Are you asking if the 300mbps is overkill?

If you have a draft 802.11N then your router is capable of 240mbps (not 300, but close) but your Wireless NIC is only capable of mostlikely 54mbps. So yes maybe the 802.11N does seem like anoverkill when you only have 5-15 meg speed but it doesn't hurt. The only reason you might want it is to for signal distance, it travels farther and you can use your PC greater distances away.

Another thing. I have a Linksys wrt150-n 802.11n like you. I am currently only connectd at 54 from my router to the PC because my WNIC can only support data transfer up to 54 meg. I am connected at about 7meg from the router to the internet (although I'm paying for 10meg,) The router itself has capabilities well over 54meg but neither my computer or my ISP offer anymore than that. The only reason I bought the 802.11N was for signal distance. Not for speed. I could be fine on an 802.11b/g. I am not sure what you're asking but hope this helps!

And cable is not guaranteed as far as speed goes and it is effected by usage of the line that runs into your house. Right now like I stated above I pay for 10mbps high-speed through Charter Communications but I share that 10mbps with my whole row of townhouses where I live which is 5 houses. So at any given time my actual speed ranges from 3-10 mbps. DSL is effected by distance from the source.

Not sure if this answered your question!

Rick,

Thanks. All useful info.

My PC is older so I had to buy a wireless PCI card. I tried different brands over time for speed, consistency, and range. Started with 802.11b, the went to g, and now n.

I recently upgraded to a matching pair PCI card and wireless router by D-Link which is N, but bought it for range, not speed.

My Linksys G system had a weak signal and was always giving me errors for some reason. I kept having to power cycle the PC to get it to connect.

I find the D-Link to be more stable and much stronger signal strength. And even though it's a draft N, my wireless icon says 300Mbps connection speed. (?? )

As far as my question, I'm sorry I don't seem to be able to articulate it clearly. I'll try again.

When someone talks about internet download speeds, they might say 10Mbps. If I understand this correctly, this is the speed at which the ISP server downloads data to my computer via a cable.

When someone talks about wireless connection speed being say 54Mbps, is that the same definition as the ISP download speed? The speed in Mbps that the router downloads data to my PC?

Is it the same thing except one is over a cable and the other is wireless?

I remember reading somewhere online that the wireless speed has nothing to do with download speed, but I don't understand why that would be the case.

I hope that made sense.

Thanks...

[QUOTE=mitchsc;1445785]Rick,
When someone talks about internet download speeds, they might say 10Mbps. If I understand this correctly, this is the speed at which the ISP server downloads data to my computer via a cable.

When someone talks about wireless connection speed being say 54Mbps, is that the same definition as the ISP download speed? The speed in Mbps that the router downloads data to my PC?
QUOTE]


Correct. Internet Speed is the speed your ISP allows you to download pages and data. It's the speed from your router/modem to the internet. Your wirless connection speed is from your computer to the router, it refers to the speed of internetwork transfer speed, or the speed you can transfer stuff inside the network, not outside the network.

I am pretty sure this is how it works but I sat and thought about it so long I might be confusing myself! AHAHAHAHA

Rick,

Okay, we agree.

But can the to be defined as the same thing?

Are they both just data transfer speed? And are the units of measure both the same... Mbps?

Both are measured in mbps. They are both data ransfer speed yes but they differ in the fact that one refers to internetork transfers the other to internet transfer.

I am glad we could agree!

Have a merry x-mas!

Mitch, the 300 Mbps you are seeing is the speed of YOUR network and NOT the internet download speed.

Rick, I'm not sure why you think this is overkill, bear on mind that corporate offices are now running 1 Gbps as standard and 10 Gbps is available.

My work network is running at 1 Gbps, even though my WAN is only 2Mbps.

So internally it's lightening quick, which is what you want ;)

ITStudent, if you are not getting the speeds which you ARE guaranteed you need to contact your isp. I troubleshoot speed issues all the time for this fact. When you run the speedtest it is important that you do a direct test (aka remove you router and have an RJ-45 from modem to computer) for the test as this is something that will effect your speeds. You will also want to remove any software or hardware firewall that you do have. I can guarantee you that they are guaranteed, however if you are not getting the speeds then it is an issue at your residance or somewhere on the maintenance side of things. Just because you are not getting the speeds does not mean they are not guaranteed, it means you just have not done enough troubleshooting to find out where the problem may lie.

And in regards to the wireless N, if you have a wireless N card and have a wireless N router then you will get faster speeds. It will not show through the internet speeds, however if you have something that you have to transfer from one computer to another and both are wireless N and configured properly then you should see a very fast transfer rate between the two. Would you be using the wireless inside the home for anything other just the internet(ICS, sharing files between pcs, Media Box) If you are doing any of the previous, I suggest upgrading to the wireless N standard.

I did not know I had to go direct from my PC to modem! Thanks Theecho. And CurlyBen re-read what I wrote I not once said it was overkill, I asked him if he was asking me if it was overkill! No worries though, and I know the 300mbps (it's actually 240 w/ 802.11N not 300) is YOUR netowrk, we discussed this earlier.

Thank You guys for clearing up anyhing I in't already!

So if I'm paying for 10 meg, I should be getting 10 meg somewhere?

When I tested on my laptop which is wireless to the router I was only getting anywhere between 2-5.

If I go direct it should increase as well as temporarily disable any firewalls?

That is correct. I pay for 10mbps down 2mbps up and average around 8 through my router. If I go direct to modem, I will get 20mbps because of the powerboost. If you do not mind me asking, who is your isp?

Theecho -

I understand everything you're saying, and did not know that speed tests should be performed without router and firewall. Thank you.

My cable ISP quotes 10Mbps.

When I do a speedtest (thru my wireless router and Windows firewall) I do get the full 10Mbps.

Can I assume from this that if I switched to ATT (which I believe is DSL) and they quote 6Mbps, then I would get the full 6, even though it is running through my firewall and wireless router?

No. With DSL it is quoted as "up to" which means you may or may not get it. DSL speeds depend on how far away you are from their server. DSL uses repeaters to go through and attempt to deliver the speeds however it just cannot send it the same way that cable does. I would never be on a DSL connection for myself and would not recommend it to anyone. Also something to keep in mind is that you normally have to keep the service of phone and internet together for the internet to work whereas with cable if you don't want the phone you don't have to have it. I only say this because I do not have a home phone. I only use my cell phone and do not wish to have a home phone at all, and definitely not be required to keep it for my internet.

Many homes and offices cannot get the higher speed DSL because they are located too far from the telephone company's central office. DSL circuits cannot maintain high-bandwidth connections past relatively short distances (such as 18,000 feet). In contrast, cable technology provides all customers equal access to high-speed services.

Thank you.

For anyone interested, this is what I've been talking about: U-verse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm still not entirely sure it is DSL...

My isp is charter communications when I get home I will retest without my router and see if I get 10mbps you see I always thought cable was effected by how many people weqe on that line

You can also check your internet download and upload speed test here http://www.ip-details.com/internet-speed-test/ at free of cost.