I mean, its a bit odd to network over USB, but it is possible. So assuming a working connection that the PC's dont fuss about the USB Wired option would give better everything, well, maybe not in lattency, would depend on a few things, but still probably even there.

Wifi will always have half the speed of the listed speed in real world use. So even if the wifi device claims 5Gbps it would not hit that. And many wifi routers claim a combined speed, not the real one. Mine is an older Orbi for example that claims its an AC1200Mbps router, but in reality thats 866Mbps + 450mbps + 866Mbpz Backhaul. Can it push 1.2Gbps of total conectivity on paper, yes, but not all to one client, and even then in a best case real world all those will be half, so sub-500mbps on the 5Ghz 866mbps connections.

I can't get anywhere near 5Gbps via WiFi. It peaks somewhere around 1Gbps with about double the latency and with much less stable ping/jitter graph than wired connection.

I've never tried USB for Ethernet but I believe it must work better than WiFi. It just can't be any worse for gaming than WiFi.

If you care about speed, latency, and stability, you will use a wired Ethernet connection.

It's that simple.

So just a heads up ghz is not the same as gbps. Not even remotely.

So now thats cleared up, Wifi is ALWAYS the worse option when cables are available. Always use a cable.

Second I assume your PC has ether net so just use that. If not for some reason then get a USB to 1Gbs adapter. Higher bandwidth does not mean less latency.

Higher bandwidth does mean more data transfer but you can only use 5Gbs ethernet if your router supports it and only use it online if your service is 5Gbs.

And third, your USB ports are sharing bandwidth with other ports on that same controller.
If you use a 5Gbs USB 3 adapter you'll get about 4.7~4.8Gbs as thats what really expected BUT the moment something like a thumb drive, or such starts using that USB bandwidth you'll tank down FAST.

However none of that will have any impact on game period. Just use ethernet. Going from 1Gbs to 800Gbs wont reduce your latency or improve gaming at all.

Yes even for 5Ghz you have dual tri and I think even quad band chipset. THAT is going to better determine your highest available bandwidth with said WiFi adapter. What also helps is using one with a hard lined external antenna array that you can setup well away from the PC to help increase bandwidth cut down on interfere and help lower ping latency.

You don't really want a USB data transfer cable when using Ethernet is very simple low latency and fast enough too. USB is one of the slower forms of data transfer because it lacks the ability to multi-stream your data unlike SATA, eSATA or Wired LAN

what kind of wifi adapter?
and what usb 3.0 adapter?

usb always adds some delays
going through more host controllers and bandwidth restrictions and translations adds delays

if the wifi nic is m.2 pci-e it will be much faster than usb wifi nic, and slower than usb lan adapter

wifi was invented for convenience, able to move around with laptop without connecting wire for network access
the early wifi 802.11 - 802.11g were slower than 100mb/s lan
and at around that time mobos had gigabit nics onboard, and gigabit switch/routers were becoming more pupular

the first wifi 802.11 was 1-2mb/s when the early rj45 nics were 10mb/s, or even bnc/token ring networks were 10-12mb/s

Make sure it supports;

USB 3.x
WPA3, 5Ghz AX, WIF6 or even WiFi7

With a $30 TP Link USB adapter for one of my old desktops; it has no problem downloading from Steam @ 60MB/s over our TMobile 5G Home Internet

wifi never hits 5 gb/ps in most cases, so 50/50.

if you are talking about ethernet to USB adapter then yes its way more stable than any wifi

If you are willing to run a cable from pc to router then why not use ethernet? Its by far the best.

You'll need wifi7 and a direct line of sight to the access point to make it really worthwhile.

agree usb3 -> ethernet will be far superior...

using a usb3 > sata ssd adapter on my budget laptop and it is not slow for the usual games / ISO downloads, etc...

All the all in one routers asus, Netgear, tplink have been ♥♥♥♥ for the last couple generations.

Its not even that the brands have gotten worse. Its the amount of devices. The all in ones just dont handle it well enough. My buddy has an Asus wireless 6e router ($500-$600) that is constantly ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ out on him. Its been bad since day one.

If you want to stick with wifi find a used Ruckus AP on Ebay(maybe an r750), get a ubiquiti wired router (i prefer their edgerouters, but unify is great), and a cheap POE switch. Or heck go all in on a ubiquiti Unify set up. Its actually fairly reasonable and a bajillion times better than anything the off the shelfs put out.

Or lol like im sure people said run the cable

Originally posted by WarBucks:

All the all in one routers asus, Netgear, tplink have been ♥♥♥♥ for the last couple generations.

Its not even that the brands have gotten worse. Its the amount of devices. The all in ones just dont handle it well enough. My buddy has an Asus wireless 6e router ($500-$600) that is constantly ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ out on him. Its been bad since day one.

If you want to stick with wifi find a used Ruckus AP on Ebay(maybe an r750), get a ubiquiti wired router (i prefer their edgerouters, but unify is great), and a cheap POE switch. Or heck go all in on a ubiquiti Unify set up. Its actually fairly reasonable and a bajillion times better than anything the off the shelfs put out.

Or lol like im sure people said run the cable

First off when you buy these you need to update the firmware. You also should be WiFi Analyze app on your phone so you can see which WFi channels are being used near your location and then configure the WiFi channel in the Router to be different then ones around you to avoid signal interference and drop outputs. Modern routers have no problems handling 20+ devices all doing stuff at once.if you find this a problem it's a user skill issue.

all in one router, normally refers to modem (dls/fiber/cable/cell) with built in router and wifi
99% of those are junk, issued by isp and should be replaced or upgraded every 2-3 years

any wireless router is a wifi ap and wired router, no all in one
any half decent router that can support aftermarket firmware is good enough