Hey everyone! I'm setting up an office and I've got one Ethernet port available. I plan to connect my new gaming and editing PC, and soon my wife's PC will also be in the same room for some gaming together. I know I need an Ethernet switch (not a splitter) to share the internet connection. I found most switches are 1000mbps. Here are my two questions:
1) Is a 1000mbps switch good enough for both of us to game online at the same time?
2) If one PC is turned off, can the other use the full 1000mbps speed? Does it just need to be powered off, or does it also need to be unplugged?
Thanks for your help! I'm a bit out of the loop on these things since it's been about 20 years since I last dealt with PC setups!
5 Answers
You’ve got nothing to worry about! Most games really don’t even use close to 1mbps. You could even have a bunch of PCs connected and still be fine! About your second question, the switch doesn’t limit speed to each device as they connect. So if one PC is getting 900mbps, it won’t bottleneck the other to 500mbps or anything like that. Just get a decent 1000mbps switch, and you should be all set! They’re super reliable and easy to set up.
Just grab a switch and you’ll be good to go! I’ve installed a couple in my house. It’s simple and works for multiple devices without issues. My daughter has like 8 gadgets in her room running on the same setup.
Beauty! Thank you for the tip!
Absolutely! A gigabit switch is perfect. You won't see any issues gaming because 1Gbps is more than enough for two PCs running at once. Just know that as long as one PC is off, the other will utilize the full bandwidth without needing to unplug anything.
If you can, try to get a 2.5Gb switch to future-proof your setup. If you’ve got a high-speed internet plan over 1Gb, it’s worth it to upgrade. But make sure to keep the switch powered—turning it off can cause connectivity issues, even if it’s best not to power it off while gaming!
First off, you’re fine with a 1000mbps switch; games won’t even come close to using that much. If one device isn’t actively streaming or downloading, the other can use the full speed available. Just remember that your internet speed is the limiting factor. If you're using Cat 5e cables, you're good for 1000mbps, which is great!
Thanks! I’ve got Cat 5e cables in the walls, so I’m set for the best case scenario. Just wanted to confirm they'd have full access when only one was online.
Fantastic. Thank you for your reply! I wasn’t sure if a switch with 4 outputs would limit each one, so I appreciate the reassurance!