not impressed

[faze]

I've had 50MB broadband for about 9 months.And with a wired connection I used to get close to 50MB on speedtest. However, I've never noticed much difference when using the internet compared to when I used to be on 20MB. For example youtube videos still buffer all the time!

Anyway, recently I had to move my PC to another room so I'm using the wireless N usb adapter to connect. Internet speed is so much slower-pages and picture take a while to load. Seem to get speeds of 10MB when I use speedtest. Is there supposed to be such a big loss of speed on wireless?

The problem is that my PC will be in another room to the modem and router and it's not practical for me to get a super long ethernet wire to connect to the modem.

will a superhub provide better wireless speeds? Am i better off downgrading to 30MB broadband as I don't notice significant difference in speeds? how easy is it to downgrade because I guess I'm still in a 12/18 month contract?

[kwikbreaks]

> will a superhub provide better wireless speeds?
Unlikely.

> Am i better off downgrading to 30MB broadband as I don't notice significant difference in speeds?
Depends on whether or not you are prepared to spend any money on boosting your wireless speeds.

> how easy is it to downgrade because I guess I'm still in a 12/18 month contract?
All you can do is ask retentions.

There are two simple checks you need to make...

Download and use http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider to make sure you are on the least busy WiFi channel.

Make sure you are using an 802.11n router and PC adapter. G tops out at ~ 22Mbps

If you buy a router that supports 5GHz N and a matching adapter for your PC you may see an improvement but it's a very expensive option.

Gigabit homeplugs ditto. 200Mbps ones may be good enough for 50Mbps but there won't be a lot of headroom as they top out at 70Mbps and may deliver a lot less. Don't be fooled by people who say they get 200Mbps - that's the sync rate. They are only fitted with 100Mbps ethernet ports which is a bit of a giveaway.

I personally wouldn't bother with 50Mbps if I could only use it on WiFi.

[faze]

I'll try the wifi channel check tonight and look into the homeplugs(prices etc)

Thanks for the info

[Stephen]

The 50MB will only be noticeable when actually downloading stuff. Browsing the web won't seem much different at all.