IS my router the problem?

[UnivSoldur]

Thanks in advance for any information or insight that you might beable to provide me.

Set Up
Laptop:
MSI GE62 Apache Pro-254 GAMING LAPTOP NOTEBOOK GTX970M Core i5-6300HQ 256GB M.2 SATA WINDOWS 10
Router:
NETGEAR WNDR4500-100NAR N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
Modem:
Zoom 16x4 Cable Modem, 686 Mbps DOCSIS 3.0, Model 5370
ISP:
Comcast Blast 300
Devices Connected:
On any given day there will only be at most 5 devices that have the option to connect to this router, but not all will be pulling bandwidth generally only the 2 phones connected to it should be using data.

I will try to make this a simple question if I can. My hardwired PC ran directly from the router I pull down 360mbps. On my laptop on 5ghz in the room with the router the most I seem to be able to pull down is roughly 160mbps the same holds true for my phone LG G5. The router is rated for 450mbps and I understand real world examples should be roughly half of that number so call it 225mbps. I’m curious if I upgrade to an AC router if I could get closer to that 360mbps number. I know that wifi will never be as good as hardwire, but I was wondering if any of you had experiences that got you closer to the 300mbps range or even upper 200’s.

 

[Herc08]

Well I have a 300Mbps connection from my ISP, but on wifi, I can never go past 180mbps. However, it could be the distance. Haven't tried in the same room. I would recommend updating to an AC router (a good one) and see if that fixes it. AC routers should push up to 1Gbps.

I have an AC router, and all of my devices are on 5Ghz.

 

[UnivSoldur]

Well I have a 300Mbps connection from my ISP, but on wifi, I can never go past 180mbps. However, it could be the distance. Haven't tried in the same room. I would recommend updating to an AC router (a good one) and see if that fixes it. AC routers should push up to 1Gbps.

I have an AC router, and all of my devices are on 5Ghz.

so you have an AC router currently and you cant get past 180mbps

 

[Herc08]

Yes, but that was between walls. I have not tried it in the same room. However, I am ok with 180 through WiFi. As long as my wired is 320+.

 

[UnivSoldur]

I would be interested to see what types of setups people have used to get a wireless connection close to the 300mbps range

 

[Herc08]

Well, you could test it. I would recommend getting an AC router regardless. Also, even if you are on 5Ghz, do you have AC adapters in your devices?

 

[UnivSoldur]

Well, you could test it. I would recommend getting an AC router regardless. Also, even if you are on 5Ghz, do you have AC adapters in your devices?

My laptop has a killer networking card that picks up 5gz. The two phones im using also have the ability to pick up 5ghz. Im currently already running 5ghz on the router I have now and all speedtests done next to the unit were on 5ghz.

 

[Herc08]

Well that's the thing. 802.11N adapters has the ability to access 5Ghz, so it still doesn't mean much. If it is on AC, then you may get better results, but still you should be getting 300Mbps. I would try to upgrade to an AC router and test it out then. Your hardline is ok, so it is not an ISP issue.

Also, it could be interference (microwaves, bluetooth, other wireless devices). Not saying it is the case in your house, but could be coming from someone else.

 

[UnivSoldur]

Well that's the thing. 802.11N adapters has the ability to access 5Ghz, so it still doesn't mean much. If it is on AC, then you may get better results, but still you should be getting 300Mbps. I would try to upgrade to an AC router and test it out then. Your hardline is ok, so it is not an ISP issue.

Also, it could be interference (microwaves, bluetooth, other wireless devices). Not saying it is the case in your house, but could be coming from someone else.

sorry i spaced out for a moment I posted the Ethernet Card specs this is the wireless card in my machine:

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165

From the spec page for this component:
Delivers up to 3x faster Wi-Fi speeds (up to 433 Mbps2
) than 802.11n, with up to 3x more
bandwidth per stream for more users and devices. Advanced optional 802.11ac
specification features implemented that improve channel reliability resulting in better
coverage and performance. Intel® Wireless-AC enables smoother streaming of higher
resolution videos, fewer dropped connections and less congestion, and more speeds
further away from the router..

 

[bill001g]

Don't even think to believe the magic numbers you see quoted on wireless equipment. The very top end equipment matched with nic cards that are very rare get 350m average numbers. This assume your nic card has 4 antenna which I think there are only 2 on the market.

If you are getting 180m you are doing pretty well with the equipment you have but it also means you are sitting next to the router which is kinda stupid when you could just plug in with ethernet and get full speed.

Go to smallnetbuilders.com and look at the router charts. You will see how bad the numbers really are when you are not testing unrealistic configurations.