1 Gbps Internet - Possible over WiFi?

[RoryH]

Does anyone have an opinion on the TP-Link C3150? I've been having a look at that and the Asus 88U for my 1 gigabit connection.

I wont be getting a 4x4 adapter yet, so I will just be trying to get the best and fastest possible connection over my 3x3 network adapter.

The C3150 has top scores across the downlink charts on both the 2.4 and 5 GHz. It also matched and did slightly better than the 88U on the review on this site.

Also:

Test Description TP-LINK Archer C3150
WAN - LAN TCP (Mbps) 941
LAN - WAN TCP (Mbps) 941

Test Description ASUS RT-AC88U
WAN-LAN (Mbps) 802
LAN-WAN (Mbps) 791

Does this mean that the 88U can only just about max out at 800 Mbps wired? That would be a bit surprising since my cheap ZTE supplied router can hit higher (870).

The only thing is, I was reading PC Mag's review here (http://uk.pcmag.com/tp-link-ac3150-...-wireless-mu-mimo-gigabit-router-archer-c3150) and the 88U clearly does amazingly better.

Does this mean that the charts on SNB are not a reliable gauge for actual home use? But how did the TP Link do so well here?

Lastly, going back to my original question, what do you advise would be the fastest router / best option for achieving the highest possible wireless speed (with a 3x3 network adapter)?

No comments on the C3150 / AC88U comparison?

 

[pege63]

look here and here

 

[pete y testing]

No comments on the C3150 / AC88U comparison?

just so you dont have to click the link , the asus and tp link work wifi wise quite similar and yes i have them both , so it really comes down to what you are looking for as wifi wise they are quite similar , functionality and maturity of firmware wise the asus wins hands down and thats where paying the extra $80 to $100 is certainly worth it if you look at the feature set and flexibility of use

 

[RoryH]

No comments on the C3150 / AC88U comparison?

Thanks for the links but I have seen those before, and the reason I was asking for other comments was because the review on SNB looks great but another review on PC Mag shows the TP Link much weaker than the SNB comparison

"The C3150 delivered solid throughput rates on our 5GHz close-proximity test, but could not match its competitors. Its score of 336Mbps trailed the Asus RT-AC88U (537Mbps), the Netgear Nighthawk R7800 (491Mbps), and our leader, the D-Link DIR-890L/R (558Mbps). Its score of 254Mbps on the 30-foot test beat the Netgear Nighthawk R7800 (247Mbps), but not the Asus RT-AC88U (302Mbps) or the D-Link DIR-890L/R (310Mbps).

The C3150 delivered a relatively fast throughput score of 92.2Mbps on our 2.4GHz close-proximity (same-room) test. That's right up there with the Asus RT-AC88U (97.9Mbps) and the D-Link AC3200 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-890L/R) (92.7Mbps), but a bit slower than the Netgear Nighthawk X4S Smart Wi-Fi Router (R7800) (105Mbps). At 30 feet, the C3150's score of 45.3Mbps couldn't keep pace with the Asus RT-AC88U (74.3Mbps), the Netgear Nighthawk R7800 (52.3Mbps), or the D-Link DIR-890L/R (82Mbps)."

Whereas SNB showed the TP link beating the 88U in every test, as well having slightly better range.

just so you dont have to click the link , the asus and tp link work wifi wise quite similar and yes i have them both , so it really comes down to what you are looking for as wifi wise they are quite similar , functionality and maturity of firmware wise the asus wins hands down and thats where paying the extra $80 to $100 is certainly worth it if you look at the feature set and flexibility of use

Thanks Pete, there's about 120 pounds difference here in the UK. It's great that you have them both, what do you make of the PC Mag speed comparison?

What I'm looking for is still my original post, which is the best router for fastest connection with a 3x3 adapter (in a relatively small flat).

 

[pete y testing]

which is the best router for fastest connection with a 3x3 adapter (in a relatively small flat).

the simple answer to that question is the asus rt-ac68u with ether an asus pce-ac88 or dlink dwa-192

 

[RoryH]

That's the PHY layer link rate - the actual network rate counting overhead is less... AC867 generally will translate to about 500-550 Mbit/Sec at the IP layer...

Which goes back to my original statement - consider about 250 to 275 Mbit/Sec per spatial stream in use with 802.11ac - and that's not bad... a three stream radio connection should get one right around 750 to 850 Mbit/Sec best case...

