Custom build, highly unstable wifi

[jtibbs]

So I helped my gf build her first computer and everything is up and running, but she has incredibly unstable wifi speeds and connections with it. Now we live far apart so all troubleshooting I've done is remote, but I've covered the bases pretty well.

To start, its a custom computer using a few parts I myself have used that are only about 4-6 months old.

Build:

Mobo: Asus Prime A320M-K
Wifi Adapter Card: Asus PCE-N15
GPU: RX580
CPU: Ryzen 3 1200
HDD: WD Green 500 GB HDD

At first I thought the issue was with the network card. I had similar unstable issues when I first used it, but I provided her with the exact realtek drivers I thought I used to fix it, and it didn't make a lick of difference. The mobo is also a reused part that used the exact same PCI.E wifi card. We updated the bios as well. No change.

Weird part is it started under a Mbps and slowy crept up to around 40Mbps. She should be getting about 110Mbps. She has a laptop and a cell phone getting stable wifi and speeds in the exact same room and spot. She is operating on a 2.4Ghz signal, has a 5Ghz capable 2 in 1 router from Comcast, but the 5Ghz band doesn't seem to be used from the family atm. I bring that up because we got her a Linksys Dualband AC1200 usb wifi adapter to see if that might resolve the issue, but it doesn't appear to have changed at all.

I'm at my wits end on what can be causing this issue and how to fix it.

 

[aldan]

i take it this is a desktop?how does the internet work when she is wired?

 

[jtibbs]

She's wireless because she can't do a wired connection.

 

[punkncat]

As a side note, I would get off that "green" HDD as OS as quickly as possible. The latency with those things is a killer.

On to subject, have you installed all the mobo manufacturers drivers? AMD all in one, etc?

 

[jtibbs]

We updated the Bios and the Chipset. I'm not too well versed with AMD products so I'm not really sure what AMD all in one is.

Also, I know WD green is slow, but this is like a budget computer that lets her get into gaming with me while allowing for upgrades in the future.

 

[Solandri]

Also, I know WD green is slow, but this is like a budget computer that lets her get into gaming with me while allowing for upgrades in the future.

The Green drive is going to cause stutter in her games and general computing. You really should replace it ASAP. I don't think the issue can cause the WiFi problems you're seeing, but I suppose it's possible.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3291249/hdd-giving-problems-games.html#19105974

What sort of signal strength is she seeing from the WiFi card? (dB if possible, not bars) Desktops are a big metal case so can interfere with WiFi signals at the same location where mobile devices have no problem. You're saying she experienced the same problems connecting at 5 GHz with the USB WiFi adapter? or did you only try that at 2.4 GHz since ou say the router's 5 GHz band doesn't seem to be used?

 

[jtibbs]

Also, I know WD green is slow, but this is like a budget computer that lets her get into gaming with me while allowing for upgrades in the future.

The Green drive is going to cause stutter in her games and general computing. You really should replace it ASAP. I don't think the issue can cause the WiFi problems you're seeing, but I suppose it's possible.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3291249/hdd-giving-problems-games.html#19105974

What sort of signal strength is she seeing from the WiFi card? (dB if possible, not bars) Desktops are a big metal case so can interfere with WiFi signals at the same location where mobile devices have no problem. You're saying she experienced the same problems connecting at 5 GHz with the USB WiFi adapter? or did you only try that at 2.4 GHz since ou say the router's 5 GHz band doesn't seem to be used?

Not sure what the dB signal is. She can only connect to 2.4GHz because they don't have 5GHz turned on. I don't know why they don't. But the card worked fine when I used it. The issue is persistent between both the card and usb device. The card only works on 2.4 while the usb is dualband. Either way, both her laptop and cellphone are both on the 2.4 network since its the only one available to her, and they are stable.

I'm aware the hard drive is slow, I knew it was slow when I bought it. I bought it because it was cheap and would work for a quick storage option. Can we move past it? The whole idea of the computer was that it wouldn't break the bank to get her into gaming.

 

[punkncat]

Typically, the AMD all in one driver will be among your mobo "chipset" drivers and will contain both the driver for your proc, onboard graphics where applicable and in some cases even the LAN/WAN drivers, even SATA drivers. It really is sort of an all in one solution for AMD products. In many cases you just don't need much else. I would check again in the chipset driver list from your mobo manufacturer to see that you got it.

 

[Solandri]

I'm aware the hard drive is slow, I knew it was slow when I bought it. I bought it because it was cheap and would work for a quick storage option. Can we move past it? The whole idea of the computer was that it wouldn't break the bank to get her into gaming.

The problem isn't that the HDD is slow. The problem is that when a WD Green drive is used as a system drive, it causes the computer to freeze for a split second every 10-15 seconds.

