[SOLVED] What transfer speed would I get within LAN with a 867 Mbps 5 GHz router?

meurslys0

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Apr 11, 2011
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18,510
I've been confused by much of what I've read about router specs.

I purchased Zyxel NAS540 in order to be able to access my hdds wirelessly and transfer files between the laptop and the NAS. Of course I'll do massive transfers via ethernet, but I want to have a decent wireless connection between the laptop and the NAS for the relatively small (a few GBs at a time) transfers I frequently do. That's why I intend to get a Gigabit router to replace my single band 300Mbps modem.

With my current modem I get the transfer speeds as below:

Wireless:
1.3 GB movie file : 6-7 MB/s
1.3 GB folder containing 15 files: 2-7 MB/s

Wired:
1.3 GB movie file : 6-9 MB/s
1.3 GB folder containing 15 files: 5-9 MB/s

I intend to use 5 GHz band of a new router between the devices. My laptop does support 802.11ac.

So I wonder how much the transfer speed would improve if I get either
a router advertised as 766 Mbps at 5 GHz and 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz
or
a router advertised as 1300 Mbps at 5 GHz and 450 Mbps at 2.4 GHz?
or
a router advertised as 1300 Mbps at 5 GHz and 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
 
Solution
Right.
So swapping a gigabit router WILL improve the speed between the router and the NAS.

'How fast'? Completely unknown, for YOUR particular house and environment.
It will almost certainly be better than what you have now.

Of those, the middle one.
Be advised that "1300 Mbps" WiFi is actually 650 transmit+650 receive. So, in absolute perfect conditions (which you don't have), it would see a theoretical max of 650Mbps to the router.

However!
If you are connecting DIRECTLY to the NAS...whatever router is there does not matter.
But don't do that. Computer->router->NAS. WiFi or ethernet as the devices demand.
And connecting directly to the NAS requires significant config changes.

meurslys0

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Apr 11, 2011
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The NAS is connected to the router. The Laptop is connected to the router only when I do big transfers. However with my current setup I get very slow connection even when both the NAS and the laptop are connected to the router via ethernet. That'S why I am asking how would the transfer speed change if I get any of the Gigabit routers I mentioned in my question. I intend to connect to the NAS wirelessly at occasions and sometimes, via ethernet connection to the router...
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
The connection to-from the NAS still goes through the router. You don't (or shouldn't be) connecting directly to the NAS. Again...laptop->router->NAS
That WiFi on that is for it to connect to a router, in the absence of ethernet. ASnd ethernet to the NAS is ALWAYS better than WiFi.

Laptop still talks to the router via whatever means you do now.

Now...what router do you currently have?
Predicting WiFi performance is near impossible for any specific house.

Changing your router may, or may not, give greater performance.
 

meurslys0

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Apr 11, 2011
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18,510
I know Ethernet connection is preferred between the laptop and the NAS. However currently I have Zyxel vmg3312-b10av2 which is not a Gigabit router. So to achieve faster connection between the two I will get a gigabit router. I could just get a gigabit switch, too. But I want to be able to access the NAS wirelessly, too. So I'm looking to gain speed in the wireless connection as well as wired. All I want to know is: How fast the transfer speed between a laptop and a NAS be (in Megabytes) while using the 5 GHz band of the routers below both in the wired and wireless scenarios?

a router advertised as 766 Mbps at 5 GHz and 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz
or
a router advertised as 1300 Mbps at 5 GHz and 450 Mbps at 2.4 GHz?
or
a router advertised as 1300 Mbps at 5 GHz and 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Right.
So swapping a gigabit router WILL improve the speed between the router and the NAS.

'How fast'? Completely unknown, for YOUR particular house and environment.
It will almost certainly be better than what you have now.

Of those, the middle one.
Be advised that "1300 Mbps" WiFi is actually 650 transmit+650 receive. So, in absolute perfect conditions (which you don't have), it would see a theoretical max of 650Mbps to the router.

However!
If you are connecting DIRECTLY to the NAS...whatever router is there does not matter.
But don't do that. Computer->router->NAS. WiFi or ethernet as the devices demand.
And connecting directly to the NAS requires significant config changes.
 
Solution