To get a "gigabit" - one would have to have 4 spatial stream support for both the AP and the client station...

So I went with the TP-Link C3150 after much reading and research, ordered and received it today (Prime Now is pretty amazing). I haven't explored it much, but I disabled the 2.4Ghz wireless and kept the 5Ghz in AC mode only. Channels are set to Auto and Bandwidth on 80MHz.

You were quite spot on with the AC867 AC speeds, this is what I am currently getting after several test runs.

But the question is, why am I syncing at 867 Mbps. My laptop network adapter is a 3x3 and I used to sync at 1,300 Mbps on my BT Homehub 5.

I've tried getting closer to the router, but it doesn't help. Any ideas why it is sticking to 867? Or are there ways of forcing the maximum sync rate?

I reckon 800+ Mbps is possible if I can get a 1,300 connection rate. Which is pretty awesome over wireless..

 

[sfx2000]

But the question is, why am I syncing at 867 Mbps. My laptop network adapter is a 3x3 and I used to sync at 1,300 Mbps on my BT Homehub 5.

I've tried getting closer to the router, but it doesn't help. Any ideas why it is sticking to 867? Or are there ways of forcing the maximum sync rate?

Specifics on the Broadcom adapter?

 

[RoryH]

Specifics on the Broadcom adapter?

AW-CB160H

 

[sfx2000]

AW-CB160H

Hmmm...

The Windows drivers have been problematic with the BCM4360 chipset - with three antenna's connected, it should get there, but at the same time - this chipset was mostly used on the AP side, not the client side.

FWIW - it's the same chip that is in Mac's with 11ac support, but that's a private driver for OSX, and the Windows side, the most common perhaps for add-in cards is the ASUS PCE-AC68 card, which has been a problem for Win10...

 

[sfx2000]

FWIW - it's the same chip that is in Mac's with 11ac support,

Should also note that with Macintosh - the 4360 was shipped in both 2-stream (AC867) and 3-stream (AC1300) configs - again, antenna connections and firmware inside the chip itself which the drivers cannot touch (it's a one time programmable input in the chip itself, outside of the driver and OS)...

 

[RoryH]

Hmmm...

The Windows drivers have been problematic with the BCM4360 chipset - with three antenna's connected, it should get there, but at the same time - this chipset was mostly used on the AP side, not the client side.

FWIW - it's the same chip that is in Mac's with 11ac support, but that's a private driver for OSX, and the Windows side, the most common perhaps for add-in cards is the ASUS PCE-AC68 card, which has been a problem for Win10...

I decided to open up the laptop to take a look at the adapter and to my surprise it is the AW-CE123H! I have no idea how this is possible as I am POSITIVE I have seen the chip in my laptop several times before while cleaning the fans and changing thermal paste. and have seen my connection sync at 1,300 Mbps on my BT Homehub 5 before.

The only thing I can think of is that I dropped off my laptop at a place for a few days to have a damaged chip repaired on the motherboard after a screen replacement went wrong, this was months ago, that's the only way someone could've swapped out the card. Is it that valuable to take?

On a positive note, I managed to find updated Broadcom drivers (V7.35.317.3) for Win 10 64bit, from the Asus Rampage V Edition 10 support page, and this has given a good boost considering I am on 2x2 stream it seems..


V6.34.223.5

It was maxing out at around 530-540 at 7 meters and at 2 meters


V7.35.317.3

Now getting that at similar distances.

The TP-Link C3150 so far has been solid, stable connection, boots up very quickly, havent had any problems or needed to restart it. And these speeds are super impressive.

I will be ordering another AW-CB160H. With the above rates 900+ mbps could be possible given that a single stream is hitting 310+.

 

[sfx2000]

I decided to open up the laptop to take a look at the adapter and to my surprise it is the AW-CE123H! I have no idea how this is possible as I am POSITIVE I have seen the chip in my laptop several times before while cleaning the fans and changing thermal paste. and have seen my connection sync at 1,300 Mbps on my BT Homehub 5 before.

The only thing I can think of is that I dropped off my laptop at a place for a few days to have a damaged chip repaired on the motherboard after a screen replacement went wrong, this was months ago, that's the only way someone could've swapped out the card. Is it that valuable to take?

Interesting - could have been an accident, or that was the card that was there in the first place...

Drivers can make a difference sometimes, but again, around 500Mb/Sec is a fair value for an AC867 connection across different traffic types - not that Speedtest.net is relevant or not, but it is only one use case amongst many...