Answer this!
This never ending debate, that haunts us at the computer stores when we are about to buy some higher end gear; wired or wireless?
I might just add another grain of salt to the wound with this article, but I will try to point out pros an cons of each from a gamers point of view rounding it up with my own experiences.
I want to talk about the most important pieces of equipment a gamer should consider: a headset, a keyboard and a mouse.
Lets start with the general cons and pros of both. The first thing we have to know is, how they work (in general). So lets take a look at exactly that.
Wired stuff of course works by pluging the wires into a power source and perhaps pluging in some extra cords for data transfering and such.
The pros of going wired is that, data transfares without interuption and faster than wireless connections. Speed depends on the wire and the reciver however, so it is possible that a newer wireless connection will be faster than an old type of wired connection . The other good thing about wired connection is that,althogh prices of wireless devices are dropping significiantly, wired devices are still much cheaper. Wired gear usually not concerned with power saving, which means it will have no lag because of "wake up" delay.
As there are pros, there are cons to wiredness as well. The most obvious are the wires themselves. They tangle up, can break rendering the device useless but, the worst of it all, it restricts movement. If you have a pet that likes to chew on things, lets just say I hope you live near a tech store. Wired is rarely portable.
Wireless connections need a reciever hub that picks up the signals the device sends out. This has to be pluged in your PC or laptop and syncronized. Most of the devices use signals that are sent on a 2.4 GHz frequency, but there are devices using 5.0 GHz as well. Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz), Megahertz (MHz), Gigahertz and Terrahertz (THz). It is the measure of how many times something occurs in a specific amount of time. For example, if someone visits the grocery store twice a week, her shopping frequency is 2 visits per week. While frequency can be used to measure the rate of any action, in technical applications it is typically used to measure wave rates or processing speed and is counted per seconds (Hz/S). Before we compare 2.4 and 5.0 GHz frequencies lets look at the 3 most important properties: bandwidth, range and band. Bandwith is (in this case) the measure of the width of the band of frequencies that an electronic signal uses on a given transmission medium, which means that, the wider the bandwidth, the less interference there will be. Band is a specific range of frequencies in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, which is divided among ranges from very low frequencies (VLF) to extremely high frequencies (EVF). Each band has a defined upper and lower frequency limit. A 2.4 GHz device falls into Ultra high frequencies (UVF) and its limit is from 300 MHz to 3000 MHz(3 GHz), while a 5 GHz device is in the Super high frequencies (SVF) group and its limit starts at 3 GHz and tops at 30 GHz respectively. All you need to know about range is that, the higher the frequency, the weaker the waves become, thus shortening its range.
Now lets look at the cons and pros of both:
Cons:
2.4 GHz:
-most of our wireless devices run on 2.4 GHz, like cordless phones, bluetooth and so on, making it prone to interference.
-it has only 3 non-overlapping channels (channel 1, 6, & 11)
-does not penetrate trough objects (like furnitures, walls etc) as well as its 5 GHz conterpart
-has tight(er) bandwidth
5 GHz:
-short range
-relatively new and expensive (to public)
-hard(er) to find devices with this connection
Pros:
2.4 GHz
-easy to find (see above)
-relatively cheap
-has long range
5 GHz :
-minimal interference due to 23 channels which isolates the 5 GHz from other signals around
-wide(r) bandwidth
-strong(er) signal that easily penetrates trough objects
Since we got that out of the way lets get more specific. I will look at the 2 most, and 1 fairly important wireless hardware gamers might use:
A Keyboard, a Mouse and a Headset
Keyboard: Wireless keyboards mostly come in a non-mechanic construction, use AAA battery(ies) and a reciever that plugs in a USB port on your PC. Power isn't a big issue with keyboards, since they can operate for a long (averagely 8 months*) time wihout changing batteries. Most of them use a 2.4 GHz connection and might run into some obstacle issues, but since they usually are close to the reciever, there almost never is an intereference*. It could be portable, but -depending on the size and shape- might not be a good option, although there are specific designs for just that, like "roll-and-go" flexible keyboards and so on. There are usually no "lag" since wireless KBs don't have the built in "sleep-to-conserve" function.
Mouse: Mice come in many shapes and size (please see "Anatomy of a mouse" article for more information) and is the main focus of this wired-wireless debate. There are several reasons of this, one being the lag it generates, the other is power and lastly DPI. Input lag is, how long it takes for the the virtual action (recieving and executing the action in-game or otherwise) to respond to the physical action (pressing a button). The longer it takes, the more the lag will be. Input lag can be caused by interference with other wireless devices, obstacles like metal parts in furniture, distance from the reciver and of course poorly constructed hardware or software of the mouse. One of the big issue that causes interference is the power saving function, that
puts the mouse to "sleep" in order to conserve battery life. Althogh there are high-end mice that has the option to deactivate or at least increase the time, most of them don't, increasing lag when "they wake up". Usually after 5 seconds of inactivity the mouse activates sleep mode. The next issue would be power limitation. Generaly wireless mice use 2 AA batteries, but some high-end ones might actually have a built in one. Because the power source is limited and modern mice operate by taking millions of pictures (see "Anatomy of a mouse" article for more info), they use a lot of energy, especially a mouse used for gaming, since they usually have higher DPI (see AoM article) and moved and clicked a lot more. Batteries can die out quickly and unpredictably, even though most of the mice have an LED that turns red indicating the batteries poor status. Its an expensive solution too, since you need to buy batteries every now-and-then, while corded mouse obviously doesn't have this problem. Lastly there is the DPI debate. Since wireless mice can't update its status as friquently -virtually its possible, but it would further limit its power source's life- as its wired nemesis its DPI droped significiantly. While a wired mouse is capeable of roughly 6000 DPI** or more, a wireless will hardly get to 4000 DPI and that's streaching it. A wireless mouse on the other hand is highly portable. The confort of being wireless, the "untugyness" of it while playing could overweight the shortcomings of a wireless mouse.
