Wireless adapter speed question?

Question

I have a laptop that dislplays 54 mbps in the icon tray of my laptop, yet the PCI card i just bought for my PC only says 24 while in the same spot... It is rated as a 54 max adapter. Is this because the wireless card on my laptop is lying and just saying 54 wen it is actually lower, or is it because the card on my PC is crappy and should be replaced?

Answer 1

It can be any of the things you state.

It can also be that the pc is not in the exact same spot (e.g. laptop on table, pc on floor right under the lap top) and this is enough difference in location to be significant.

Unless you are doing pc - pc transfers on your LAN, your speed is fine; no Internet connection runs at that speed.

Answer 2

If the case in which you installed the PC PCI card is metal, that could be your culprit. (At the very least, it has a metal frame in it.) If the bulk of the case is between the antenna and the wireless router/access point, try reorienting at least one of the two.

Wireless networking uses simple radio transceivers in the 2.4GHz range to operate. Any nearby metal objects can scramble the signal. That's why many of the PC PCI cards include an separate antenna that can be placed a short way from the PC. (Even just setting it on top will help.)

Linksys makes a product to convert the antenna on the back of their PCI to a table/desktop antenna. (It is specifically for the SMA-type connectors.) http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite... Newegg has it (and a better picture that shows the cable) at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...