Ethernet vs WiFi

[Upatdawn]

im on BT full fibre 500mb/s

on ethernet my PC hits 500Mb/s-1.2Gb/s, its right by my Eero hub

on WiFi it struggles to hit 90 Mb/s

PC is 8 years old, on Win10

I believe the wifi adapter maybe restrictive, how do i check the adapter?

thanks

[Panamax]

Upatdawn said:

PC is 8 years old, on Win10

Buy a new PC.

[Upatdawn]

Manufacturer: Ralink Technology, Corp.
Description: 802.11n Wireless LAN Card
Driver version: 5.0.57.1

[Upatdawn]

Panamax said:

Buy a new PC.

cute

what with, buttons?

[LunarOne]

Upatdawn said:

Panamax said:

Buy a new PC.

cute

what with, buttons?

They're all touch-screen now!

[Panamax]

Upatdawn said:

Panamax said:

Buy a new PC.

cute: what with, buttons?

"The average lifespan of a personal computer (PC) is typically between 3 to 8 years, depending on whether it is a desktop or a laptop and how well it is maintained."

[Digger]

Why the question if I may ask?

If ethernet works fine I am assuming you are wishing to to relocate your PC further away from the router?

A half decent USB WiFi adapter should improve WiFi speeds.

[Spec V]

The 802.11n wi-fi module/card/whatever is probably restricting it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/52gm...

The poster recommending a whole new PC likes to waste money I guess.

Even something as cheap as this should improve it:
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/tplink-archer-t3...

Or to definitely sort it:
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/tplink-archer-tx...

Personally if I had a vacant PCI express slot on the motherboard I would go for something like: https://www.currys.co.uk/products/tplink-archer-tx...

…Purely for it being slightly better integrated into the PC vs. a USB dongle.

Edited by Spec V on Thursday 17th July 22:10

[Mr E]

Upatdawn said:

Manufacturer: Ralink Technology, Corp.
Description: 802.11n Wireless LAN Card
Driver version: 5.0.57.1

802.11n is 2009.
Depending on bandwidth and number of antennas almost certainly your bottleneck.

[megaphone]

802.11n (wifi 4) is capable of speeds 'up to' 600mbps. In real usage you won't get those speeds. However you should get better than the 90mbps your PC is achieving.

I suspect your PC is using 2.4ghz which is slow, you need to make sure it is connected to 5ghz if it can. You should be able to access the BT router and rename the 5Ghz SSID, then you can ensure the PC, and other devices, only connect to 5Ghz.

[LeoSayer]

Have you checked the WiFi speeds on any device other than the PC WiFi adapter?

[Griffith4ever]

PC wifi adapters often have an antenna far to close to the metal case / too low, and as yours is, out of date. A USB 3 wifi 5/6 dongle kept away from the case, and higher up, like on your desk will make the workd of difference.

Edit, nothing wrong with an 8 year old PC running Win 10. I eek out similar numbers with card upgrades.

[gangzoom]

Looks like 90 Mbs is likely the max speed from WiFi4 standards. Still faster than the connection I get from the router - 80 Mbs

https://www.speedguide.net/faq/what-is-the-actual-...

[wyson]

What Eero hub is it?

[drmotorsport]

So use the ethernet then, why use wifi unless you really have to. Wifi is just radio and subject to the same environmental 'reception' issues..

[98elise]

Panamax said:

Upatdawn said:

Panamax said:

Buy a new PC.

cute: what with, buttons?

"The average lifespan of a personal computer (PC) is typically between 3 to 8 years, depending on whether it is a desktop or a laptop and how well it is maintained."

I don't think we have a laptop under 8 years old in the house. They all work fine with zero maintenance.

[Batfoy]

Upatdawn said:

Panamax said:

Buy a new PC.

cute

what with, buttons?

You could try it and see, I just bought my new laptop with money. Seemed to go ok.

[Inbox]

There is a lot extra overhead on the Wi-Fi that reduces the user throughput compared to a cabled ethernet connection.

You see huge speeds marketed on Wi-Fi devices but this is the raw throughtput i.e. the max no. of bits that can be squeezed through the link under ideal radio conditions including the overhead.

As with these things speeds are always 'upto'. If you want stable fast speeds use a cable as there are too many variables with a radio link that affects throughput.

[Mr E]

98elise said:

I don't think we have a laptop under 8 years old in the house. They all work fine with zero maintenance.

Every desktop in the house is over 12 years old and running pretty well for what they need to do.

[Sixpackpert]

Win 10 support is stopping in October so might be worth an upgrade anyway.