Sidebar gadget to show network speed? & Wireless Issues

[Kev]

Does anyone have a sidebar gadget for vista that shows the network speed for wireless? I have one installed that shows signal strength, but I'd like one that shows the network speed as well (as sometimes my network speed drops while the signal remains at 100%). Not looking for one which will eat up performance by showing all sorts of data, just plain old network speed will do me fine.

On a similar subject, I'm also interested to here from people who had problems with wireless using 802.11g and have upgraded to 802.11n. I have an N+ network adapter but my router is only 11g. Is it worth updating to a N router? Has it made a real difference to you? Been reading mixed reviews. Not interested in spec's, its real world results I want to hear about.

 

[Power Boy 8962]

Can you know about net connect USB modem ?

 

[Kev]

Here's my situation.

I have a modem/router downstairs. I have internet TV so need the router to be next to the TV. My computer is in the box room upstairs. I have tried moving the router upstairs and using 200mbps power adapters for the link to the v-box, but my speakers pick up the noise generated and it was annoying me so had to move it back downstairs. The speed is fine during the day, it maintains a steady 54mbps but it slows at night. I have even tried unplugging my cordless phone to see if it was interfering (it was not). There are no other wireless network in range using my channel either. Unfortunately the antenna on my router doesn't seem to be easily replaceable so that option is out. My house is an old stone cottage so the walls are quite thick and this is probably the cause, but moving is probably a bit extreme. I can get a good signal but the signal to noise ratio is poor so the speed is slowed. Was wondering if anyone knew if an N spec router would help. Of course they are faster and claim better coverage but reading reviews leads me to believe this is not always the case.

Of course my other option is to dump the internet tv and get sky. I could have the router upstairs then and enjoy live cricket to boot. No outlay on that either.

 

[m_vaughan]

I too have a N+ adapter with a g router. Currently getting standard speeds of 54Mbps, with strong quality. I have one router near the T3 entry point and three boosters in different locations, with one close to this laptop.

I would expect the n routers to provide better SnR performance though.

How much do you pay for Internet TV? Will it work in the UAE and is it legal?

 

[Kev]

Yes its legal, and no, its a UK only product. Although I suspect there are other countries doing similar products. I'm not watching live tv, its just for on-demand content.

 

[Kev]

Nobody has any suggestions? Or has anything to say regarding N networks being more reliable when noise seemed to be a factor on G networks?

I've tried pretty much everything apart from changing the router now. Guess I'll have to splash some cash and hope it works.

Edit: Sod it, ordered a new router, hope it solves my problem

 

[angryangy]

I dunno, I have an N adapter on order, but I'm yet to try it. I don't have huge issues, but my current one is not something I enjoy dealing with. I chose an N only because I could.

In terms of interference, unfortunately even a microwave will affect the signal. There are now lots of phones and various radio devices that clutter up the spectrum, so it may not be possible to pinpoint any one source. Perhaps all you can do is to change the broadcast channel.

What I do know about network cards is that cheaper is often better because those are the ones that are designed for the OEM market, they stick to popular reference designs and thus are easy to get drivers for. Also, PCI delivers better performance than USB and PCI-express even more so, but those seem to be rare and cost double.

I also know that with wifi, it's also best to match the chipset of the router to that of the adapter. This goes back to the thing about reference designs. In such an industry, you have a bunch of really successful companies that you've probably never heard of, who just design chips. The designs are bought by companies who then actually build the chips and put them in their devices.

Finding out what chipset is in what device isn't as easy as doing the same with motherboards or video cards, but basically you Google the name of the device with the word "chipset" and hope you get somewhere. I think, aside from the Intel device used in almost all laptops, Ralink, Atheros and Broadcom make the most common wifi chipsets. I'm not sure you can actually get a router with an Intel chipset anyway.

D-Link, for example, almost always use Broadcom, so using D-Link adapters with your D-Link router is likely to work well. Not all companies do this though, so it's not always as simple as just sticking to the brands. A D-Link wireless adapter might be a better fit with Netgear's DG834G v4 than any of Netgear's products.

 

[Kev]

Thanks for the reply angy. I had tried things like unplugging my phones and stuff, of course I can''t control my neighbours (well not legally anyway ). I had tried using different channels, making sure I was not on the same channel as anyone nearby - As a side note, it really was an eye opener finding out how many unlocked or poorly encrypted wireless networks there are on my street! Anyhow I connected my N router up yesterday (not an especially expensive one) and initial tests seem to confirm that it has solved my problem. I now have the router in a much less obvious place, tucked away, rather than situated for best signal and my network speed seems to remain at 270mps, it did drop to 248mps for a few moments, but that's absolutely no problem at all, even if it drops to 100mps I'll be happy enough. Compare this to the performance of my old G router, I couldn't even get above 5mps with my laptop when it was less than 2 meters away from the router in the same room the other day!