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Various
Cat 6 Ethernet cable
The cheapest upgrade in this entire catalog and the one that fixes the most complaints. A wired connection removes the jitter and packet loss that make a game feel unresponsive, and Cat 6 handles gigabit over any run inside a house.
- Best for
- Every desktop that sits within cable reach of a router. Which is most of them.
- Watch out
- Do not pay for Cat 8. For a run inside a house at gigabit or 2.5 gigabit, Cat 6 is already past the point of diminishing returns. Cat 6a if the run is long or noisy.
Launch MSRPVaries by model
Specs
| Speed supported | 1 Gbps easily, 10 Gbps on short runs |
|---|---|
| What it fixes | Jitter and packet loss, which is what you feel |
| What it does not fix | Distance to the game server |
| Cost | A rounding error on any build |
| Tier | Budget - Esports titles, older libraries, a first build, or a machine that shares duty with schoolwork. |
Reviews
4.5 / 5
Lake Effect Rigs editorial score
Our take, in one number: this is what the verdict above averages out to. We score what we would put in a real build, nothing else.
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