Connection on Laptop 20Mbps, on Brand New Dekstop: 2Mbps...?

[chazdraves]

Greetings, all!

I recently assembled a brand-new desktop rig for the first time in years. Unfortunately, it hasn't been without it's share of headaches.

Specifically:

Asus M4 AM3 Board
AMD Phenom II 965
8GB DDR3 1600
Corsair 650W PSU
MSI TWIN FROZR 560Ti
And most relevant, ASUS PCE-N13 Network Adapter connected to Motorola Surfboard SBG901 Modem/WiFi Router

Now the problem...

I have three computers in my house. My wife's old laptop, my hunk-of-junk, $400 laptop from Wal-Mart, and my brand-new, high-end, desktop computer. We presently pay for a 12Mbps connection through Charter; however, both my wife's 4-year-old laptop and the cheap-as-dirt laptop of mine connect at 19-22Mbps any day of the week. My brand-new rig, on the other hand, connects anywhere from 2-6Mbps on average to the occasional high of 10Mbps...

I've got the drivers, I've got no conflicts, I've disabled PCI Spread Spectrum and Power Saving options in Windows. Now, I do have one other problem with this system which is my 560Ti. I've been having frequent lockups since the first day I assembled this computer which no one has been able to help me resolve. I'm not implying the two issues are related, but I'm mentioning them both as both devices are PCI-e and positioned right next to each other on the motherboard.

Anyone? I want to say something is defective and needs to be sent back, but I really can't put my finger on what.

- Chaz

 

[Bryf50]

Your problem is most likely just with wi-fi. It can be very inconsistent and if your desktop is in a location with more obstacles between it and the router performance is going to suffer. You can try to reposition the router or the antenna on the network card, but as always the best bet for maximum throughput is a wire.

EDIT: It seems that surfboard modem/router is only 802.11g. If possible get yourself an N access point and you have the potential for faster speeds.

 

[chazdraves]

Your problem is most likely just with wi-fi. It can be very inconsistent and if your desktop is in a location with more obstacles between it and the router performance is going to suffer. You can try to reposition the router or the antenna on the network card, but as always the best bet for maximum throughput is a wire.

EDIT: It seems that surfboard modem/router is only 802.11g. If possible get yourself an N access point and you have the potential for faster speeds.

I appreciate your opinion but whole-heartedly disagree.

The Surfboard modem is brand new to us and works flawlessly on every other device I've ever tested it with. I see no need to move to N yet as 802.11g has worked perfectly and continues to work perfectly on every computer sans my brand-new rig. Moreover, I can go out in the yard and still connect at 18Mbps on either laptop whilst my computer is presently 15 feet from the router with no obstructions and I'm showing full signal strength in both Linux and Windows.

Now, the problem persists in both Linux and Windows, so I cry hardware fault. Motherboard? GPU/Network Card? It seems odd that two PCI-e devices are having issues...

- Chaz

 

[imagoon]

I appreciate your opinion but whole-heartedly disagree.

The Surfboard modem is brand new to us and works flawlessly on every other device I've ever tested it with. I see no need to move to N yet as 802.11g has worked perfectly and continues to work perfectly on every computer sans my brand-new rig. Moreover, I can go out in the yard and still connect at 18Mbps on either laptop whilst my computer is presently 15 feet from the router with no obstructions and I'm showing full signal strength in both Linux and Windows.

Now, the problem persists in both Linux and Windows, so I cry hardware fault. Motherboard? GPU/Network Card? It seems odd that two PCI-e devices are having issues...

- Chaz

I would also guess wireless. PCI (e) wireless adapters tend to have the worst signal characteristics because they have a solid steel panel acting as a reflector to 180degrees of the antenna field. And they tend to be crammed up against a wall, and low to the floor. Signal weakens as you go above and below the routers height. The adapter could also be bad.

 

[spidey07]

Is the antenna attached?

 

[chazdraves]

Both antennas attached, full signal strength, sitting atop a table with clear view of the router 15 feet away, latest drivers installed though it affects Linux as well.

Maybe I just got a bum one and should send it back? Eh, I'll fiddle with it some more.

Regards,
- Chaz

 

[Joseph F]

Both antennas attached, full signal strength, sitting atop a table with clear view of the router 15 feet away, latest drivers installed though it affects Linux as well.

Maybe I just got a bum one and should send it back? Eh, I'll fiddle with it some more.

Regards,
- Chaz

There's this amazing new technology called an "ethernet cable" that will solve all of you problems! While I know that this doesn't solve your wifi issue, I just can't seem to come up with a reason as to why you wouldn't just use a wired connection when the router is only 15 feet away.

 

[degibson]

Wire it up.

 

[Geofram]

Wire it up.

I'd agree with this, for one reason: it completely isolates the problem being your wireless NIC if the speed jumps to where it should be.

It's very possible you just have a crappy card in your desktop. Always good to be able to prove that's the case. So even if you just temporarily wire it, wire it up and run the speed test.

 

[Emulex]

use the WUSB600N RALINK 2t2r i paid $15 for mine. does 300mbps all day long on 2.4 and depending on congestion pulls 14-16.5MB/s doing a windows to windows smb copy - yes 140-165megabits which is quite hard to do here where there are 20 other AP's in list all over the channels zones.

great little usb number plus it comes with a long cable and extension base so you can point it (IMPORTANT!!)

 

[Modelworks]

Solve the problem with the lockups first.
Wifi being RF is susceptible to noise generated from other devices. If the switching supply on the PSU or the motherboard, video card, is faulty and generating RF it can seriously degrade wifi. Move all cordless phone bases away from the pc too.

You may have a bad wifi card. wifi cards have output stages that connect to the antennas and those can fail just like anything electronic. The card may register fine in the pc but if the output amp isn't working the card will not work well.

 

[chazdraves]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I've got a new GPU coming mid-week that will help me narrow things down. I'll get it fixed one way or another.

Regards,
- Chaz

 

[JackMDS]

Most important is what do you infer the "Speeds" from?