Can I do better than at 3-4mbps Wireless?

Hi,
I just installed a Linksys Wireless-G (WRT54G), set up was easy but I noticed that my downloads were slower, 3-4mbps.

So I turned off my laptop wireless modem and atached the cable to the Linksys Wireless-G.

Now I'm back to 9-11mbps. Which I figured would happen anyway.

What's the best I could expect from a wireless?

Would the Linksys with the speed booster help and help that much anyway? From what I gather I would have to get a speedbooster card for my laptop because the one in my laptop would not take advantage of the speedbooster feature.

 

The WRT54G doesn't have Speedboost anyway, you'd need a WRT54G S.

Try setting the router to "G Only" if you don't have to support any B devices on your wireless network.

 

Wireless speed is 54Mbps tops, most of use get speeds much less than that 36Mbps or 24Mbps -- taking that into account your speeds would be about right, plus theres other factors that might be helping to slow it down. There are products out there that advertise 108Mbps, these products achieve this by using two of the channels on the router instead of one. Yes you would need to get the speedbooster card and a router capable of this to take advantage of the extra speed.IMO I think only you could answer if it's worth it or not.

 

What I mean by downloads is from the internet, graphics/vids.

I know I don't have speedbooster but i could always get one. But then would it be worth the extra expense?

Ok, what is "G-Only"? and I'm guessing that B devices are printers?

I'm only using my laptop and my childrens desktop for wireless. I haven't gotton as far yet trying to figure out file swapping and printer sharing. That's another subject.

thanks guys.

 

If you're downloading from the 'net, you're probably being limited by your internet connection, not the wireless connection from the router to your laptop. What service are you using for internet connectivity (DSL, Cable, etc...)?

B is the older wireless 802.11b standard, and maxes out at ~11Mbps. G is 802.11g, and goes up to ~54Mbps (these are theoretical ideal values). It's dependant on the wireless network device. The WRT54G is a 'G'-capable router, and if your laptop and desktop both use wireless G network cards, you can disable the 'B' band. (There are usually settings in the router to enable B, G, or mixed mode operation.) If you don't need B, at very least you will close down one extra path that someone can use to access your network, and at best, you may get a slight speed improvement, but again, it sounds like your internet connection may actually be your limiting factor.

 

Don't forget the traffic and disruption from other waves in the air, as the max speed may be advertised at will be halved at the least.

And 3-4mbps isn't bad, I get 1.4mbps wireless max

 

Thanks for the explanation B / G. I'm pretty sure during set it's set for "G".

I guess I'm doing good wireless then, so far the avg. download off the internet, with good and poor site servers, is 3-4mbps using the wireless.

I have Cox Cable Broadband Service upgraded to high speed 15+mbps download service. Very fast with a direct wire hookup to the router or modem.

What kind of brought up my question was that I saw that Linksys had a speed booster router and I didn't know about it when I bought this one. I bet it wouldn't be worth the extra expense for a the slight increase in speed it would bring. Let alone the fact that I couldn't use my internal wireless.
I like to see big improvements anytime I upgrade.

Thank you very much for the input!

Now I have to tackle the file sharing / printer sharing process.