Wireless Network Speed Query

[Les]

Hi

My Vortex, 64bit Win 7, came with a Realtek RTL8191SE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC.

I have just bought a Netgear N300 Wireless Dual Band ADSL2+ Modem Router and was told it would provide a 300Mbps connection using 5GHz.

I have tried everything I can to get anything above a 54Mbps but nothing seems to induce a higher speed. I am trying to get a good streaming speed as the 54Mbps seems to cause stuttering/buffering of video streams.

I am not very knowledgeable in matters network, so I am not sure what else I can try. The Netgear settings show 2 'SSD items' one (11n) at the higher and the other (11g) at the lower speed. Only the lower is ever listed in windows network available connections.

First off: is the network card I mentioned above, suitable for dual band use? I can't determine this.

I have tried some hints found on the NetGear forum regarding security settings which some say allowed the higher speeds, but nothing helped there.

Anyone suggest anything I could try?

[MrShteeeve]

if you have anything connected to the router using 802.11G the router will only output 802.11G, remove the offending device and you will notice speed increases :)

[Lum]

Is it possible that the Netgear is running 11g on the 2.4GHz band and 11n on the 5GHz band? It is described as "dual band" after all.

If so then you are out of luck as the RTL8191SE does not support the 5GHz band.

See if you can configure the Netgear to run 11n on 2.4GHz instead. If it wont do this you will need to either replace your router or your wireless card, or get a cheap 2.4GHz 11n access point to plug into your existing router.

[gavcor]

Im curious as to your difficulties streaming on a 54Mg wireless connection. Is there anything between the router and computer which could possible cause interruption in your wireless signal. I know it sounds strange but lots of things cause issues with the wireless signal anything from your microwave to certain Logitech speakers. I stream constantly on under a 54Mg wireless signal and never experience any buffering issues? Sorry if a little off the main question just curious.

[Les]

Hi

OK, based on my limited understanding, I took a chance and tried some of the other router configuration settings.

I tried one of the other 'modes' - specifically, 'Up to 300Mbps at 2.4GHz', and I can get a 72Mbps wireless connection. Playing around with the mode also gave problems as the router would keep giving an authentication error with 'another admin is logged in'. Rebooting the laptop did overcome that nut there must be a better way. Anyway, this was the best mode I could get working as anything faster seems to only be at 5GHz. I *think* thats what you meant Lum - thanks.

gavcor: I don't have anything that should cause interference that I know of. I haven't had interference problems in the past either. The buffering might improve after having found I could get the 72Mbps connection I mentioned above. I can't try it at the moment as I am only on a 3Gb ISP monthly quota and am near the limit. (I get free bandwidth after midnight)

Thanks all for the replies.

[Lum]

The "another admin is logged in" error is nothing to do with what speed settings you have set. The router thinks you are also logged in from another PC. Possibly because you connected from a "new" wireless network. Basically it's just being dumb. Once you've got it all set up, save the configuration and reboot both laptop and router and you should never have to worry about that error again.

If you're getting 72Mbps then congratulations you are now using 802.11n. 300Mbps is the theoretical maximum speed but you will never actually achieve it unless you hold your laptop 1 inch away from your router while sacrificing a chicken to the router demons.

While you probably already know this, in which case I apologise, can I also point out that you should set the router to use WPA2 authentication with a good strong password, and change the administrator password on the router, so that you don't get someone hijacking your network and using it for illegal activity which will later be blamed on you.

[Les]

Hi

Thanks Lum. I do have WPA2 in use with a *very strong* password.

The 72Mbps is an improvement from 54Mbps, and should suffice with the streaming from my laptop.