Slow 802.11n speeds?

J

jamesrb

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 29, 2004
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I have an 802.11n network running at 5ghz (WPA2, AES). I have a desktop connected to the network using a wireless gaming adapter. The gaming adapter only has a 100Mbps port, so I don't expect to get the full bandwidth of 802.11n from it but would expect to get close to the 100Mbps limit.

When I plug a laptop into the router, I measure 44Mbps which is nowhere near the limits of the gaming adapter. I also have an 802.11g network on the same router. When doing the same transfer test with the laptop on the 802.11g network instead of a wired connection, it gets around 23Mbps.

I bought a PCMCIA card and put that in the laptop to speed up the transfer speeds. With the laptop on the 802.11n network, it gets the same 23Mbps. The speed does not change, regardless of how close I move to the router.

Any help? I'd like to get something faster than 23Mbps going here between the two wireless clients. Is this what real world wireless-N is like? I expected some type of increase by moving the laptop from G to N.


EDIT: I also should mention that the 44Mbps and 23Mbps speeds I mentioned are if I am placing a file from the laptop onto the desktop. If I am copying a file to the laptop, these speeds are basically cut in half.
 
Last edited:
Router: Linksys WRT600N
Gaming Adapter: Linksys WGA600N
PCMCIA Adapter: Linksys WPC600N
 
If you have a G device on an N device, everything will run slower.

Best practice is not to "upgrade" to N but to "add" in.
IE, keep two APs. One for G clients and one for N clients. This way all of the N clients run at their fastest speed.

Just remember also, theoretical limits. TCP/IP has overhead, and wireless has overhead. On wireless devices, cut the speed in half.
So your G device getting only 24Mbps is normal. And 45Mbps is normal as well on a 100mbps network. HOWEVER I'm betting your internet pipe is nowhere near that, so it really won't matter unless you're doing local LAN transfers.

I think the issue with your N gaming adapter is that you've also got G clients on it. Plug your G AP back in, and keep your G clients on that- Let your N gaming adapter sit alone on the N network and I'd bet your speeds would improve.
 
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