Asus K61 (X66) Wi-Fi

[deef]

Hi all!

I own a brand new Asus K61(X66) laptop, a very very good pc. It runs Windows 7 x64 Home Edition, and has an Atheros wireless module.

My problem is, that the internet connection speed comparing this pc to another (an "ancient" Pentium III, connected to router using an Asus usb wireless adapter) is drastically different. I mean, on Speedtest.net (and on bittorrent downloading) I get on the notebook even 1/4 the speed I get on the other pc.
I think it isn't a Windows software problem, because I sometimes run on the same laptop Slackware Linux and it gets same speeds. Drivers on Win are the last provided by Asus.

At this point, the question is: is the wireless Atheros module a piece of crap its own?

 

[Didou]

Try connecting your laptop's Ethernet connection to the router & redo the speed tests. If you get better results it could indeed be the WiFi connection that's lackluster.

Btw if you're running a 802.11G wireless network, it could be that it's very saturated if there are a lot of other similar networks around your area. You could either upgrade to 802.11N or try running a cable to wherever your laptop is installed. If you like moving around then you should definitely consider 802.11N.

 

[deef]

I tried cable, and speed was ok. But I hoped it wasn't a bad wireless receiver, and so took the pc next to the router. The speed there was ok again.

So now I figure out that (with my router) a signal of 40% means an effective speed loss of 1/4, even on a 4mb home adsl. This makes me very surprised, and feel a little noob.

However, thank you for help.

 

[Didou]

I've already had the situation where the wireless connection was slower than the Internet connection, especially if you have multiple machines on this wireless network. 802.11N is a good step in the right direction but wired is still best as far as transfer speeds go.