bridge, router, etc) before it can be sent along its path. On the other hand, if we only transfer files across a home network occasionally, it's less important.Īt the risk of oversimplifying things, latency refers to the delay in transmission time that occurs while data remains in a device's buffered memory (e.g. If we spend hours on the internet we want our pages to load quickly, and latency can definitely affect this (just talk to any Satellite internet user). So, latency can be very important to the overall user experience, but how important it is also depends on the application. On the other hand, if the same user is browsing the web and it takes a couple of seconds for a page to start loading, that can be enough for them to move on to something else. A user on a home network who needs to transfer some photos and documents from a MacBook to an iMac is not going to be too concerned if it takes a couple of seconds for the transfer to commence. While latency is a factor - especially when large networks with many network devices are involved - it's less of an issue for typical consumers.ĭoes latency matter to typical consumers? All that said, I expect the deployment of 10Gbps ethernet networks to really start taking off more broadly due to the demands of HD video editing and the requirement of more organisations to have high-performance shared storage systems.īut in terms of typical consumers, this is not something worth considering when wanting to add an ethernet port to a computer and making a decision on the type of adapter they need.Ī lot has been made about latency in the comments. So converting existing ethernet networks to a 10Gbps ethernet network is no trivial matter and is quite expensive.
One of the reasons for a slow take up rate of 10Gbps ethernet is that it requires full duplex point-to-point links (typically via network switches) and as a result half duplex operation and repeater hubs do not work in 10Gbps ethernet networks.
It is also worth noting that Apple has never launched a computer (not even Mac Pros or Servers) that natively support 10Gbps ethernet. While 10Gbps ethernet is starting to gain some traction in terms of network infrastructure, this is only happening in some of the largest organisations or those that have a particular need for this type of setup (such as ISPs, Cloud providers, data centres, etc). However, in 99.9% of cases (okay, I can't cite a source for that figure - I'm just making a point) this will not be a practical consideration for users unless they intend to connect to an existing 10Gbps ethernet network. I'm adding this longer answer due to the various comments below my original answer.įor starters, ethernet can actually support up to 10Gbps. So, as you can see, it doesn't matter because they're all faster than the ethernet you're converting to. *In the overwhelming majority of cases, although 10Gbps ethernet networks do exist. More specifically (and at the risk of oversimplifying it): I say this because both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt are faster than ethernet, so it doesn't matter which way you go from a speed point of view. The answer to your question as asked in the title is it really depends on what ports you have available, personal preference, cost, etc.