Home Networking Advice - Wired & Wireless

[aoommen]

Hi,

Need help with some home networking connection speed problems, got a few questions, which I'm going to describe in as much detail as possible below!

I just finished my new system build and was planning on using a wireless adapter for my internet connection, I first tried with a PCI e adapter - ASUS PCIe N-13, which did work right out of the box and the system connected, however connection was patchy at best and the speeds were horrible! See speedtest.net results here - PCIe N-13 results.

So i returned that thinking that it was the card's problem and got a Rosewill USB adapter -mainly for the extendable base (which I thought would help position the adapter a little higher and slightly closer to the router located a level above the basement!). This seemed like it was working until I tested the speed again it proved that nothing has changed - see speedtest.net reults here -Rosewill USB adapter results

What I don't understand is that my gateway laptop uses the same wireless network, from the same desk at which the desktop is and gets considerably great speeds (compared to the two above) - Gateway Laptop Wireless Results , so does all my Home Entertainment systems, ROKU, PS3, XBox Kinect,TV etc , I know this because I stream a lot of HD movies from Netflix, Hulu and Amazon VOD, and they all have great quality!(all of this equipment is located in the basement hardly a few feet away from the desktop and connected wireless to the same router) - how is that possible? Is it a problem with the adapters I used then or something wrong with my router itself!

What blew me away was when i connected the laptop to the modem using a Ethernet cable (wired connection) - see speedtest.net results here - Wired Connection Results. This was awesome compared to the wireless speeds, is that much of an improvement possible when you switch from wireless to wired? I knew it would be faster but this was close to 10x the best speed I got from the laptop using wireless.

So i got all excited and tried to relocate the modem to the basement where the desktop is and there was a coaxial cable lying there unused, so I was quite sure that I can connect the modem to that but after the hookup was done, it did not work, only the power light and one other light (DP) was blinking (not stable)! So I called my provider (Comcast) and they said they will send someone to look at it, but that would cost me, so I am trying to do some trouble shooting myself (although I have scheduled a tech visit next week, I'm planning to cancel it, if I can figure a solution out before they get here), any help on answering the questions below would be greatly appreciated:

1) Can I do something to make my desktop wireless connection faster (at least within comparable range to the wired connection)?

2) Is there something wrong with my Router, I use a Netgear Rangemax Wireless-N, router?

3) How can I relocate a modem to the new location, without calling and paying the Comcast tech guys, would I have to do something at the junction box outside, I'm not very familiar with the wiring/cabling, so I don't if I'll be able to understand what I see when i open it up, but i'm willing to try?

4) I also have a phone line going to the Modem (as I have Comcast voice and internet), how can I relocate that or can i just connect that directly to the base of the phone rather than the modem?

That's it for now guys! Sorry about the long post, but thought I'll provide as much info as I can.

Any help (pronto) is appreciated, ? Please include links if any in your replies to articles or products!

Thanks again!

 

[Fardringle]

1) Even in absolutely perfect conditions, wireless will always be significantly slower than a wired connection. Getting 1/10th of wired speed in an average home environment is not at all uncommon and the difference will be much larger if the wired connection is gigabit instead of 100mbps...

2) Possibly, but see 1. You can try changing the wireless channel on the router (try channels 1, 6 and 11) to see if the situation improves.

3) Depends. How is it set up currently? If the coax cable from the cable box is connected to a splitter/patch panel outside the house, just connect the new/longer cable to that connection and run it to the new location where you want to put the modem. Note that splitters and poor quality cables can have a negative effect on a cable modem connection (possibly making it unusable in some cases).

4) Your voice line is most likely Voice-Over-IP, meaning the phone actually goes over the internet instead of a regular phone line. If this is the case, the phone line has to be attached to the modem in order to get a signal.

 

[aoommen]

Thanks for the quick reply! Appreciate it!

Would a Powerline adapter (Home plug adapter) solve my dilemma and help me connect the desktop using a wired connection (and get greater connection speeds) and not have to relocate anything?

Thanks,
Abhi

 

[Mediaga]

Hi,

What I don't understand is that my gateway laptop uses the same wireless network, from the same desk at which the desktop is and gets considerably great speeds (compared to the two above) - Gateway Laptop Wireless Results , so does all my Home Entertainment systems, ROKU, PS3, XBox Kinect,TV etc , I know this because I stream a lot of HD movies from Netflix, Hulu and Amazon VOD, and they all have great quality!(all of this equipment is located in the basement hardly a few feet away from the desktop and connected wireless to the same router) - how is that possible? Is it a problem with the adapters I used then or something wrong with my router itself!

If all other machines/devices are working properly, the new build is the likely suspect. I would check the network settings, configuration, latest drivers for the NIC, etc.

That said, given that this is a dekstop, why not run a cat5 cable to the router? The desktop isn't going anywhere, and as you've seen, wired speeds and stability are much greater than wireless.

 

[FoxFifth]

1) Even in absolutely perfect conditions, wireless will always be significantly slower than a wired connection. ...

That doesn't seem to apply to me. I have Comcast ("CHSI Performance (12mbps+powerboost Speeds Up To 15mbps") and a Linksys WRT54GL router. I routinely have download speeds in the area of 21 Mbps (as measured by Speedtest.net) and when comparing wired to wireless the difference is less than 1 Mbps and hard to really compare as it is no more than small differences between multiple consecutive tests done with either wired or wireless connections.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have 25/25 FIOS, which is actually 30/25 due to "fluff" from having a video package deal.

I get 30/25 from the wired PC, and I get 30/18 from the PCs in the other room connected over a wireless N WDS link (20Mhz single channel 2.4Ghz N150).