USB Wireless Adapter problem

[krikara]

I have an ASUS USB wireless adapter and it is having massive lag spikes on my desktop computer.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UVNW5W/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

The download speed on this desktop is ranging anywhere from 1 Mbps to 13 Mbps. This desktop runs on a core 2 duo and only has USB 1.0 ports. The device is USB 2.0 device, so I am not sure if this is a problem and/or part of the reason for these spikes, but I am thinking maybe it is only half the problem.

Now in attempt to isolate the problem , I run the ASUS Device on my laptop in the same area. On the first two speedtests, I get 11 Mbps, then for every test after, I get a consistent 24 Mbps. My laptop uses USB 3.0 slots, so I am sure this makes a difference, just not sure how much.

How can I pinpoint the problem? Is the problem the USB ports or the actual device itself? The device gets pretty hot so maybe I have an overheating problem. Or maybe perhaps it is the desktop computer that is the problem.

One thing I can eliminate is that the problem does not lie in the internet connection. The internet runs perfectly fine and I do not have any internet hijackers as I monitor my connection and router traffic.

 

[eibgrad]

Something doesn’t sound quite right there. USB 1.0 delivers only 11Mbps (and that’s assuming it’s the only USB device, it’s a shared bus). Even if we assume some error in the results, it’s never 100% efficient. In most cases you’d get something less than 11Mbps.

USB wireless adapters are notorious for overheating problems, at least those w/ particularly small footprints. And heat is the enemy of wireless. Sometimes the USB form factor is just not suited to a particular technology (despite the convenience), and imo this is one of them. I avoid them as much as possible.

That’s not a guarantee it’s the problem, but it certainly puts it in the realm of the possibility. If overheating is the issue, they will tend to work fine initially, and then deteriorate as network activity increases. Then in frustration, the user backs off for a while, it cools off, and seems to come back to life again until activity once again increases.