Wireless vs Wired vs EoP (2016)

[Tomzen]

Yes- this is a duplicate of: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/39774-42-wireless-wired

Why? I would like an updated version of this, and perhaps it would be helpful for any others googling this question alike me.

My questions:

• 
  - How reliable is EoP now? in 2016, is it better and a cheaper solution then drilling a hole through the wall/roof, or having wires layed across the house?
  
  - What speeds can we now get? Does that depend on interference?
  
  - Is it better than using WiFi?

 

[Spectre694]

They are faster now (1200 mbps I believe) but they are still very dependent on the quality of the wiring in your building. Straight ethernet cable is always more reliable but not always more convenient.

WiFi depends. With good wiring they have similar speeds to the 5GHz WiFi band if it doesn't like your setup then no.

 

[mcnumpty23]

powerline adapters will be dependant on the quality of your electrical wiring

only time i used them didnt get great results and had too many disconnects

i ended up running a 30m ethernet cable which took a bit of time and effort but is much more reliable

 

[COLGeek]

While this is "marketing" info, it is still useful:

http://www.mocalliance.org/marketing/performance-and-reliability.htm

 

[Onus]

Direct ethernet, where practical, will always offer the fastest and most reliable connection. The quality of any wifi connection you can get will be dependent on many factors, including distance, number and type of any obstructions between devices, number of devices using the channel, and number, type, and strength of potential sources of interference. Some of that can be mitigated by using quality components; a $35 wireless card will beat the stuffing out of a $15 USB adapter; a new $150 router will be a lot better than a $30 refurb.
I have had mixed results with Powerline equipment, but generally good. A 200 Mb/s pair I got some years ago outperformed and was more reliable than a wireless connection using a cheap PCI adapter, but it was also slow. A 2000 Mb/s pair I just picked up recently to address the speed issue has indeed been much faster, but it's too early to tell if they will remain reliable. A 500 Mb/s pair I had tried proved unreliable, dropping out within a week or so of installation. As to my wiring quality, one reason I am particularly pleased is that these Powerline adapters are operating across two sections of a manufactured home, meaning the wiring is going through at least one extra junction box.