What size power line adapter do I need?

[Jtkyber]

Hello! I have 90Mbps internet and am looking to buy a power line adapter for my pc upstairs. What size should I get? I see many websites recommending ones with speeds of 1200 or 2000. Is there any reason I should buy a 2000Mbps pl adapter over a 600Mbps one for twice the price? Will it increase my speeds at all or does it just affect the maximum speeds?

 

[InvalidError]

The performance of powerline adapter products varies wildly depending on electrical wiring layout, wiring cleanliness and connected loads. Faster adapters may stand a better chance of maintaining sufficient performance through worse wiring and electrical noise conditions.

If reliable performance is required though, wired Ethernet should be your first consideration.

 

[Jtkyber]

The performance of powerline adapter products varies wildly depending on electrical wiring layout, wiring cleanliness and connected loads. Faster adapters may stand a better chance of maintaining sufficient performance through worse wiring and electrical noise conditions.

If reliable performance is required though, wired Ethernet should be your first consideration.

Unfortunately Ethernet isn't an option. So it would probably be best to play it safe and spend the extra money to get one that has higher speeds?

 

[InvalidError]

Powerline networking is always a gamble, even more so if you have no idea what your house/apartment wiring is like.

 

[Jtkyber]

Powerline networking is always a gamble, even more so if you have no idea what your house/apartment wiring is like.

Well a while ago, I bought a 1000Mbps pl adapter and I got about half my Ethernet speeds (I returned it). I'm just trying to figure out whether I should get one with a higher speed or one with a lower speed to save money.

 

[InvalidError]

That poweline networking works at all is almost a small miracle on its own since power wiring was never designed with any sort of high speed signal integrity in mind. Practically everything that goes into keeping the power signal clean is counter-productive to high speed signaling too.

If by "half my Ethernet speeds" you actually meant half your internet speed, then I doubt that upgrading to 2Gbps powerline equipment when 1Gbps equipment could barely provide 45Mbps usable will help you much. Powerline is a lot like WiFi: the claimed speeds are based on the most optimistic situation possible (ex.: both powerline-networked machine being merely feet apart on the same branch circuit with no noisy appliances on that circuit) and the second you stray away from the best-case scenario, you get rapidly diminishing returns from going top-end.

You may want to try an USB WiFi adapter instead. Using an extension cable, you can orient the dongle in whichever way gets you the best signal with your router, perhaps even experiment with placing the adapter in front of a reflector to boost signal.