Headset: Headsets are the less important gear a gamer considers*** when it comes to wired or wireless solutions. Wired headsets can be a struggle to use due to the cords, but wireless ones are going to set your wallet back quiet a few bucks (in the hundreds). If you have the extra cash you should consider these properties, before buying one.
First off, how many other wireless device you got around that use 2.4 GHz connections. If many, better get a headset that uses other means to send/recieve data to minimize interference. There are headsets capable of dual band (you can switch between 2.4 or 5 GHz transmitting) like the Turtle Beach Ear Force Tango® to limit the interference problem. Battery is important as well, there are 2 commonly used batteries around: the Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) and the Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-CAD)-though Ni-CAD is kinda getting replaced by Nickel-Metal-Hydrate batteries (Ni-MH)-, although now-a-days Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) batteries are available as well. Your best bet would be a headset equiped with Li-Ion batteries since they charge faster than Ni-CAD (or Ni-MH) have an 80-90% charge efficiency and a relatively long life, around 1200 charge cycles (roughly 3-5 years****). While Li-Ion batteries are really good, Li-Po can easily pick up the competition against it with its roughly the same lenght of charge time, more efficient charges at 99.8% and lighter construction, but as everything, it has its downfall as well with a -not too significantly- shorter life, around 1000 charge cycles. The Ni-CAD batteries are heavier then Li-Ion or -Po batteries, but live a lot longer, nearly twice the life, around 2000 charge cycles (both of these properties apply to Ni-MH as well). It has poorer charge efficiency at 70-90% (~66% for Ni-MH) and charges a lot longer (as do Ni-MH). Microphones are just as important when looking at a headset. The most important aspect of a mic is how well it eliminates ambient sound -"Uni-directional Microphones" usually do well- and how sensitive is it, the more sensitive it is, the more easily it will pick up your voice without interference from other sound sources. Of course its crutial for a headset to have good sound quality as well, to better understand what makes a good headset we need 2 properties to look for: the independece, which meassured in ohm, the lower this number the better, the other is sensitivity (of the speakers in this case), this is meassured in decibels (dB) and the higher it is, the better the sound quality becomes. Another aspect to consider is the design. I'm talking more about noise cancellation, than confort, althogh it is very important if you have long gaming sessions. Noise cencellation is what it sounds like, keeping out all the sounds that are not emitted by the game (or otherwise). This usually achived by a whrap-around earcup or an earplug (the later is usually used for hand-held devices). When it comes to wireless the earcup format is used for various reasons like battery placement and alike so its fair to say, that comfort's big factor is weight, but not limited to, since the cussion of those cups are just as important. All in all, wireless headsets have big advantages like mobility and more comfort*****, but a hafty pricetag attached to them.
In the heated debate of wired and wireless devices, this is where I stand
I recommend wireless keyboards and mice to gamers who -myself included- won't be a GSL candidate in the near future (althogh there are wireless solutions that offer the option to wire up like Razer's Orochi® mouse...), who is at or close to that level of play may need to consider wired options for the above mentioned drawbacks -mainly Input Lag- of going wireless. In my opinion, since I'm far from a WCS invite, I rather have a tug and cord-free life at my desktop. I use a wireless Logitech MK330® keyboard that came with a wireless mouse, but i use a Razer Orochi® wireless mouse, however I tested the MK's mouse as well and I surprised to say it functions very well even for intense gaming and only uses one AA battery, which lived through my 6 months testing of it. I recommend the MK330® for general users and a rechargable battery package with a charger, 2 AA and 2 AAA batteries. I had a corded headset (Sony®, ~ 45 CAD $) that functioned well and was comfortable enough, but sadly my cat chewed on the cord (sometimes I think he thinks he is a dog...) rendering it useless. That is when I decided to buy a wireless headset (Logitech F540®) and used it for 3 years. I was blown away by how good it sounded, the level of comfort it provided (and not hearing my wife yelling at me ...:) ), the freedom to lay down 15 meters away to listen to some tunes and a fairly good quality of the mic, besides all that I was able to connect it to my Xbox, my TV as well as to the PC in the same time! After 3 years however, my reciever died and unfortunalty since this model is discontinued I wasn't able to get another. I am eyeing on either the Astro A50® or Turtle Beach Ear Force Tango® headsets at the moment, but as with all wireless headsets, budget is a big factor.
My conclusion of this debate is that, if you are not going to a main event soon look for a decient wireless keyboard and mouse solution that is fairly priced (the MK 330® is around 45 CAD and includes both) and get a headset that fits your budget. If you have 150 and up CAD you can spare, I would definitely suggest you to look around for a good wireless headset (my Logitech F540® was 145 CAD), if not, there are many excellent corded product out there. Here are some great -and pricy- wireless headset compared to each other:
http://gaming-headsets-review.toptenreviews.com/ .
I hope I shone some light on this issue or at least helped understand how things work. Whatever you decide don't forget to:
Train! Strain! Innovate!
Good Luck and Have Fun!
CAD= Canadian Dollar
*: This is my own experience using wireless keyboard for more than 5 years. Experiences might vary due to setup and other devices you might have around your computer.
**: Most of the wired mice set to 2000 or less DPI for the average consumer.
***: Solely my opinion.
****: Depending on usage.
*****: Not always the case.
Materials to check out:
Batteries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Po,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ni-cad,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ni-Mh,
Other:
http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/24246/~/what-is-the-difference-between-2.4-ghz-%26-5ghz%3,
http://searchenterprisewan.techtarget.com/definition/bandwidth,
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/band,