A little help with Ethernet speeds?

[IvoryWolf]

So recently I got a NETGEAR Wireless Router (N600 Dual Band Gigabit (WNDR3700)) to use with my Gigabit port. The problem is that when I hook my Desktop (via Ethernet) to the router my mbps caps at 300mpbs -ish. Not bad, but when I have a direct line to the wall I'm going at 980mpbs -ish. Any fix for this? Do I need to do something?

All Ethernet cables are Cat5E for the record. The router says it supports Gigabit Ethernet so I'm not sure what the problem is...

EDIT: To be more specific I live in a dorm that has an ethernet port in each room, with mine happening to have a gigabit capable port (due to a specific request). It's safe to assume my source is fiber.

Using Speedtest, I can't pass 300mpbs up/down while connected to the router, but if I just do a direct connection to my ethernet port in the wall I hit 980+ mpbs up/down everytime.

 

[boosted1g]

you said the cable from the wall, are you using fiber internet or what is your internet source?

Where are you seeing tha tyour mbps caps at 300?

 

[IvoryWolf]

you said the cable from the wall, are you using fiber internet or what is your internet source?

Where are you seeing tha tyour mbps caps at 300?

To be more specific I live in a dorm that has an ethernet port in each room, with mine happening to have a gigabit capable port (due to a specific request). It's safe to assume my source is fiber.

Using Speedtest, I can't pass 300mpbs up/down while connected to the router, but if I just do a direct connection to my ethernet port in the wall I hit 980+ mpbs up/down everytime.

 

[bill001g]

When you are running a router you are natting the addresses. This means the router must manipulate every packet and rebuild all the headers. This take time and cpu power. Pretty much this is the one thing a faster cpu in a router helps a lot. Maybe you can see cpu utilization in the router.

Pretty much the fastest consumer router you are going to find is the netgear nighthawk it runs the fastest clock speed of any.

Still does it really matter. Most times you will be limited by the site you are downloading from to much less. Pretty much the only application that can really use more than 300m is torrent and you download a lot and you will call attention to yourself.

 

[IvoryWolf]

When you are running a router you are natting the addresses. This means the router must manipulate every packet and rebuild all the headers. This take time and cpu power. Pretty much this is the one thing a faster cpu in a router helps a lot. Maybe you can see cpu utilization in the router.

Pretty much the fastest consumer router you are going to find is the netgear nighthawk it runs the fastest clock speed of any.

Still does it really matter. Most times you will be limited by the site you are downloading from to much less. Pretty much the only application that can really use more than 300m is torrent and you download a lot and you will call attention to yourself.

If you mean is it a matter of life and death than no, I just want to maximize what I'm paying for. If in the end I can't find a solution I'd just end up leaving my Desktop plugged into the wall port, and plug in the router when I want to use wifi (I'm OCD, I won't be able to sleep at night if I don't get the most out of what I have). As for CPU utilization I thought that is what this router was specifically made for? I mean it says it's Gigabit Ethernet capable so....

 

[boosted1g]

Do you have any QoS or packet shaping configured on the router?
Might try to reset the router to factory.


Im assuming when you tested it with the router you tested it with no other clients hooked up (and had secured wireless so that 10 people did not immediately jump onto it in your dorms).

And wow, 1gbps fiber in dorms, back an eon ago in 2001 when I was in the dorms, for the entire college we had 1 t4 line that gave you 20mbps

 

[bill001g]

When you are running a router you are natting the addresses. This means the router must manipulate every packet and rebuild all the headers. This take time and cpu power. Pretty much this is the one thing a faster cpu in a router helps a lot. Maybe you can see cpu utilization in the router.

Pretty much the fastest consumer router you are going to find is the netgear nighthawk it runs the fastest clock speed of any.

Still does it really matter. Most times you will be limited by the site you are downloading from to much less. Pretty much the only application that can really use more than 300m is torrent and you download a lot and you will call attention to yourself.

If you mean is it a matter of life and death than no, I just want to maximize what I'm paying for. If in the end I can't find a solution I'd just end up leaving my Desktop plugged into the wall port, and plug in the router when I want to use wifi (I'm OCD, I won't be able to sleep at night if I don't get the most out of what I have). As for CPU utilization I thought that is what this router was specifically made for? I mean it says it's Gigabit Ethernet capable so....

The marketing guys say lots of things. They say 802.11ac runs at 1.3g.....ya sure it does more like 300m if you are lucky. From testing people have done even on the nighhawk router it only can get 900+m when it is a single session with a single machine on each end. You run lots of sessions from a number of different locations and it too drops very quickly. Wait until you see how slow it gets running vpn.

There is a reason large companies pay $10,000 for a router or firewall from big names like cisco or juniper. These device have very specialized chips that can actually pass data at high speed. I suspect the college has a high end commercial router especially if you are be given private addresses they are natting and you can pass almost 1g of traffic through it.

 

[IvoryWolf]

Do you have any QoS or packet shaping configured on the router?
Might try to reset the router to factory.


Im assuming when you tested it with the router you tested it with no other clients hooked up (and had secured wireless so that 10 people did not immediately jump onto it in your dorms).

And wow, 1gbps fiber in dorms, back an eon ago in 2001 when I was in the dorms, for the entire college we had 1 t4 line that gave you 20mbps

I haven't touched any of the settings whose functions I don't understand (QoS being one of these).
And if packet shaping is the 1500 thing, I tried lowering it but nothing substantial changed so I set it back to 1500.
The first thing I did when I set up the router was put a pass on it and disable the 5GHz wireless band.

 

[boosted1g]

If your devices support it, the 5ghz band is better then the 2.4 for a dorm room/apartment situation.

5ghz does not travel as far so there is less RF saturation, and there are many many more channels available for the 5ghz band vs the 3 in the 2.4 band

 

[IvoryWolf]

If your devices support it, the 5ghz band is better then the 2.4 for a dorm room/apartment situation.

5ghz does not travel as far so there is less RF saturation, and there are many many more channels available for the 5ghz band vs the 3 in the 2.4 band

See, the thing is I don't need the router for conventional wifi. I actually have access to campus wide wifi that works on my laptop and phone. Unfortunately this wifi is encrypted in a way such that it is unreadable by my portable systems. None of said portable systems are compatible with 5GHz wifi either, which is why I've disabled it.