Is the Steam Link really laggy without ethernet?

[hooaht FOYAH]

If I get this, I need to connect this thru HDMI to my TV, but my router is in another room so then I can't used wired connection. How is the wireless connection for single player games?

EDIT: I probably won't get it because both my PC and router are very far away from my TV so my Steam Link will stream a very laggy image...

[Yellig]

How far is "very far"? :-)

[hooaht FOYAH]

Originally posted by Yellig:

How far is "very far"? :-)

like 40 feet away (through the wall it's more like 20 feet). From a living room to my bedroom turning 2 corners.

[Yellig]

I have mine about 13 feet through 2 walls wireless, using a Wireless-N router on the 5 GHz band. The 5G band is usually not very crowded, and I've had great luck with it. "Balanced" quality has no dropped frames at full 1080p60.

[toidi]

Powerline ethernet works pretty good with the link in general. Another option you could consider.

[hooaht FOYAH]

Originally posted by toidi:

Powerline ethernet works pretty good with the link in general. Another option you could consider.

Nah.

Originally posted by Yellig:

I have mine about 13 feet through 2 walls wireless, using a Wireless-N router on the 5 GHz band. The 5G band is usually not very crowded, and I've had great luck with it. "Balanced" quality has no dropped frames at full 1080p60.

Cool....how is "balanced" quality?

[JimmyJames26]

Originally posted by CIV VI - aka CLASH OF CLANS:

Originally posted by toidi:

Powerline ethernet works pretty good with the link in general. Another option you could consider.

Nah.

Originally posted by Yellig:

I have mine about 13 feet through 2 walls wireless, using a Wireless-N router on the 5 GHz band. The 5G band is usually not very crowded, and I've had great luck with it. "Balanced" quality has no dropped frames at full 1080p60.

Cool....how is "balanced" quality?

I play at beautiful quality at 1080p without any FPS issues. 5G wifi works beautifully!

[Yellig]

"Balanced" (~15 Mbps): I think it's great. I mean, you can tell it's being compressed (some of my friends see it more than I), but it's definitely nothing game-breaking. Text is clear and sharp. I play Rocket League on the Link exclusively (i.e., never on the PC), and it looks great to me. Portal 2 looks wonderful. Fullscreen YouTube videos look no different to me than when I stream them on my TiVo's app.

"Fast" (~7 Mbps): definitely blocky and suffers from major compression issues. Realistic-looking or fast-paced games don't come across very well, although simpler graphics can look alright.

"Beautiful" (~30 Mbps): Looks pretty much like the direct PC image. Not recommended for wireless connections. Also the only setting that creates noticeable lag for me. My friend can't use this setting on Powerline Adapters, either, although he has older wiring that may be affecting that.

[hooaht FOYAH]

Originally posted by Yellig:

"Balanced" (~15 Mbps): I think it's great. I mean, you can tell it's being compressed (some of my friends see it more than I), but it's definitely nothing game-breaking. Text is clear and sharp. I play Rocket League on the Link exclusively (i.e., never on the PC), and it looks great to me. Portal 2 looks wonderful. Fullscreen YouTube videos look no different to me than when I stream them on my TiVo's app.

"Fast" (~7 Mbps): definitely blocky and suffers from major compression issues. Realistic-looking or fast-paced games don't come across very well, although simpler graphics can look alright.

"Beautiful" (~30 Mbps): Looks pretty much like the direct PC image. Not recommended for wireless connections. Also the only setting that creates noticeable lag for me. My friend can't use this setting on Powerline Adapters, either, although he has older wiring that may be affecting that.

I have 30mbps internet speed. Not sure about wifi.

[Yellig]

Originally posted by CIV VI - aka CLASH OF CLANS:

I have 30mbps internet speed. Not sure about wifi.

Your internet speed is irrelevant as this is all done locally within your network.

I was just posting the bitrate of the stream it uses to give a rough idea of how much the quality might change. Each setting is basically double the amount of data as the one below it.

Having said that....

You could use a laptop in the rough location your Steam Link would go and visit http://www.speedtest.net to see what speed you get out of it. It should reflect whatever speed your laptop is receiving from the router.

[hooaht FOYAH]

Hey I just realized I am using a 50 foot ethernet to connect my router to my ps4...so I can just unplug that and plug it into my steam link, and then since my PC is on the same network, I don't need to connect it to my PC, right?

I'm really thinking about getting it, but I only have about 2 games that I wanna play on PC at the moment.

[JimmyJames26]

Originally posted by CIV VI - aka CLASH OF CLANS:

Hey I just realized I am using a 50 foot ethernet to connect my router to my ps4...so I can just unplug that and plug it into my steam link, and then since my PC is on the same network, I don't need to connect it to my PC, right?

I'm really thinking about getting it, but I only have about 2 games that I wanna play on PC at the moment.

The router needs to be connected directly to the PC. Then you can do wifi or connect another Ethernet to your link and do hardwire.

[hooaht FOYAH]

Originally posted by JimmyJames26:

Originally posted by CIV VI - aka CLASH OF CLANS:

Hey I just realized I am using a 50 foot ethernet to connect my router to my ps4...so I can just unplug that and plug it into my steam link, and then since my PC is on the same network, I don't need to connect it to my PC, right?

I'm really thinking about getting it, but I only have about 2 games that I wanna play on PC at the moment.

The router needs to be connected directly to the PC. Then you can do wifi or connect another Ethernet to your link and do hardwire.

Yeah I have an ethernet cable connected to my router.
Is it really worth it? I wanna play Dark Souls 3, Witcher 3 and Mad Max.

[JimmyJames26]

Originally posted by CIV VI - aka CLASH OF CLANS:

Originally posted by JimmyJames26:

The router needs to be connected directly to the PC. Then you can do wifi or connect another Ethernet to your link and do hardwire.

Yeah I have an ethernet cable connected to my router.
Is it really worth it? I wanna play Dark Souls 3, Witcher 3 and Mad Max.

I can play PC games from my bedroom while my computers in the basement. So sure, to me it's worth it. If you have a 5g connection or if you can route Ethernet cord all over your house.

[hooaht FOYAH]

Originally posted by JimmyJames26:

Originally posted by CIV VI - aka CLASH OF CLANS:

Yeah I have an ethernet cable connected to my router.
Is it really worth it? I wanna play Dark Souls 3, Witcher 3 and Mad Max.

I can play PC games from my bedroom while my computers in the basement. So sure, to me it's worth it. If you have a 5g connection or if you can route Ethernet cord all over your house.

I'll think about it.

[Yellig]

Originally posted by CIV VI - aka CLASH OF CLANS:

Is it really worth it? I wanna play Dark Souls 3, Witcher 3 and Mad Max.

That's really a matter of personal preference. The main draw is being able to game in a different room than your PC - and, for many, to play on a larger TV screen for the "couch/console" experience.