Will I see significant improvement by upgrading to 802.11 ac?

nexuslotus · Aug 7, 2014

I live in Orange County, California. My home is currently subscribed for high-speed internet plan that provides 30Mbps download and 3Mbps upload via Time Warner Cable.

I am currently using 802.11 n with following devices:
Cable Modem: Motorola ARRIS SB6141 (max download 343Mbps)
Wireless Router: Netgear WNR3500L (max download 300Mbps)
Wireless Adapter: ASUS PCE-N15 (max download 300Mbps)

When I perform speedtest on my desktop using wireless connection, I get average of 32Mbps download and 4Mbps uploads which is slightly higher than what I subscribed for with Time Warner Cable.

I am about to upgrade my gaming rig, and at the same time, considering upgrading my network to 802.11 ac by purchasing following

Wireless router that supports 802.11 ac, and ASUS PCE-AC56 ($75) as wireless adapter.

I am currently experiencing not much lag in my house and wireless connection is excellent. I mostly use my gaming rig playing MMO game, World of Warcraft, mostly raiding 10men. My brother has his own desktop and he is connected to the same router using ethernet cable and he is getting about the same speed of 32/4. We have 2 tablets and 3 smartphones in use also.

1) How am I getting nearly the same download/upload speed using wireless connection on my desktop compared to my brother who uses ethernet cable? I was thinking wireless connection performs much slower and poorer compared to using cables. I also get no disconnection.

2) Should I upgrade to 802.11 AC wireless router and adapter? It appears that I am already getting maximum speed of what Time Warner Cable offers. If I am not mistaken, descent 802.11 ac wireless routers cost about $150, so I am looking at total cost of $220 including wireless adapter.

Time Warner Cable offers plan that gives you 100Mbps/10Mbps.

3) If I upgrade my plan to 100/10 with Time Warner, will I receive 100Mbps/10Mbps without upgrading my networking devices since all of my current gear supports up to maximum download speed of 300Mbps?

4) Should I just upgrade my wireless adapter to ASUS PCE-AC56 since it's only $79 and offers better cooling and technology even though I will not using 802.11 ac or 5GHz?

Both my brother and I download movies while playing MMO games.

Your help will be greatly appreciated!

bill001g · Aug 7, 2014

To get those wireless speeds you must not have many tech savy neighbors with routers interfering with you.

Obviously the ISP speed will not magically go higher just because you change to 802.11ac. On 2.4g you are actually running 802.11n just like your current router so it would likely perform exactly the same. On the 5g you would be transfer data a little quicker between your end device and the router but it would still be slowed down when it went to the ISP. The larger concern would be that anything on the 5g band does not have as good coverage in a house. If it would effect you is impossible to say because it depends if the walls block 5g well or not.

If you went to 100m internet it likely would help but it depends on lots of things. Most 802.11n routers top out at about 100m...even though they claim 450m. Of course 802.11ac is claiming 1300m but it might get 200-300 depending on the router and nic combination. So if you really wanted to get 100m you would be much more likely to be able to do it with 802.11ac. Still in your house if there is little interference on 2.4g 802.11n you might easily get the 100m.

COLGeek · Aug 7, 2014

bill001g :

To get those wireless speeds you must not have many tech savy neighbors with routers interfering with you.

Obviously the ISP speed will not magically go higher just because you change to 802.11ac. On 2.4g you are actually running 802.11n just like your current router so it would likely perform exactly the same. On the 5g you would be transfer data a little quicker between your end device and the router but it would still be slowed down when it went to the ISP. The larger concern would be that anything on the 5g band does not have as good coverage in a house. If it would effect you is impossible to say because it depends if the walls block 5g well or not.

If you went to 100m internet it likely would help but it depends on lots of things. Most 802.11n routers top out at about 100m...even though they claim 450m. Of course 802.11ac is claiming 1300m but it might get 200-300 depending on the router and nic combination. So if you really wanted to get 100m you would be much more likely to be able to do it with 802.11ac. Still in your house if there is little interference on 2.4g 802.11n you might easily get the 100m.

+1, well said. Essentially, your current internal network is not what is limiting your performance, rather it is your current level of service. Increasing your internal network's capacity will not overcome this.

g90814 · Aug 7, 2014

If you get a faster internet plan, you'll get faster connections on your computer. You'll probably get faster speeds overall, but perhaps not the full 100/10 speeds.

Upgrading your network equipment won't really affect what you get now.

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Will I see significant improvement by upgrading to 802.11 ac?

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