Real world speed of 802.11ac?

[FreshGuy6204]

I'm a newcomer to the world of 802.11ac wifi, previously I was using a OpenWRT 802.11n router but it only supports 2.4G, so eventually I had to change it.

 

Now, my new router is a TP-LINK one, and it advertises a 1750 mbps speed. I know that kind of speed is not possible, as my laptops are reporting 866.7 mbps, but it's still not even close. Running an IPERF test, from one laptop to another, yields about 90 mbps and 140 mbps, I have no idea why I'm having different speed from different sides but that's not the point, the point is even 2x the aforementioned speed, the total bandwidth is 280 mbps max, still way slower than 866.7 mbps!

 

I tried everything, I ensured the firmware of the router is the latest, I changed the adaptor settings according to many sources from the Internet, and updated all relevant drivers, this has minimal effect. What else might be the problem? Please educate me on this... I'm considering returning the router to be honest...

 

Thanks a lot.

[DailyProcrastinator]

How are you testing your internet speed?

[aaroncarson]

Just now, JM21 said:

How are you testing your internet speed?

OP said they're using IPERF.

 

Have you tried doing a test from one laptop to a gigabit Ethernet connected PC? 

[FreshGuy6204]

1 minute ago, JM21 said:

How are you testing your internet speed?

Not internet speed, it's just local file transfer, using IPERF tool.

[sazrocks]

1750 is the total throughput of the entire router, not one device. 866Mbps sounds about right. Are you sure your laptop's storage drives can run that fast?

[FreshGuy6204]

Just now, caraar12244 said:

OP said they're using IPERF.

 

Have you tried doing a test from one laptop to a gigabit Ethernet connected PC? 

I can't... that router has only one ethernet WAN port

[FreshGuy6204]

Just now, sazrocks said:

1750 is the total throughput of the entire router, not one device. 866Mbps sounds about right. Are you sure your laptop's storage drives can run that fast?

I believe IPERF test does not use the hard drive, it just transfers random generated data.

[dizmo]

Are you in the same room as the router?

[DailyProcrastinator]

Just now, FreshGuy6204 said:

Not internet speed, it's just local file transfer, using IPERF tool.

Sorry my bad I miss read, but router bandwidth is going to be different than the actual capabilities of your computer so there is no way you'd get 1750mbps, even 866mbps is high so I would not be worried.

[aaroncarson]

Just now, FreshGuy6204 said:

I can't... that router has only one ethernet WAN port

is it not connected back to a main router as an access point if it only has a WAN port?

[mariushm]

That 1750 mbps is the total through both 5ghz and 2.4 ghz.  For just 5 Ghz you may get much less maximum speed. For example, TP-Link Archer C7 advertises 1750 mbps but it's 450 mbps on 2.4 Ghz and 1300 mbps on 5 ghz.

Then while the router can do up to 1300 mbps, that doesn't mean your wireless card can achieve that, it depends on the number of antennas / channels / whatever - your wireless card may do only up to 866 mbps or 433 mbps. Just check the network connection applet to see at what speed it connects.

 

Then keep in mind those numbers are total download + upload ... your 866 mbps is 433 mbps down and 433 mbps upload .. and so on..

[aaroncarson]

Also, the 1750Mbps claimed is a combination of the 450Mbps from the 2.4GHz and the 1300Mbps from the 5GHz frequencies.

[flibberdipper]

1 minute ago, mariushm said:

That 1750 mbps is the total through both 5ghz and 2.4 ghz.  For just 5 Ghz you may get much less maximum speed. For example, TP-Link Archer C7 advertises 1750 mbps but it's 450 mbps on 2.4 Ghz and 1300 mbps on 5 ghz.

Then while the router can do up to 1300 mbps, that doesn't mean your wireless card can achieve that, it depends on the number of antennas / channels / whatever - your wireless card may do only up to 866 mbps or 433 mbps. Just check the network connection applet to see at what speed it connects.

 

Then keep in mind those numbers are total download + upload ... your 866 mbps is 433 mbps down and 433 mbps upload .. and so on..

This, plus the fact that there will pretty much always be overhead. Couple that with 5GHz not being able to penetrate objects as well (dunno where you are in relation with the router, so it could be a valid reason), and those speeds are probably as good as it's gonna get.

[FreshGuy6204]

3 minutes ago, caraar12244 said:

is it not connected back to a main router as an access point if it only has a WAN port?

