Wireless vs Wired. Which is best, which do you prefer?

[Something Amyss]

If the device moves frequently (Headset, mouse), wireless. If it's immobile (Keyboard, desktop/router), wired.

So no to USB cords, yes to ethernet.

Pretty much this. Though I use a wired controller on my PC because I'm almost never more than a foot from the thing, and a wireless one for everything else because I will likely be moving far more.

Also, because cords seem to have a way of not just attracting themselves to my feet, but wrapping around them. I want my tombstone to say something epic, not "tripped on a mess of cords."

I love the play and charge packs for 360 wireless pads. Best of both worlds.

As a rule I prefer wired, buts mainly because I primarily use a desktop and a 360 that stay in one place.

Really? Mine keeps trying to escape....

But yeah, I love the battery packs for the 360.

 

[LetalisK]

Wired for almost everything. It always seems to last longer and be more reliable than wireless. The exceptions I'll make to this are console game controllers and when I'm doing non-competitive online console stuff(ie grouping up in Diablo 3).

 

[DoPo]

Also, because cords seem to have a way of not just attracting themselves to my feet, but wrapping around them. I want my tombstone to say something epic, not "tripped on a mess of cords."

But would "tripped on a mess of cords, while saving the world" be acceptable?

 

[Bobular]

Wired. Defiantly wired.

I'll even play with my PS3/4 controllers plugged into the console a fair amount as it saves me having to worry about loosing my controller during a boss fight in Dark Souls again (though it did give the fight a sense of urgency)

 

[Scarim Coral]

Wire for the most part-

Mouse- Definitely wired. I had a wireless mouse (came with the keyboard). Having to buy batteries or it just lose connection annoyed me to no end.

Broadband- Also wired due to people may hack the ip due to the wanderering about (carelss at not setting it up to private and locked it).

 

[sanamia]

Wired for nearly everything
exception:
Headphones, I have a nice surround sound setup at my PC. So my headphones are primarily used for voice chat only anyway. There is a certain freedom to walking over to the kitchen without having to put them down. Or going to the bathroom and just muting with a single button. If they go low I can just plugin the charge cable while at the PC.

 

[Leg End]

Wired in pretty much all scenarios to the point where me saying I'm jacking into the matrix looks like such.

 

[Mister K]

Wired, because to hell with batteries.

 

[Denamic]

Wired is better in every way, save for the minor inconvenience of being in the way sometimes. I only use wi-fi for my phone and ps3. And I barely ever use my ps3.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Still I need to get a wireless 360 controller, because the wire on my wired one is becoming a liability.

I love the play and charge packs for 360 wireless pads. Best of both worlds.

As a rule I prefer wired, buts mainly because I primarily use a desktop and a 360 that stay in one place.

Yeah the play and charge wires are nice, but, the one I have already is a lot shorter than the cord on my 360 controller.

Also the location of my 360 is in a rather central location currently, so my dad's tripped on the cord a few times decoupling the end of the USB hook up from the rest of the cord... Always while I'm playing dark souls too.

 

[Something Amyss]

But would "tripped on a mess of cords, while saving the world" be acceptable?

...saving the world?

Huh. I guess it never hurts to try something new.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Wireless sure is neat for short burst of time, but the moment you want to use anything multiple hours every single day wires make more sense.
I have a box full of wireless peripherals and next to it an even bigger box of broken batteries, at some point the hassle of wireless stuff cutting out at the most critical moments outweighed the upsides and they had to go.

It is incredibly convenient to not have a device tethered to anything, but with reliability so low it is also incredibly inconvenient.

 

[HybridChangeling]

Wired all the way, I doubt wireless will ever reach the speed and reliability of wired connections. I have never had a single keyboard/mouse that has ever been as fast as my old USB mouse and keyboard I got 7 years ago. Then again I have never bought a 200+ dollar set or whatever, because I don't see the point when a set I got in a thrift shop still works to this day. As for wire clutter, a friend and I made a way around it with a plastic/clothlike mesh with velcro, that I can make with craft store parts.

Also most American internet providers that limit us to around 8-15 Mbps or so, an Ethernet cable is a must for gaming. I never have a good online experience with Wi-Fi.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Wired, for the sole reason that I'm very very annoyed by having to deal with charging shit and knowing my luck I always run out of batteries when its the least convenient. I always had that with my PS3.

But I do wish wireless would be without those annoyances. The moment wireless ubiquitous charging/power supply becomes a thing I'll kick every bloody wire out of my living space in a heartbeat. Because they do make one helluva mess.

 

[Callate]

Being against wireless is mostly a battery issue for me. If you use it for five seconds and thus the battery lasts forever (remote control), that's fine. If it receives streaming data wirelessly but is plugged into its power source (some wireless speakers), that's fine.

If you have to plug it in every day and end up replacing expensive and wasteful batteries every year and a half? That's a problem.

 

[Zeraki]

Still I need to get a wireless 360 controller, because the wire on my wired one is becoming a liability.

I love the play and charge packs for 360 wireless pads. Best of both worlds.

As a rule I prefer wired, buts mainly because I primarily use a desktop and a 360 that stay in one place.

I always had a very bad luck with those things, whenever I would buy a new 360 controller the packs wouldn't work properly and when I would get them replaced with new ones those wouldn't work. Eventually I gave up and just started using AA batteries again, they lasted longer than the battery packs too.

As for the OT, pretty much everything I use is wireless now. The less wired stuff I have cluttering my living space the better. I had my fill of wires in the 90's.

 

[Recusant]

I'd LOVE wireless electronics- but I'm stuck back in 2016, when they don't exist yet. Pop open a casing. See all those thin, wire-like objects running along the circuit boards? Those're wires. There're still there. "Wireless electronics" is right up there with "chemical-free soda".

{i}Cordless[/i] electronics, on the other hand...

 

[kasperbbs]

Both can be good depending on the use. Right now the only wireless thing i own is my 360 controller for PC and i love the fact that it doesn't have any wires, but the battery always dies at the most awkward moments. My keyboard and mouse are wired, i don't carry that stuff around and i don't use headphones because f**k my neighbour.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Wireless for the moving parts, wired for everything else. My mouse is wireless and I'm not so obsessed by DPI as to launch into the ages-old "WIRED POINTING DEVICES R BETTAR FUR EFF PEE ESS PLAYURS!" debate.

I use a wireless keyboard for the rare occasions that see my consoles go "Input a name for your character or item or whatever!" because fuck wires while I'm on the couch. My consoles are wirelessly connected to the home network because there's no way I'm drilling holes through walls to reach my network hub with an Ethernet cable.

 

[Mr Fixit]

Wireless always & forever.

It has been my experience that wires always break long before the device does, so swapping batteries or re-charging batteries while I sleep is a much better idea to me. My 360 controller lasts me about a week on a couple hours charge, I've got 2 to swap out quickly & I change the batteries in my mouse & keyboard once a year, sometimes a year & a half. Gotta love that Logitech battery life.

I don't really like online multiplayer so no real problem there & the few times I have gamed online I haven't had any issues out of my wireless connection so it's all good.