Obviously it is just a symbol for easy user interface. But here is what I am wondering. Currently on my desktop I have a pci wireless-n card installed which transmits a 300 mbps data rate. On the other hand my laptop, which is also wireless-n, transmits 72 mbps. When I typed in "netsh wlan show all" in cmd, my desktop shows a signal of 70% while my laptop has 20% both to the same router. Thing is, my desktop always shows 3 or 4 bars and my laptop shows full 5 bars all the time. I figured that my desktop would always have a weaker signal because it is blocked by multiple walls and other things since it is on the ground. This also shows that my laptop, which is has less interference since it is higher up, gets a weaker signal. Is this due to the transmission rates?