new network card giving me slow speeds!

chrisjackson1985 · 30-10-2009, 22:00

hey guys,

I ended up purchasing the D-Link DWA-547 RangeBooster N650 Wireless N card,

and it only max's out at 23-24mb, downloads max at 2500-3000

if i plug in the ethernet cable directly to the PC, my speeds run at 50mb with speeds running at 6300

its a big drop and i just dont understand whats going on, my ex Wireless G card was even giving me greater speeds than this new N card, my wireless G card gave me 28mb.

why is my card not working as it should?
should i send it back?

edit: for now, im gonna use the ethernet cable straight to the PC, because this new card just isnt working as it should!!!

Wired:

Wireless N card:

KingDaveRa · 30-10-2009, 22:23

Make sure you're not using a crowded channel. If you router is able to do a site survey, get it to do so. You'll probably find all your neighbours and you using the same wifi channel. Ideally, only channels 1, 6 and 11 should be used (as I recall) to avoid interference. Try moving to another one, and see how things go. It's best to run a survey first to find where everybody else is hiding though.

chrisjackson1985 · 30-10-2009, 22:28

its running ch6, but i cant see on the dlink router page where i can change this.....

edit: i found it, and tried all the channels 1, 6 and 11 and nothing changed.

KingDaveRa · 31-10-2009, 09:13

OK, have you made sure you have the latest drivers for the card?

Do you actually have a good signal? I've seen full signal strength, but low quality before (weird, I know!).

My theory is it's one of two things - either the card is under performing, or the signal isn't good enough to do what you want.

I suppose another thing you could try (just to see what it does) is switch the router into B/G only mode, assuming it'll let you do that, i.e. turn off N. Wireless N uses a whole range of other frequencies, and it's possible it's crashing into interference all over the place.

AndyCalling · 01-11-2009, 00:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingDaveRa

Make sure you're not using a crowded channel. If you router is able to do a site survey, get it to do so. You'll probably find all your neighbours and you using the same wifi channel. Ideally, only channels 1, 6 and 11 should be used (as I recall) to avoid interference. Try moving to another one, and see how things go. It's best to run a survey first to find where everybody else is hiding though.

Actually, it's a bit more complex than that. Channels 1, 6 & 11 are never affected by neighbouring channels. The others are. It's still worth choosing another channel if it's not flanked over a crowded 1, 6 or 11.

AbyssUnderground · 02-11-2009, 09:26

1, 6 and 11 are the most popular channels, use one inbetween such as 3 or 8. I use 4 personally as for my area it's the least crowded.

Also check the SPI firewall is OFF
What encryption are you using? A high security level of encryption can cause slow speeds too.

TheDon · 02-11-2009, 11:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by AbyssUnderground

1, 6 and 11 are the most popular channels, use one inbetween such as 3 or 8. I use 4 personally as for my area it's the least crowded.

Each channel actually takes up 5 channels, the channel number is the middle of the frequency range used by it. This is why 1 6 and 11 are the most popular, because they can be used in the same area with no interference from each other.

By using one in the middle you're getting interference from those using the channels either side, so if you're using channel 3 then channels 1 and 6 are interfering with it (as well as 2, 4, 5 and 7). You can actually get more interference by selecting a middle channel than using the same one as someone else.

AbyssUnderground · 02-11-2009, 11:14

Yes I am aware of the overlapping frequencies, but in my case it actually helped, since the signal was stronger and the interference less strong on a middle channel. My biggest problem at the moment is my lousy netbooks ability to receive any wireless signal at all. It's got a very poor transmit/receive levels compared to my other laptop.

azcomposer · 02-11-2009, 13:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDon

Each channel actually takes up 5 channels, the channel number is the middle of the frequency range used by it. This is why 1 6 and 11 are the most popular, because they can be used in the same area with no interference from each other.

By using one in the middle you're getting interference from those using the channels either side, so if you're using channel 3 then channels 1 and 6 are interfering with it (as well as 2, 4, 5 and 7). You can actually get more interference by selecting a middle channel than using the same one as someone else.

Correct. 1, 6 and 11 are known as the clean channels. But I thought N had more channels, and therefore more 'clean' ones...

flamingeck · 02-11-2009, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by AbyssUnderground

1, 6 and 11 are the most popular channels, use one inbetween such as 3 or 8. I use 4 personally as for my area it's the least crowded.

Also check the SPI firewall is OFF
What encryption are you using? A high security level of encryption can cause slow speeds too.

Why are you recommending him to turn off the firewall. He's already proven that the router is capable of sustaining 50Mbps via wire. Its the wireless that's the problem.

Sephiroth · 02-11-2009, 17:56

Tell us about your router please.

Any other PCs/devices connected?

Reason I ask is to see if the Router has legs; whether there is 802.11G stealing cycles - sort of thing.

Ben B · 02-11-2009, 18:05

What Operating System are you using?

Welshchris · 02-11-2009, 18:17

could it be an incompatibility issue between the router and card? My ex had one of the Thompson Sky modem/routers and a BELKIN Wireless G Card, wired he would get about 13mb on their upto 16mb package. Wireless he was lucky to get 3mb. When he bought an Edamax Wireless card instead he never had a problem after that.

chrisjackson1985 · 02-11-2009, 18:55

the router is the supplied d-link one, 615 i think.

my wirelessN card is the D-Link DWA-547 RangeBooster N650,

signal is perfect - full strength - 300mbps - ive tried countless things and its seriously doing my head in.

im using Windows 7 Home Premium at the moment.

one other pc connected on the network, the speeds on there are fine, its just mine that is having problems.

Sephiroth · 02-11-2009, 19:44

When your other PC is not connected wirelessly (in fact not on the network) do you have the same problem? i.e. [Is the router being dtressed by 802.11g at the same time as 802.11n?

Is there a mismatch between 802.11n settings on your 547 card and the DIR-615?

Also your 802.11g card wasn't doing so well either at 28Mbps.

So it looks like something to do with the router.