Killer 1525 -> 9620, significant improvement?

I'm using a killer 1525, but with only oem atheros drivers and no killer software. The killer software was garbage with all those features that would end up causing more trouble than good. The performance is decent, I can't complain. I get ~40MB/s transfer speed with my NAS (on 1Gbps ethernet it tops at 80-90 MB/s). So I am only getting ~320Mbps on 866Mbps connection. That seems to make sense to me, as I hear you only get about 1/3 actual performance. Router is asus ac-68u.

My question is if I upgrade to a 9260, will I see any significant performance improvements? Are there any 3x3 mini pci cards out there? Thanks for the help.

 

You should be able to discern benefits in fringe areas. Intel WiFi cards are pretty great when it comes to signal strength (IMO). Even Killer has since moved to rebranding Intel cards (Killer 1550 and 1650).

That being said, make sure your laptop:

-Has the same connector type for the antennas. The connectors got smaller, sometime during the Intel 726_ series. I think the whole industry moved that way.
-Doesn't have a WiFi blacklist/whitelist. Some laptop vendors are particularly vindictive, and restrict the WiFi chips to a slim spattering of "OEM" approved options.


As for 3x3, some Broadcom chips out there, but hard to find. Most commonly used in some macbooks. I think some Intel cards had it, but that was during the WiGIG and WiMAX era, so I don't know if it was actual 3x3 WiFi, or 2x2 WiFi with some other radio functionality. Make sure your laptop actually supports the third antenna, and make sure your router can actually serve a 3x3 MIMO setup.

 

3x3 MPCIE are limited to the intel 6300AGN and some weird broadcom AC chip I forgot the naem

 

Thanks for the info. Guess I'll stay on this killer atheros card. Sucks that 3x3 AC cards never really caught on for laptops.

 

Your signal strength may or may not improve updating the wireless card from the 1525.I used a 1525 for a few years and I had no complaints with it.
The 9260ac is a good card but you may experience little or no improvement in your location on your hardware using a newer wireless card.Where you have your pc and where your router is located will change signal strength.
Router make and model and firmware is also a player in the scheme of things.

When I used a 9260/Killer 1550 in a notebook and desktop paired with a Netgear R7800 router I got the max 1,733 Mbps when in line of sight and within 15'

If updating today from a 1525 I'd skip over the 9260 and get an Intel AX200 just in case there's a router update somewhere in the future.

If you haven't already I suggest installing the free version of inSSIDer and walk around your location with the program runningto find where you get the strongest signal strength.Registration required but worth the effort.
https://www.metageek.com/products/inssider/

 

I saw in a recent notebookcheck review of the Legion Y740, that the recent wifi cards killer 1550i and intel 9560 are getting 600-700 Mbps in iperf3 testing. Thats insanely better than real world performance I am getting (~330Mbps with an asus RT86u). I wonder if its my wifi card or router that I need to change to get these speeds...

I had the router in direct line of sight with my laptop within 3 meters. Now I have one wall in between at 5 meters, but the performance only fell like 5-10%.