generations of Wi-Fi standards, it still cannot be considered better than ethernet, especially for gaming. While it will actually help many people who used previous Wi-Fi standards, but the experience won’t be same as wired gaming.
1. Less Interference in Wi-Fi 6E helps in Gaming:
Well, this is where Wi-Fi 6E for gaming shines. For a long time, Wi-Fi have been operating on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. So, most households are having Wi-Fi routers which runs on these frequencies.
Multiple devices on same frequency can cause interference. Wi-Fi routers are quite smart these days and shifts to less congested or free channel. It results in lower interference. However, if you are in an apartment or office, you’re most likely to be surrounded by a lot of Wi-Fi routers.
In such cases, most channels get congested which could result in poor gaming experience. This won’t happen with Wi-Fi 6E routers, at least for a good duration of time.
It can use 6 GHz frequency with broader channel (160 MHz compared to 80 MHz of 5 GHz). It will take a while before many people switch to Wi-Fi 6E. So, there won’t be interference in it for quite a while.
2. Lower latency improves response in gaming:
Yes, it is expected to have lower latency when compared to previous Wi-Fi gens, however, the difference isn’t going to be drastic unless you live in a place which is heavily crowded with Wi-Fi routers.
And the latency won’t be able to beat ethernet, for obvious reasons. However, it will be much more consistent compared to previous standards due to less interference.
3. Higher bandwidth:
It has higher bandwidth compared to Wi-Fi 6 and older standards. So, if there are a lot of devices connected to your router and everyone using it for one or other reason, there will still be plenty of bandwidth left for you. So, you won’t suffer a lot just because your sibling or someone else decides to transfer some huge file over Wi-Fi.
Conclusion:
One thing you should remember is that- it is not going to have much impact for everyone. If you’re someone who plays games over 5 GHz in a house and don’t have other households extremely close, then you might not even have to face much interference. And while the experience will improve, it won’t be obvious for day-to-day usage.
If you want the best experience- wired connection is the only solution for it.