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Will an AP 'grab' a stronger signal on the 5GHz band than a USB adapter?

C

cmay119

Junior Member
Hey all,

I currently am using a 1st gen Netgear WNDR3700 Router with a D-Link DWA-160 (Firmware version B w/ Ralink Chipset) Dual-Band USB adapter.

I'm only getting 2-3 bars of signal strength on the 5GHz band as the router is on the 1st floor & computer is on the 2nd. Signal has to move through a wall or two as the signal is passing diagonally.

If it does get a better signal, what would be some suggestions? I'm only going to be using this for the one computer & possibly a PS3.

Or do you guys recommend a different USB/PCI-Express adapter? 5GHz band is a must.

P.S. My major reason for wanting a stronger signal, is I'm not pinging very well in online gaming. I'm under the impression that a stronger signal would help alleviate that issue, but if that's a misnomer than I'll have to look for the culprit elsewhere (I know that a Hardwired connection "should" always ping better than a wireless, but this is coming to the point of unplayability with multiple games and multiple servers. So I've concluded the ping issue is local to me).

Thanks for any help all. 🙂

EDIT: Sorry forgot to mention, moving the router is a not an option, as where it's located is central and there are other users in the house.

ISP is Comcast. 20 down / 2 up
 
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5GHz doesn't go through wood and concrete / drywall as well as 2.4ghz. Also the antennas on my wireless routers are optimized in a donut shape around the AP. You might be to far below to get a "good" signal depending on how tight the throw is. (IE they are rarely optimized for up and down)
 
Yes,

I'm aware of the limitations of the 5GHz band over 2.4GHz, and it makes me sad 🙁. Just wondering if an AP will be able to pull more from the wireless signal than my current USB adapter.

The signal has to travel a total of about 20 feet, but the walls/flooring is obviously a deterrent. Unfortunately, both the router and the adapter, don't have external antennas. So I can't upgrade those with higher gain ones.

I'd rather not use 2.4GHz as we have a lot of interference on that band in the home.

Thanks for the help. 🙂
 
Thank you for the response, Jack. Any programs out there that will track SNR on the 5GHz band? Also, do you happen to have a recommendation for a Wireless AP. Should I go with Netgear for better compatibility?
 
AP's tend to have better antennas so it might grab the signal better. They are a bit easier to move around for a better signal.
 
Hi
Measuring SNR with regular End-user Wireless is tricky since the Wireless cards do not provide the hardware output that is needed for such computation.

Using this free program as good as it gets.

http://majorgeeks.com/WirelessNetView_d6102.html

I am not personally familiar with the WNDR3700.

If it can not do Client Bridge as is (it has to be clean Client bridge and Not part of WDS (repeater since WDS cuts the bandwidth). it can be flashed with DD-WRT firmware.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Netgear_WNDR3700

Wireless Bridge, http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Client_Bridged
------------------------

A less expensive Router (like the Linksys 410N) might work to. However, with all the trepidation of the 802.11n "fiasco", your are probably better off with the same type of hardware.


😎
 
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