Gigabit switch or router best upgrade?

[njparton]

I regularly transfer large video files around my wired home network which uses Cat6 cabling throughout (I was thinking ahead a little ).

I'm currently using a Netgear WPN824v2 router which has a 10/100 switch built in. I'm considering upgrading this to Netgear's new Draft N router which has a 10/100/1000 switch built in or alternatively adding a gigabit switch to my existing network and connecting that to my current router.

If I connect both the PC's (all with gigabit nics) I regularly transfer files between either to the additional switch or new router, which is likely to give me greater performance?

I use one of the PC's for a lot of online gaming. Will adding an additional piece of hardware (i.e. a switch) to my current network have a detrimental effect on pings?

[UDF2Diablo]

transfer speeds between the two pc's through a gigabit switch or router will be exactly the same.

it's possible that the gigabit switch connected to the modem might cause some extra overhead/lag - but that'll be so insignificantly small that you probably won't even notice it.

unless the connection between switch and modem is extremely long, or a little dodgy.

[Blakhart]

I would go with a switch as that takes some of the overhead away from the router.

[njparton]

Thanks guys.

I guess it's a trade off between adversely affecting ping and lower overheads on one bit of kit and having everything neatly tied up in one piece of hardware?

[olmari]

mm well usually even multiple (good) switches on corporate enviroment doesn't generate any noticeable ping etc, but these cheap routers can have that effect even on their own. Depending on model, the switch part is basically an cheap programmable router, so doing even LAN-LAN transfers can be slower than with switch, because those transfers needs also the attention of the routers only CPU. Now this is not the case on every router, but usually it is cheap router effect.

At home I have nowadays allways separate switch and router and modem. Here we have pretty LAN-LAN heavy traffic, and having router also as switch it sometimes affected mysteriously to internet traffic too when having healy LAN load, took some time to figure this one, but learned things on internet. Also in this case when something breaks, it is easy to replace and not everything is broken on the same time.

So, my recommendation would be to just get separate gigabit switch, even those cheap switches generally perform better than cheap "all-in-one" device.

[Blakhart]

What he said. A good switch will add hardly any latency to signals.