wireless Optimizing a new Network Card

[MattShnoop]

(TL;DR is at the bottom)

Okay, so I just bought a new PCI Network card (The TP-LINK Archer T9E AC1900), and I'm trying to configure it to be as fast as possible. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

So, although it advertised speeds of 600Mbps on 2.4GHz and 1300Mbps on 5.0GHz networks (and I've never had an internet adapter lie on the box before, all of mine have been TP-Link in the past), I'm only getting 144.0Mbps on 2.4GHz, and, I get 351Mbps on 5.0GHz... sort of.

 

When I'm connecting to my 5.0GHz network, I have a very poor 'signal strength'. I get 2/5 "bars," but 4/5 on 2.4GHz. Also, while my 2.4GHz gets a constant 144.0Mbps, the 5.0GHz network has 351Mbps for the first little while, then dips to 263.0Mbps.

 

Using Ookla Speedtest, the results seem to tell me pretty much what I suspected:

 

5.0GHz:

 

2.4GHz:

 

[TL;DR] So, I guess my main, final questions are these:

1. How can I achieve the advertised 1300Mbps speeds advertised on the box?
   1. Does this have anything to do with IPv6/IPv4?
   2. Maybe my router? The router I have is the Linksys/Cisco EA6400.
2. Why, if my 5.0GHz network is faster, does it have less "bars," and a less constant signal strength? 
   1. Could this also have something to do with my router, or even IPv6/IPv4?

Any help would be appreciated, as I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to all the different things about networking, wifi, and internet in general. I'd love to learn a little while I'm at it, too!

[MattShnoop]

Just now, MattShnoop said:

>inb4 your internet sucks

It's the best I can get where I live, for now at least.

 

[Guest]

You live in Toronto what?

1 minute ago, MattShnoop said:

 

 

[MattShnoop]

Just now, dexxterlab97 said:

You live in Toronto what?

 

No, I live in Belleville... but Toronto is the closest server to where I live.

[LeapFrogMasterRace]

I think 5Ghz is always going to have worse range unless there is a lot of interference because it carries more data (higher frequency) it looses on range but still carries more think of it like FM and AM radio, 5Ghz has more frequency but less amplitude or something like that (haven't had a physics class in a while).

 

What data plan are you paying for? You won't be able to get the maximum rated 1300mbs unless you pay for it.

[MattShnoop]

3 hours ago, LeapFrogMasterRace said:

What data plan are you paying for? You won't be able to get the maximum rated 1300mbs unless you pay for it.

To be honest, buying the new card probably wasn't the best idea

Since we are paying about $100 for 500GB of 25.0Mbps/DL and 10.0Mbps/UL... And it's the best we can get. It's 4G LTE. 

 

I would still like to know if buying a better router would help, even though our ISP is shitty...

[Brightglaive]

Hey Matt,

 

1300Mbps would be great, but that is the top speed of the AP....not the client. The best on a single stream is around 667Mbps and you would need to have the Client adapter (which also has to support 802.11ac on USB 3.0, thunderbolt or PCIe so there are no bottlenecks on your computer) connect on 5GHz (assuming no interference from other 5GHz APs) on one stream (AKA channel), which then gets switched to another stream in the AP via 802.11ac wirelessly to another 802.11ac client adapter to a usb3.0/thunderbolt/PCIe to your target computer. Then you have to make sure you have storage on the client AND target computers that can pump out data (and write the data on the target storage) at that 667Mbps speed. 

 

Now 256-QAM compression, 1 Watt transmit power And MU-MIMO are supported on 802.11ac. But let's talk about wireless signals. 2.4GHz  at 100mW was originally used in 802.11b due to the ability of it to penetrate most materials....Just like microwaves. ( 2.5Ghz is what your microwave uses to cook your potato and popcorn....albeit at over a thousand watts down to hundreds of watts).  Now Metal and water will block signals. Other material (especially concrete and brick and stucco) tend to REEEEEEEAAAAAAALLLLLLLY block signals.  Even sheetrock and wood can cause a wireless signal to degrade. 5GHz is even MORE prone to being blocked due to it's higher power and shorter wavelength. SO the closer your device to your access point and the less walls between it and your computer, the better your signal.  Also if you're in the basement,  a high gain antenna(if you use one....or three) might not provide enough vertical coverage for you to take advantage of that additional signal strength  

 

Lastly, just because your wireless and your computer are ULTRA-fast doesn't mean your Internet WAN connection is similarly speedy. Most internet connections top out around 25-50 Mbps download speed. Add on to that the overhead of routing, firewalling, and intrusion prevention and you're lucky if you get as much as 25Mbps. Higher throughput may be possible, but not usually in an all-in-one router/ap/firewall/switch/ IPS device. The higher the performance of the single use device, the higher the cost.