That's why I said I didn't think it could cause the symptoms you're seeing, but I wasn't sure. I suppose it's possible that if the WiFi adapters don't have sufficient buffering, these freezes could cause the computer and adapter to go out of sync, forcing the WiFi adapter to have to re-request data from the router which would slow down your average transmission speed. That scenario sorta matches your report that the Mbps is slow, then creeps up (then presumably goes back down since you say the speeds are unstable).

 

[jtibbs]

Typically, the AMD all in one driver will be among your mobo "chipset" drivers and will contain both the driver for your proc, onboard graphics where applicable and in some cases even the LAN/WAN drivers, even SATA drivers. It really is sort of an all in one solution for AMD products. In many cases you just don't need much else. I would check again in the chipset driver list from your mobo manufacturer to see that you got it.

I noticed that the chipset downloaded a bunch of other things inside the folder it came with and when we launched the setup.exe file and just brought up the same software that the gpu used to update with. I don't know what else you're talking about otherwise. Googling AMD all in one doesn't bring up anything, so I don't know if you're just labeling it as an "all in one" or if its a legitimate group of software.

 

[punkncat]

Yeah, it sounds right. It will typically bring up that grey looking AMD control panel console look while installing.

 

[jtibbs]

I'm aware the hard drive is slow, I knew it was slow when I bought it. I bought it because it was cheap and would work for a quick storage option. Can we move past it? The whole idea of the computer was that it wouldn't break the bank to get her into gaming.

The problem isn't that the HDD is slow. The problem is that when a WD Green drive is used as a system drive, it causes the computer to freeze for a split second every 10-15 seconds.

That's why I said I didn't think it could cause the symptoms you're seeing, but I wasn't sure. I suppose it's possible that if the WiFi adapters don't have sufficient buffering, these freezes could cause the computer and adapter to go out of sync, forcing the WiFi adapter to have to re-request data from the router which would slow down your average transmission speed. That scenario sorta matches your report that the Mbps is slow, then creeps up (then presumably goes back down since you say the speeds are unstable).

Wouldn't that be a more consistent drop and climb as opposed to the slow gradual climb over a few hours thats happening?

 

[jtibbs]

Her adapter settings for the USB device show she has over 300Mbps connection speed. We used it in her laptop and it worked just fine. Not sure where to find the dB signal.

Side note. Her download speeds are bad, but her upload speeds seem relatively consistent. Hovering between 10-12 Mbps.

Update: Her USB wifi adapter is actually on the 5Ghz network and can't even see the 2.4Ghz. Her laptop is on the 2.4Ghz, but can't see the 5Ghz.

 

[Solandri]

Wouldn't that be a more consistent drop and climb as opposed to the slow gradual climb over a few hours thats happening?

That's why it's helpful to provide as much information as you can. This is the first time you've mentioned the gradual speed increase is over several hours. We're not psychic. We only know what you tell us.

Side note. Her download speeds are bad, but her upload speeds seem relatively consistent. Hovering between 10-12 Mbps.

Update: Her USB wifi adapter is actually on the 5Ghz network and can't even see the 2.4Ghz. Her laptop is on the 2.4Ghz, but can't see the 5Ghz.

Ok. Do you have a model number for the Comcast router? You're reporting a bizarre variety of symptoms across two WiFi adapter cards on different bands, and the only things in common are the computer and the router.

Is it possible to boot the computer into safe mode with networking, and run the speed tests there?

 

[jtibbs]

Wouldn't that be a more consistent drop and climb as opposed to the slow gradual climb over a few hours thats happening?

That's why it's helpful to provide as much information as you can. This is the first time you've mentioned the gradual speed increase is over several hours. We're not psychic. We only know what you tell us.

Side note. Her download speeds are bad, but her upload speeds seem relatively consistent. Hovering between 10-12 Mbps.

Update: Her USB wifi adapter is actually on the 5Ghz network and can't even see the 2.4Ghz. Her laptop is on the 2.4Ghz, but can't see the 5Ghz.

Ok. Do you have a model number for the Comcast router? You're reporting a bizarre variety of symptoms across two WiFi adapter cards on different bands, and the only things in common are the computer and the router.

Is it possible to boot the computer into safe mode with networking, and run the speed tests there?

Its something I'll have to try later. Also while I didn't specifically say that it took hours, I did say it was a slow climb.

 

[jtibbs]

Update: So we got a powerline from TP-link. An AV600. For now it seems like the speeds are stable around 15Mbps but still slower than they should be. We tested the powerlink adapter on her laptop (which was having no issues on wifi) and the powerlink seemed to be about as fast on the laptop as it was on the desktop. We also got a WD blue SSD Sata card to install and try at a later time to see if its somehow the hard drive interfering.

 

[jtibbs]

So SSD is installed and the OS has been moved over to it. Still having issues with wifi.

 

[jtibbs]

Is it possible the processor could be the cause of the wifi being unstable?