[SOLVED] Should I use these 3 things together: Wifi6 router + Google Wifi + 450mbps PCIe adapter? Can I meaningfully increase performance?

[redxspoon]

TP-Link WDN4800
Google Wifi (First Gen) X3
TP-Link Archer AX50

I have the above hardware in my family home(wifi 6 router is new). I have between 25 and 30 devices connected to my network at one time.(phones, tvs, smart devices, cameras, PCs, laptops) I have one coaxial cable ISP connection in the master bedroom(2nd floor corner of the 2100sqft house).

I'd like to get the most speed/reliability possible(duh). Here are some specific questions that may help others too:

Does it make sense to use the Google Wifi (First Gen)x3, when it doesn't support wifi 6(AX), would I see faster speeds just removing Google Wifi (First Gen)x3 from the home and connecting to the TP-Link Archer AX50 directly?

How valuable would it be to purchase this TP-Link AX3000E Wifi 6 PCI-e adapter for my PC, replacing my TP-Link WDN4800? Would I get better performance with using a powerline ethernet adapter like the TP-Link AV2000 for my PC?

Thank you for your help!

 

[mihen]

Order of best network connections:

1. Wired Ethernet
2. Wired Anything else
3. Wireless

Your Google Wifi will interfere with your TP-Link router if it's not working as a satellite for your router. They are competing for the same wavelengths. I imagine you can make it work if you have the Google Wifi on it's own floor connecting a specific group of devices, but unless you have a need to separate devices from your network its unpractical verse a wifi extender/repeater.
The wifi 6 adapter for your PC will have better results verse what you currently have as the standard is newer and similar to your router. They will mesh better. With your current adapter your router will need to act in legacy mode. But it will be in legacy mode regardless to connect with the rest of your devices as they are of an older standard as well. The big benefit would be the fact you can move your antenna away from your PC.
Personally I don't like powerline adapters. It will be more reliable than wireless, but power cables are run to a different standard than low voltage. The cables are usually not home run and the equipment is not designed for communication.

 

[redxspoon]

Order of best network connections:

1. Wired Ethernet
2. Wired Anything else
3. Wireless

Your Google Wifi will interfere with your TP-Link router if it's not working as a satellite for your router. They are competing for the same wavelengths. I imagine you can make it work if you have the Google Wifi on it's own floor connecting a specific group of devices, but unless you have a need to separate devices from your network its unpractical verse a wifi extender/repeater.
The wifi 6 adapter for your PC will have better results verse what you currently have as the standard is newer and similar to your router. They will mesh better. With your current adapter your router will need to act in legacy mode. But it will be in legacy mode regardless to connect with the rest of your devices as they are of an older standard as well. The big benefit would be the fact you can move your antenna away from your PC.
Personally I don't like powerline adapters. It will be more reliable than wireless, but power cables are run to a different standard than low voltage. The cables are usually not home run and the equipment is not designed for communication.

Thank you for the response mihen, makes sense. I have a question about legacy mode. Would I still recieve a sifi 6 connection to my PC using a new adapter, even though legacy is required to run every other device in my home? Will both wifi 6 and legacy run in parallel?

 

[bill001g]

Yes and no. Some of the best feature of wifi6 require that all devices support wifi6. It will switch back and forth between the older methods and wifi6. It will still be faster when it talks to wifi6 devices it just can't use the better mu-mimo support where it can talk to mulitple groups of machines at the same time. In effect the newer wifi6 device must still wait for the older devices to get done.

It is still very unclear how much benefit it really has. Looks good on paper but until everyone is mostly running wifi6 stuff in their house we won't really know if it is true or if it another one of the wifi marketing fantasies.

You want to avoid using any mesh system, pretty much anything else is going to preform better. Having multiple radio signals between you and the internet just increases you chance the data gets damaged.

 

[redxspoon]

Thank you @bill001g, I appreciate the response. I think I'll get the adapter, remove the google mesh, and wait for technology to catch up to my gear. 😉