Wireless speed question

[gplracer]

I have a Comcast connection. I did a speed test with the lan cable and got 115mps. I then did it with my wireless card which is think is a N card and got 44mps. My router is a Netgear R7000. My wireless computer is only 8 feet from the router. Would I need an ac wireless adapter to get the same speed as the lan cable?

 

[MtnMan]

Keep in mind there is a lot of 'protocol overhead' with WiFi, plus the latency inherent with the protocol.

 

[Puffnstuff]

AC does make the best use of available bandwidth and moving to one made a huge difference with my own laptop but YMMV. I'd research the white list for your pc and see what it supports then go from there.

 

[razel]

Your are 8 feet away and are getting 44? You more likely mean 54 which is the max speed of wireless G. Also if you have any old B or G wireless devices connected to your 2.4G band, that can drag it down to wireless G speeds.

Luckily the Netgear R7000 is a killer router. Ensure that it is connected to it's 5Ghz radio and not the 2.4Ghz. Of course you may come to find out that your wireless card is G 2.4G only. If so, you still maybe able to upgrade the WiFi card. MAYBE.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Are you using 20 or 40mhz wide channels? Do you have neighbors close by that also have wifi? Have you tried using 5ghz if available?

 

[Concillian]

wireless actual download throughput are usually somewhere around 1/3rd rated speeds. 44mbit sounds reasonable for 802.11n 1x1 20mhz that most N routers would be setup for as default.

http://www.speedguide.net/faq/what-is-the-actual-real-life-speed-of-wireless-374

Talks about wireless speeds in real life. There's wireless overhead and security overhead and always some loss even when you're close to the radio. When doing a speedtest, approx 1/3rd of the "rating" is expected. Since you mentioned an N card, getting 44mbit from a 150mbit theoretical is within expectation.

Yes, you need an AC to get 100+ mbps. Technically 100+mbps is possible with N hardware, but your current N card probably would need replaced with a more capable N card. If you're going to replace hardware it makes no sense NOT to just go straight to AC, since you have a 3x3 AC router already. 1x1 AC should be enough (433mbps theoretical,) but 2x2 cards are pretty common and not much more expensive. These will likely be marketing labeled as ac1200 or ac1300 or 867mbps (5GHz.) 3x3 cards are available, but much more expensive and overkill.

 

[Ichinisan]

Sounds like the max for a 1x1 2.4GHz antenna configuration. Connect to the 5GHz network if your device supports that one.

 

[smitbret]

When I had my wireless bridge up an running between floors (8 feet as the crow flies) my AC connection (AC1300) tested out about 450Mbps. In real world application you'll probably get about 1/3rd of the rated speed in the best situations.

 

[RudyND]

I have an AC1900 router and only 1 wall between it and my PC. DL speeds are 30mpbs on wireless and 120+ mbps wired.

 

[Ichinisan]

I have an AC1900 router and only 1 wall between it and my PC. DL speeds are 30mpbs on wireless and 120+ mbps wired.

What's your client device?

Is it connected to the 2.4GHz SSID or the 5GHz SSID?

 

[Makaveli]

I'm on a R7000 using AsusWRT firmware on a 100/10 Cable connection

This is the score from my Sony Vaio which is a Wireless N client.

Its identical to my wired scores!

Your issue is not about needing AC something in your configuration is not set up properly or you are connected to the wrong band.

 

[smitbret]

I'm on a R7000 using AsusWRT firmware on a 100/10 Cable connection

This is the score from my Sony Vaio which is a Wireless N client.

Its identical to my wired scores!

Your issue is not about needing AC something in your configuration is not set up properly or you are connected to the wrong band.

That is a great score. However, I don't think it's typical. It might be nice to shoot for a connection that fast but there are so many other things that factor into it (interference, congestion, attenutation) that I don't think speed like that should ever be expected on a wireless n connection. Taking a look at this link on some wireless router tests:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32325-ac1900-router-wireless-retest

With my Asus RT-AC68U in my living room about 10 feet from my laptop (n300 adapter) and with the channel specifically picked for the least interference, the best I ever get is in the 75-85Mbps range.

There's just so many variables that it's usually better to set reasonable expectations instead of shooting for pie in the sky with wireless.

 

[gplracer]

Still no faster than 40-44 although my iPhone 6 gets 118 from the sale location. I do have a wireless N card in the computer. The computer is an I5 cpu with 8 gigs of ram and an SSD.

 

[Ichinisan]

Still no faster than 40-44 although my iPhone 6 gets 118 from the sa[m]e location. I do have a wireless N card in the computer. The computer is an I5 cpu with 8 gigs of ram and an SSD.

Some N adapters are single-stream 2.4GHz and have no 5GHz support. For those, that's the best speed you'll probably ever see.

Are you connected to the 5GHz network?

 

[gplracer]

Some N adapters are single-stream 2.4GHz and have no 5GHz support. For those, that's the best speed you'll probably ever see.

Are you connected to the 5GHz network?

You may be correct. It does not see the 5GHZ part of my network.

 

[therealnickdanger]

If it's any consolation, you only need 25Mbps to watch 4K Netflix...