Question Could I get some help deciding on a purchase?

Ltlandpa

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My family recently upgraded their router, and now it has 2.4GHz and 5GHz connection speeds.

We're still with the same network provider, and originally, I was getting around 13 megabit/second download speeds on average, and 1 to 1.5 megabit/second upload speeds, prior to this change of router.

Now, granted, apparently my family never bothered to ask what the new service's performance would be like, so I'm not sure if net bandwidth is now worse, or the overall speed (perhaps the speed's not worse, at all); normally, we have... 6 devices connected to the router; 3 computers, and 3 mobile phones.

When testing the internet speed, after having connected to the new router, I'm seeing anywhere from literally 3 to 10 megabits/second of download speed (testing when there's no other major stress on the network), and roughly the same upload speed as before (or, sometimes worse). Sometimes, latency seems to shoot up to the 100's to 300's range (not when testing speeds, but during casual network use), but otherwise latency numbers seem pretty stable.

One family member is connected via ethernet cable, and is clocking in, right now, at 15 to 20 megabits of download speed per second, and typical upload speed. Their partner, on a computer directly next to the router and connecting to the network via a USB WiFi adapter, is connected to the 5GHz band, and getting 15 megabits/second download speeds, and from what I've heard, has no similar complaints with stability or speed.

For what it's worth, my computer is a bit less than 10 and a half feet away from the router, with about 3 inches of thin walls (each side of the walls' faces are far less than an inch thick). So, I'm not sure so much if it's that this router is broadcasting the wireless signals more weakly, or speed's being bottlenecked on the 2.4GHz band (I find the latter more likely).

I know I'm connecting to the 2.4 GHz band (with a "Link Speed [Received/Transmitted] of 600/72 Mbps"), according to my computer's settings information; and, yes, when I try and tinker with my network card's settings in my computer's Device Manager, I can't set it to prioritize 5GHz band connection.



My computer's a bit of a dinosaur, so it only supports these radio types : 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n (my network card's a 802.11n Wireless LAN Card). That is, I don't think it can connect to the 5GHz network band, on its own.

I'm not sure how expensive it would be, or feasible, to buy an upgrade network card, and/or how expensive (or difficult, if done by myself) it'd be to have a new one installed.

I'm not sure if my motherboard (or power supply, or even CPU or RAM for some-odd reason, if not just space within my case, or none of these factors) would determine my PC's compatibility with a newer network card, but for what it's worth, the motherboard's an old FOXCONN 2AB1, AMD chipset (785G)/southbridge (SB700); LPCIO reads out as ITE/IT8721, whatever all that means. BIOS version 6.11 - AMD AGESA V3.7.1.2, dating back to December 28, 2011. Graphic interface's PCI-Express, x16 link width.



Failing a new network card, and more preferably, if it's an easier/cheaper and more long-term solution, should I find a USB WiFi adapter instead? If so, would you guys have any recommendations for one (as I'd really have no idea how marketed specs of this kind of product size up, when browsing them on Amazon)? I'm aiming to keep a budget for an adapter below $100, or thereabouts, ideally.
(And, I suppose I'd be interested to know ballpark prices of a newer network card, if that's as feasible of an option.)

For reference, my network provider is Frontier, and if needed, I can provide more information about the router/the connection/et cetera, if that'd help determine what new product I should be looking for.

Any help would be deeply appreciated, and I hope I'm posting this in the right sub-forum! Apologies if I ought to have posted this under "Components" or elsewhere, I wasn't sure.
 
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Ltlandpa

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Apologies if my post overcomplicated things, and if it's about as simple as if I were shopping for a thumb drive, where instead of looking for one of those with a storage capacity that meets my needs, it's just "look for a positively-reviewed adapter that'll last me awhile, and that meets basic criteria in terms of its specs".
 
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Ltlandpa

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Apparently, the maximum download speed for my 5GHz band wireless connection should be around ~18 megabits per second.

I'm a bit of a daft fella, what does "Received/Transmitted link speed of 600/72 Mbps (respectively)" mean?

I have an old Netis dongle sitting in front of me that says 300Mbps, and browsing on Amazon, I see a TP-Link brand adapter that boasts 867 Mbps.

Looking at the device connected via ethernet, I see Received/Trasmitted link speeds of 1000/1000 Mbps.


Oh, also, as far as I know, my computer doesn't have any USB 3.0 ports.


Right now, on Amazon, I'm eyeing the "TP-Link Nano USB WiFi Adapter for PC(Archer T3U Nano)-AC1300 2.4G/5G Dual Band Wireless Network Adapter for Desktop PC, Mini Travel Size, Supports Windows 11,10, 8.1, 8, 7 / Mac OS X 10.15 or Earlier" err, specifically the style listed as "AC1300 Dual Band - Newer Model".

It claims "867 Mbps on the 5 GHz band "
 
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I just happened to have this link up from a previous post. Can't say for sure it is a good card but this is basically what you are looking for for optimum performance.
This was being discussed because it is wifi6e and so cheap.
https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-Tri-Band-Wireless-Bluetooth5-2-Bluetooth/dp/B0B49HDLHM/?th=1
That though is not what is important, the reason I post it is it show a internal PCIE card with external antenna. If you can use a internal card this give you the best chance of good performance.

