wireless usb adapter (Linksys Valet AM10 300Mbps) - how good compared to wired?

[paradigmGT]

I currently have a 25 foot wired connection between my desktop and my router.

I am considering using a Linksys Valet AM10 300Mbps USB adapter.

I will be linking it to a Cisco E3000 (dual band, wireless G) router. Should I expect any real world speed loss? My current max download is 25mbit/s.

 

[paradigmGT]

I know wired is typically faster and more reliable, but with my specific case of a 25mbit isp, a dual band wireless N router, and about a 15ft length betweeen the PC and router, would the wireless adapter be able to net a constant 25mbit as well?

 

[Dstoop]

Looking at the devices you mentioned, you would get about the same real world performance with either from external sources. However, there's still a few important impacts to be aware of. *Internal* network speeds will be slower. If you're transferring files from one computer to another, or to and from a NAS, you will notice the considerable difference. Wireless G is specced for up to 54Mbps, but in reality averages around 22. Wireless N is between 54Mbps and 600Mbps, but rarely gets that high and from my experience is more sensitive to interference.

On that topic, you need to be aware of interference. The 2.4Ghz band is used by everything under the sun, and wireless internet is extremely vulnerable to interference.

Security is also an issue. A poorly secured wireless network is extremely easy to break into, letting someone sniff all of your account login info, your credit card info, and your racy IM chat sessions right out of the air with the click of a button.

As a general rule, I only use wireless at home if it's absolutely impractical to run a wire to the device. It's more convenient, but it's just nowhere near as rock solid as a good old fashioned hard wire. But by all means, if "good enough" is good enough for you, then it will work out just fine. Unless you're doing very high bandwidth activities such as streaming HD video and big downloads, you most likely won't notice a difference.

 

[Udgnim]

Cisco E3000 (dual band, wireless G)

you'll probably need to upgrade to a 802.11N router if you want to maintain your 25 Mbit download speed

you could possibly get close to 25 Mbit download speed with 802.11G but that will require consistent and optimal conditions which you shouldn't try to rely on with wireless

 

[JackMDS]

Rating of network hardware is given based on lab and chipset ratings. The Rated are just a general indicator to the real world functioning.

While in good Wired networks the actual Functioning is rather close to the ratings, with Wireless the ratings is No more than some sort of broad indication of chipset used, it has very little to do with the real world functioning.

Wireless hardware ratings does not take into consideration the specific computer that it is used On, the positioning and quality of the Antenna (most Entry level so called "Antenna" are just a name to a small piece of wire). It does take into consideration the user's specific environmental factors.

In other words One can make a lot of verbal demands is a Forum post but that does not affect objective outcome

Since you have an E3000 you cam maximize your outcome by using this.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833166046

Setting it to connect Dual via the 5 GHz transmitter.



😎

 

[wirednuts]

if youre only looking at internet speeds, the am10 is a great wireless adapter and you probably wont notice you ditched the wire.

but if you want to transer files between your computers on your internal network (like dstoop was explaining) then wire is your friend and that will never change.

i like the am10 adapter because it has its own usb memory built in, and you can store updated drivers on it for whatever os you want. basically, you never need an install cd, the drivers are built into the adapter. its a shame it doesnt do 5ghz, because it would be an ultimate solution. its 2.4ghz performance is still among the best there is for usb wifi keys.

 

[Engineer]

I have the AM10 and was using it for a time on one of my PC's that didn't have an Ethernet connection. It worked great....when it worked. Constantly disconnected for periods of up to 30 seconds. I finally gave it up and bought a refurbished router (Linksys E2000), flashed it with Tomato and turned it into an Ethernet bridge. No more issues.

I still love the AM10 for new installs for the same reason that wirednuts mentioned...it comes with its' own built in flash with drivers so it's easy to get up and running.

 

[wirednuts]

of the 5 am10's i had, one of them did disconnect fairly regularly. i think it was overheating... it had the thermal sponge inside like the others did, but for some reason it just ran a lot hotter then the other ones.

 

[Engineer]

of the 5 am10's i had, one of them did disconnect fairly regularly. i think it was overheating... it had the thermal sponge inside like the others did, but for some reason it just ran a lot hotter then the other ones.

I even tried sitting it on top of the PC case directly on the exhaust fan to cool it and it still disconnected. It was darn fast when it ran (most of the time). I just couldn't take 30 to 60 second disconnects several times a day.

 

[wirednuts]

well there was a reason they went to huge discounts and discontinued fairly quickly. i suspect manufacturing defects kept cropping up somewhere along the line, and it was just better to kill off the model and start again with something else.

from what ive seen though, if you get one that has problems youll notice it right away. if its fine the first couple days, it will stay that way.

 

[paradigmGT]

if youre only looking at internet speeds, the am10 is a great wireless adapter and you probably wont notice you ditched the wire.

but if you want to transer files between your computers on your internal network (like dstoop was explaining) then wire is your friend and that will never change.

i like the am10 adapter because it has its own usb memory built in, and you can store updated drivers on it for whatever os you want. basically, you never need an install cd, the drivers are built into the adapter. its a shame it doesnt do 5ghz, because it would be an ultimate solution. its 2.4ghz performance is still among the best there is for usb wifi keys.

The AM10 doesn't do 5ghz? That alone will make me stay away. 2.4ghz is WAY too crowded in the building I live in. If I was back at my parents neighborhood in the suburbs, I would try it.

The build quality and comments about it disconnecting frequently will keep me away.

Futhermore the issue with wireless security is something I never thought about after setting up simple security via windows... I really need to learn how to lock down a network better by way of real firewalls. I would ideally like to run another wireless router besides my PC and also plug my laser printer into it, such that the printer will be accessable wirelessly by other computers on the network.

 

[wirednuts]

yeah the 2.4ghz limit is a big reason i didnt buy a ton of them. just 5 🙂 but its not like the build quality is bad, they are nicely designed... and the issues certainly arent there with most of them.

if i were you, just think about getting another router and using that as a receiver. and for printing support, install tomato usb onto your e3000- it will work a treat.