Will a new wireless router improve my download speed?

67Mustang · 13-12-2010, 11:51

I'm currently on the 10 Mbps Virgin broadband package and use a wireless router. I typically get download speeds of 4-5 Mbps depending on the time of day, which I guess is not too bad from reading some other posts on this and other forums.

I'd always assumed this was largely a result of using a relatively old wireless router (an Actiontec one from about 6 years ago that has a maximum speed/ capacity of 11 Mbps), a fair distance between the router and receiver through two thick brick walls and having an old PC (unlikely to be an issue in itself).

I'm about to replace my old PC and wondered if I could improve my broadband download speed with a new wireless router and receiver. I connected the PC directly to the modem with an ethernet cable and got pretty much the full download speed of 10 Mbps and upload of almost 1 Mbps, so presumably the modem is working fine/ is not a bottleneck (not sure how accurate these online speed tests are). Connecting the PC to the router via ethernet reduces the download speed to more like 5 Mbps, which may be typical, or should I expect a faster speed than that connecting directly to the router? Unfortunately a full-time ethernet connection is not a practical option for me, so I still need to connect the new PC wirelessly.

My question is this - if I were to buy a wireless N router and receiver/ adapter capable of say 150 Mbps or even 300 Mbps, is this likely to give me a stronger signal and therefore get my wireless download speed closer to 10 Mbps, or am I just wasting my time/ money? Also, is a PCI/ PCI-E adapter likely to have a stronger signal than a USB adapter, or vice versa?

If this would improve my broadband speed, I'd appreciate any recommendations for a reliable wireless router and receiver/ adapter? There is an extraordinary choice out there, often with mixed reviews, and while my instinct is to go with a well-known name like Netgear, Linksys or D-Link, I note that companies like Edimax also get good reviews. Looking on the Scan website for example, any thoughts on these wireless routers:

- Edimax BR-6424n
- D-Link DIR-615 (comes with a DWA-140 USB adapter)
- Netgear WNR2000

These are all in the £30-£40 bracket (plus the receiver for the Edimax and Netgear), but I'm happy to pay more for a better/ more reliable wireless router. I don't really need any of the more sophisticated options available - just something that is relatively easy to set up in Windows 7 and works reliably (is that too much to ask these days?!).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Waldo Pepper · 16-12-2010, 18:10

By the time you add the overhead data on a wireless 11Mbit link you certainly will not get 10Mbits broadband speed.

I use a Netgear wireless G router and am on the same package and usually always get 9.5Mb+.

The Netgear WNR2000 is a simple and cheap router that should do just fine.