I don't know whether this would work... but here's a picture of said router

[aaroncarson]

Just now, FreshGuy6204 said:

I don't know whether this would work... but here's a picture of said router

oh blimey, you've managed to buy the one router that exists to avoid the rest of your testing

[FreshGuy6204]

1 minute ago, tmcclelland455 said:

This, plus the fact that there will pretty much always be overhead. Couple that with 5GHz not being able to penetrate objects as well (dunno where you are in relation with the router, so it could be a valid reason), and those speeds are probably as good as it's gonna get.

Yeah but someone told me if I use WPA2-AES then there's no performance overhead, I don't know whether that's true though.

 

Also, as I said in the original post, I'm not even having 433 mbps!

[FreshGuy6204]

1 minute ago, caraar12244 said:

oh blimey, you've managed to buy the one router that exists to avoid the rest of your testing

What? Why?! It says 'hot sale' xD.

[minervx]

real world speed: as fast as your ISP dictates

[aaroncarson]

Just now, FreshGuy6204 said:

What? Why?! It says 'hot sale' xD.

Wi-Fi between two devices will be slower as the router is having to receive and broadcast simultaneously, thus taking up bandwidth, which would explain the 180Mbps being semi near to half of 433Mbps. And yeah, 'hot sale' because it has no bloody ethernet ;D

[flibberdipper]

7 minutes ago, FreshGuy6204 said:

Yeah but someone told me if I use WPA2-AES then there's no performance overhead, I don't know whether that's true though.

 

Also, as I said in the original post, I'm not even having 433 mbps!

Given that that's just a security protocol, I'm highly doubting the validity of their claim, especially considering that my old router performs the exact same over unsecure, WPA, and WPA2-AES.

 

12 minutes ago, FreshGuy6204 said:

I don't know whether this would work... but here's a picture of said router

And there's your problem. Those little guys are generally not as good as they claim to be.

[mariushm]

5 minutes ago, FreshGuy6204 said:

Yeah but someone told me if I use WPA2-AES then there's no performance overhead, I don't know whether that's true though.

 

Also, as I said in the original post, I'm not even having 433 mbps!

wpa2 is just a technique of encryption of data that goes through the air so other people in theory can't see what you're downloading or uploading and can't connect to your network/nternet without a password.

Guy was correct, having that encryption enabled won't slow down transfer speeds but really it's sort of unrelated to "performance overhead" and all cards and routers on the market aren't slowed down by this encryption

 

Like I explained above both your ntwork card AND the router must be able to achieve high speeds - if your network card has only one antenna and can transfer with maximum 433 mbps, then it makes no difference that the router may be capable of up to 1300 mbps.

And again, unlike with wired connections , these numbers mean download AND upload together. If your network card connects to router at 433 mbps , then you'll have max 215 mbps download and max 215 mbps upload.

These numbers are also maximum theoretical numbers ... think of it like having the antenna of your network card 1cm away from the antennas of your router.

The further you are and the more obstacles, you'll get less actual transfer speed than the connection speed

[FreshGuy6204]

14 minutes ago, mariushm said:

wpa2 is just a technique of encryption of data that goes through the air so other people in theory can't see what you're downloading or uploading and can't connect to your network/nternet without a password.

Guy was correct, having that encryption enabled won't slow down transfer speeds but really it's sort of unrelated to "performance overhead" and all cards and routers on the market aren't slowed down by this encryption

 

Like I explained above both your ntwork card AND the router must be able to achieve high speeds - if your network card has only one antenna and can transfer with maximum 433 mbps, then it makes no difference that the router may be capable of up to 1300 mbps.

And again, unlike with wired connections , these numbers mean download AND upload together. If your network card connects to router at 433 mbps , then you'll have max 215 mbps download and max 215 mbps upload.

These numbers are also maximum theoretical numbers ... think of it like having the antenna of your network card 1cm away from the antennas of your router.

The further you are and the more obstacles, you'll get less actual transfer speed than the connection speed

Thanks for the long reply... One of my laptop is using Intel AC8260 chip and I'm sure both antennas are plugged in, as in the operating system the connection speed shows as 866.7 mbps.

I've no idea what wifi chip the other one's using, but since it also shows 866.7 mbps, I believe it's the same 2x2 wifi.

During the test, both the laptop is within 1 metre from the router, and they are separated by about 50cm, so distance shouldn't have been the problem.

And since there's not much interference in 5GHz, we're back to square one again...