Slow wireless AC speeds

[darth_adversor]

Hey everybody,

So I'm concerned about file transfers from two client machines to my server. Server is hard-wired via gigabit Ethernet. I'm using a TP-Link Archer C5 router. Initially I went with Intel 7260 AC cards, but then also threw a Broadcom BCM4352 into the mix.

So, initially I was using the Intel cards on both machines. Laptop was inconsistent, with transfer speeds ranging from 15 MB/s all the way up to 45 MB/s. HTPC never went above 20 MB/s, often times lower. Something happened - planets aligned or the barometric pressure was finally just right - and the laptop started running consistently at around 40 MB/s, while the HTPC stayed the same. Enter the Broadcom card.

The Broadcom card was detected in the HTPC and drivers installed fine, but Windows could not find any networks. I put it in the laptop and BAM, transfer speeds are consistently between 50-60 MB/s.

So that leaves the HTPC. I took the original 7260 out and put the one from the laptop in, thinking the first card was defective. Speeds are still way low, hovering between 15-20 MB/s.

My thoughts:

- Regarding the HTPC, with the Broadcom card mysteriously not working and both Intel cards being slow, maybe the mini-PCIE slot is defective and somehow limiting bandwidth?

- My laptop's chassis is mostly plastic, whereas the HTPC is the opposite. Maybe the metal in the computer case is interfering with the signal and an antenna extension cable would help? Currently using this, which allows me to have the antennas placed only a few inches from the case:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A4I3AGE/?tag=snbforums-20

Beyond those two possibilities, I'm pretty much out of ideas. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Misc. info:

- I've connected my laptop to the router via Ethernet to ensure the problem isn't with my server. File transfers averaged around 90 MB/s.

- I'm on the 5GHz band and connecting via AC, the adapter shows an 866 Mbps connection. I've tried playing around with various channels, tweaking roaming aggressiveness, turning off power management features in Windows, etc. I've tried uninstalling drivers and re-installing, tried the basic Windows driver versus the full-featured PROSet ones, etc.

- I have several devices in my home connected to the 2.4 band, but only the two machines referenced above are connected on the 5GHz band.

- I've performed all of my testing with only one machine connected at a time, and I always perform the tests on both machines from about 10 feet away with a direct line of sight to the router.

Clients:

Dell Studio 1745 laptop, 1st gen Core i7, 8GB RAM, SSD, Windows 7 Home Prem. 64-bit

HTPC running an MSI AM1I mini-ITX board, Sempron 3850, 8GB RAM, SSD, Windows 7 Home Prem. 64-bit

Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading.

 

[zakoh]

If you take a look at real life tests, the wireless-ac performance can vary wildly depending on the distances from the router and obstacles. As for differences between the machines, perhaps the quality and quantity of the internal or external antennas matter too, as well as the case materials to some extent.

 

[sfx2000]

Does the 7260 even work in an AMD board (the HTPC)?

I thought they were dependent on the Intel core logics...

 

[azazel1024]

No, they'll work on an AMD board. How are you set for the antennas? Are they inside the case? outside and behind? If they are internal to the case, there is your culprit right there.

 

[sfx2000]

No, they'll work on an AMD board. How are you set for the antennas? Are they inside the case? outside and behind? If they are internal to the case, there is your culprit right there.

OP had a couple of pig-tails out to dipoles, but it would help to have an actual pic...

And the 7260 in AMD, I honestly did not know this as most of my work with earlier intel cards noted that they were dependent on the SouthBridge (PCH/ICH)... so I've always used alternate WiFi nics in AMD based stuff (and ARM platforms as well)

 

[azazel1024]

Bah, missed the pigtail part.

It could always be a really crappy board though. I've run in to issues where whatever(tm) was going on with the board was causing various performance issues with whatever(tm).