The USB device you are talking about are the very worst option you can consider. They are designed for the portable market where small size and low battery usage is more important than performance. They have tiny antenna and low power transmitters.

If your only option is to use USB then you want to look for a device similar to this. You can find cheaper ones, what is key is they come with a USB extension cable to move the device away from the computer and they are physically fairly large...at least compared to those tiny device you talked about
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Archer-T9UH-Wireless-network/dp/B01GE9QS0G
 

Ltlandpa

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Worst-case scenario, I might find out if I can just run an ethernet cord to my computer. In some random Amazon review, someone claimed
" A standard USB 2.0 slot is not capable of handling 5 GHz speeds". And, yeah, my computer doesn't have any USB 3.0 slots, for what it's worth... am I just (most likely) perpetually screwed unless I either get a new card, or ethernet connection going?
 

letmepicyou

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Mar 5, 2019
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Worst-case scenario, I might find out if I can just run an ethernet cord to my computer. In some random Amazon review, someone claimed
" A standard USB 2.0 slot is not capable of handling 5 GHz speeds".
Running an ethernet cable is actually a best-case scenario, because you'll get the best speeds and lowest latencies from a cabled connection.
 

Ltlandpa

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Running an ethernet cable is actually a best-case scenario, because you'll get the best speeds and lowest latencies from a cabled connection.
True. Oh, I know, I suppose the only trouble for me would be finding a long enough cable, making sure I can connect it to my computer, and running it from the room the router's in, through a hallway (or the wall between said room and hallway), into my room.
 

letmepicyou

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True. Oh, I know, I suppose the only trouble for me would be finding a long enough cable, making sure I can connect it to my computer, and running it from the room the router's in, through a hallway (or the wall between said room and hallway), into my room.
You can buy CAT6 in 1000 foot spools.
I know, I have one. They're not that expensive, actually.
 

Ltlandpa

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Picyou, are you referring to the ... card that bill posted, or the other TP-Link product? Err, the style that the link for that adapter defaulted to, shows a version of the product that's USB 3.0 compatible (and, coincidentally, looks like another style is similar to what I'm looking at, that is slower and 2.0-compatible)

Sure, it might be even faster, but again, I don't have any 3.0 USB ports, so I might not be able to use the one he linked (and I'm shopping particularly for 2.0-compatibles)? 'Cus, trust me, I'd love that theoretical 1,300 Mbps speed, lol...

Unless I glazed over something key.
 

Ltlandpa

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So, yeah, the one product claims to be USB 2.0 compatible, with a data transfer rate of 867 Mbps on the 5GHz band; as aforementioned, my system's telling me I'm on 600/72 right now (on the 2.4 GHz band); would the transition of bands provide a marked or more stable improvement, maybe? Or should I just opt in for ethernet, if I can't find something faster than 867 Mbps?
 

letmepicyou

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Mar 5, 2019
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Picyou, are you referring to the ... card that bill posted, or the other TP-Link product? Err, the style that the link for that adapter defaulted to, shows a version of the product that's USB 3.0 compatible (and, coincidentally, looks like another style is similar to what I'm looking at, that is slower and 2.0-compatible)

Sure, it might be even faster, but again, I don't have any 3.0 USB ports, so I might not be able to use the one he linked (and I'm shopping particularly for 2.0-compatibles)? 'Cus, trust me, I'd love that theoretical 1,300 Mbps speed, lol...

Unless I glazed over something key.
https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-Tri-Band-Wireless-Bluetooth5-2-Bluetooth/dp/B0B49HDLHM

That one. Kind of curious to hear why you don't think you could use it?
 

Ltlandpa

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Ya think CAT6 cable would suffice? I'm having trouble being able to tell what kind's being used on the one device in the house that is ethernet-connected.
 

Ltlandpa

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https://www.amazon.com/Maximm-Cat6-Snagless-Ethernet-Cable/dp/B071JZ5B5B
Looks like this at least has multiple length options, and "250 MHz bandwidth"... hm.. I measured, and it's at least about 20 feet of distance between the router and my PC, so yeah, as long as I get something just a bit longer than that to be safe, and that manages optimal data speeds, I'm happy. Thoughts on that?

Or, hell, this one, up to 50 feet,
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-RJ45-Cat-6-Ethernet-Patch-Cable-25-Feet-7-6-Meters/dp/B0134QJH4G
 
So a couple things. First ethernet is the way to go if you can do it. I am somewhat surprised you picked quality cables. A lot of people try to use that flat cable that has wires too thin to actually be a certified cable. I am not 100% sure on the second one if it is pure copper wire but most times if it is CCA they state it.

USB2 is not optimum but you will never get wifi speeds over 300mbps anyway unless you go to say wifi6e stuff. Even then it doesn't matter because your internet is only 15mbps so that is the maximum the USB port really has to support.

But again if you can go ethernet that is always the best. It can be a pain run the cable but once it is done you never worry about it again. Wifi tends to have random issue from time to time even in the best cases.
 

Ltlandpa

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Lol, I'ma be honest, was a bit luck of the draw, the cables I checked out. If I do go with them, I'll get some nails to help lay them out a bit easier. Ahh, gotcha, right, Wish me luck, lol, and I seriously appreciate your insight. True, yeah, I've been running with WiFi with this computer for... probably almost 10 years now, I know the struggles fairly well 😅