2.4ghz and 5ghz the same network?

[satanisahippy]

Hi all, dumb question but I cant seem to find an answer.
Say I have an modem that does both 2.4ghz and 5ghz.
I have a pc connected through Ethernet to router, then wireless to a 5ghz pc and a 2.4ghz ps3.
I have media files on pc.
Will it matter if i connect via 2.4ghz or 5ghz to access the files as from what i have seen it creates 2 separate networks.
Im not sure how to word this correctly without it sounding jumbled but I hope someone can help.

Thanks peeps

 

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, satanisahippy said:

 

network = a bunch of connected devices

2.4ghz/5ghz = a way to connect into the network

 

you're just using different way to connect into the network, i dont see whats the difference

 

but 5ghz will be able to transfer files at a faster rate, so theres that

[Donut417]

Keep in mind the PS3 is Wireless G. So it will only transfer stuff at 54Mbps, which also means it will drag you 2.4Ghz network down to 54Mbps. But yeah it doesnt matter. 

[skywake]

2 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Keep in mind the PS3 is Wireless G. So it will only transfer stuff at 54Mbps, which also means it will drag you 2.4Ghz network down to 54Mbps. But yeah it doesnt matter. 

Only if it's active and even then not exactly. People always use road analogies for networking stuff but in this particular case that's not helpful. Because you think of a "54g" car (~20Mbps) slowing down a "300n" car (~75Mbps) and assume everything is now running at the slower speed. Like a traffic jam. It's not quite like that.

 

In reality it's a bit more like a relay with people of different levels of skill. If you had a team that was half 5 year olds and half Olympic sprinters their final time would be faster than a group of just 5 year olds. That's kinda how it works with WiFi. It's a shared resource but it's not like a traffic jam. The different active devices share time on the access point.

[TechFnatic]

Think of it this way, there is a lot more to it but here is the simple run down when it comes to 2.4 and 5ghz networks.

2.4ghz  = slightly slower than 5ghz, mainly because it is more prone to interference, larger range than a 5ghz network and can penetrate walls better than 5ghz networks frequency.

5ghz = Faster than the 2.4ghz frequency and less prone to interference but cannot penetrate walls as easily therefore has a much smaller range than the 2.4ghz frequency.

 

So to answer your question, 5ghz is definitely faster for file sharing / access but it depends how close you are to the router or AP.

[satanisahippy]

Thankyou all for all the help  

[Mark77]

If you set the SSIDs for both to be the same, and the APs act as a bridge to a common Ethernet broadcast domain (or VLAN), you can set up your clients to "prefer" the 5GHz, but switch over to 2.4Ghz when not in range.  Seamlessly.