Internet Speed Question

[buster]

Question, the PC in the front of the house that is wired directly to the modem gets near 1GB on the Xfinity Speed test (around 956 Mbs last time I checked). Our phones in the rear of the house pick up about 350 Mbs, which is expected being there is a wall between the rooms are about 30ft or more away from the modem/router. My work PC however, which has a 5GHz Intel Dual Band 3168 WiFi is only getting about 100 Mbs in the same location. Is this due to the quality of the WiFi in my pc compared to our iPhones?

 

[Quattro Pete]

My work PC however, which has a 5GHz Intel Dual Band 3168 WiFi is only getting about 100 Mbs in the same location.

Is the PC actually connecting on the 5 GHz channel? I know you have a 5 GHz capable adapter, but it could be connecting to the 2.4 GHz channel of your wifi because 2.4 GHz typically has stronger signal, unless you force it to go onto the 5 GHz one.

 

[buster]

I'm definitely on the 5GHz channel. When I go into control panel/network and internet then click on the Wi-Fi network I'm on, it's showing I'm getting approximately 300+ Mbs. So I'm not sure what number is accurate, this or Xfinity's site?

 

[ZeeOSix]

Try this speed test tool. You will never get the same speed going WiFi that you will going wired Ethernet cable.

Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps.

www.speedtest.net

 

[buster]

Try this speed test tool. You will never get the same speed going WiFi that you will going wired Ethernet cable.

Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps.

www.speedtest.net

I've used that before. Same thing though. Doesn't make sense when my iphones are getting 300+ Mbs though in the same location and my PC is only get 70-100 Mbs.

 

[FordSVTGuy]

Does your work computer connect to a VPN while you’re testing? Sometimes providers throttle speed when vpn is present...

 

[MrHorspwer]

Advertised speeds over wifi are deceptive.

You'll see 802.11ac devices advertised at 1900 Mbit/s (5.0 GHz 1300 Mbit/s + 2.4 GHz 600 Mbit/s). The reality is, no single device will ever come near those values. 1300 Mbit/s is the maximum total of multiple steams on that 5.0 GHz channel. IIRC, for 802.11ac, theoretical max for a single device will never be above 433 Mbit/s.

As for your devices, an iPhone 11 has 2x2 MIMO ( 2 TX/RX streams), while your Intel 3186 adapter is a 1x1 (1 TX/RX stream). Theoretically, both should be capable of that 433 Mbit/s max, but the reality of your network environment may favor the MIMO that's available on your iPhone that's not on your work PC.

 

[buster]

So when I do it this way (see link below), I'm getting near 300 Mbs. When I use the website tests, I'm only getting 70-100 Mbs.

How to check WiFi speeds in Windows 10 [Solved] | J.D. Hodges

 

[Quattro Pete]

So when I do it this way (see link below), I'm getting near 300 Mbs. When I use the website tests, I'm only getting 70-100 Mbs.

How to check WiFi speeds in Windows 10 [Solved] | J.D. Hodges

What that link describes is just how to display the link speed between your device and the router at idle. The actual transfer speeds when data is flowing are going to be significantly lower due to multiple factors such as interference, congestion, error correction, etc.

My external wifi adapter is reporting 867 Mbps. In reality, when transferring large files within my LAN, I am lucky to get half of that speed.

 

[buster]

What that link describes is just how to display the link speed between your device and the router at idle. The actual transfer speeds when data is flowing are going to be significantly lower due to multiple factors such as interference, congestion, error correction, etc.

Ah ok interesting. I don't know then what could be cause my PC to show such a lower Mbs rate. It's a newer PC too (1 year old) and I'm running on the 5GHz connection.

QP, so the Xfinity speed test site is a more realistic figure?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Ah ok interesting. I don't know then what could be cause my PC to show such a lower Mbs rate. It's a newer PC too (1 year old) and I'm running on the 5GHz connection.

That Intel wifi adapter is rather old - released in Q1 2016, according to Intel. It is possible the wifi adapters in your phones are newer/faster.

QP, so the Xfinity speed test site is a more realistic figure?

I would try this for a more realistic figure:
http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest

 

[buster]

This is what it shows:

 

[buster]

I have a feeling it is the dated Intel Wifi adapter.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I have a feeling it is the dated Intel Wifi adapter.

You could pick up an external USB3 wifi adapter for your PC if you feel your internet speed is too slow, but unless you're transferring huge files, you will probably not notice a ton of difference between 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps.

 

[buster]

Good point. Honestly the speed in which I view web pages is plenty fast. I occasionally download a game and that is where I'd see the hit. I have an NZXT gaming pc with two monitors I use for both work/games.

 

[wag123]

You could pick up an external USB3 wifi adapter for your PC if you feel your internet speed is too slow, but unless you're transferring huge files, you will probably not notice a ton of difference between 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps.

+1
Really, the upload speed on the other end is going to be the net determining factor. Personally, I have yet to find a website that transfers at speeds above 100Mbps, and they are few and far between.

 

[PandaBear]

First off, try 2.4GHz and see if you get a good speed, this is likely due to 5GHz not passing through walls well (the higher the frequency the worse it is). Then also check if your network card is old as the others said. A quick way to "fix" it is to add a range extender half way in between or a power line ethernet adapters (make sure you get the AV2 MIMO ones, AV2 1200 or AV2 2000) on both side of the house + range extender on the non router side. This will add some cost but it would literally be as fast as you can get.

 

[Andrew1972]

With a work PC do you really care ?!?

I get 200Mbps down and only 5up with a low tier Xfinity cable!. For work I regularly upload cloud server images (docker files) and it takes a while. I simply get up stretch and got for walk.

 

[buster]

With a work PC do you really care ?!?

I get 200Mbps down and only 5up with a low tier Xfinity cable!. For work I regularly upload cloud server images (docker files) and it takes a while. I simply get up stretch and got for walk.

Work, gaming and internet. It's not just for work PC.

 

[Andrew1972]

Work, gaming and internet. It's not just for work PC.

Run Ethernet or upgrade your Wi-Fi. Ethernet is the most effective method with your kind of speed.