Can I achieve 1 gig Download?

[pjglad]

I have a RT-AC3100. I recently upgraded our internet service to 1 gig. On 5GHz my download speeds on average are 500 Mbps. Is that normal behavior for this router? Is there an Asus router where I can achieve 1 gig? Thanks.

 

[Yota]

This is normal speed for a dual antenna wifi 5 client.

If you want higher speeds on wireless, you'll need to upgrade your router and client to wifi6, then you should be close to 1Gbps at 80MHz

 

[pjglad]

Thanks for responding. I'm not into gaming. Just want high download speeds because I download a fair amount of apps. Can you recommend an ASUS router which has 1 gig download plus good reach? Once again, thanks.

 

[Tech9]

If you don't upgrade the clients, you'll get the same up to 500Mbps no matter what new router you get.

 

[Tech Junky]

This is when you use a NAS wired to the router and download to the NAS and then grab them from there.

Or go DIY and build your own and upgrade the clients to AX210 adapters and you can get gig plus on the LAN and your bottleneck is likely the ISP device at that point with a gig port. I recently upgraded my clients to AX411's and it's a bit of a boost to 1.5gbps reliably. So, it's possibly to get high WIFI speeds if you put some thought into the network but, I suspect you would not be up for upgrading things to that extent.

AP - $150
AX411 - $20/ea - requires ADL CPU though 10/11th might work but, haven't been tested for CNVIO2
2.5GE or higher switch / router $varies

 

[pjglad]

Can someone recommend an ASUS router so I can achieve 1 gig download?

 

[Tech Junky]

Can someone recommend an ASUS router so I can achieve 1 gig download?

It will take more than a router upgrade for WIFI to work at gigabit speeds if you missed those replies.

 

[pjglad]

OK. Can you recommend a Youtube Video so I can better understand wifi6, etc? Some of us did not get the memo. Plus - what router would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[Tech Junky]

@L&LD can recommend Asus as he has a list of them. The biggest issue is the client adapter though for that we need some specs of the machines in question as to whether they're using mPCI or M2 form factor.

 

[Tech9]

Some of us did not get the memo.

Did you get the memo in post #4?

Close to 1Gbps speed over Wi-Fi is possible (not guaranteed) only after you upgrade your ROUTER and the CLIENTS.

RT-AX86U is a popular model here on SNB Forums. It's around $250. Cheaper alternative is RT-AX86S, often around $180.

 

[pjglad]

Thanks!! Which one?

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=RT-AX86U

 

[Tech Junky]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BJHS3X7/?tag=snbforums-20

Cheaper + free shipping

 

[pjglad]

Thanks for your patience. I now understand. I need a router AND a client which supports wifi 6. Any insight re reach of RT-AX86U? Is it equal to RT-AC3100? Again, thanks for your help!

 

[Tech Junky]

apples and oranges.

Understanding Wi-Fi 4/5/6/6E/7 (802.11 n/ac/ax/be)

If you want to take full advantage of the benefits you need an AX210 or AX211 (CNVI) or if you have a newer laptop in the last few months you might be able to go for the AX411 (CNViO2)

But, to figure that out you need to know the specs of your current setup.

 

[Tech9]

Is it equal to RT-AC3100?

It's better in everything, obviously. Your RT-AC3100 is 7-years old model. Read this thread though before you reach your credit card:

Faster Wireless Download Speed Over Wired Connection Between PS5 and Netgear R7000

Hi everyone. I am new here so if this is in the wrong thread please let me know. I recently upgraded to 1 gig fiber internet. My Netgear R7000's wired speed doesn't seem to be as fast as it should be. The R7000 has only one LAN connected to a PS5 and 8 wireless devices. When I did speed tests on...

www.snbforums.com

Your situation is very similar. You are the perfect target customer for your ISP. Perhaps you'll be paying mostly for better speedtest as well.

 

[wouterv]

Optimal or maximum speeds you only get when every thing matches:

1. ISP speed.
2. Router hardware.
3. Client hardware.
4. The environment, hardware locations and the distance between router and the wireless clients.

Your ISP is obvious, for a higher possible speed you need to pay more. Keep an eye on the below and watch out you are not subscribing to speeds that are by far not feasible for your situation.

The Wi-Fi hardware develops over the years, most common standards these days are 802.11ac / Wi-Fi 5 and 802.11ax / Wi-Fi6, newer standards are in general faster. For optimal results the router and clients shall be of the same standard.

With the Wi-Fi standard also the number of data streams / antenna's plays an important role: more data streams / antenna's means a higher speed, for optimal results the client shall have the same number of antenna's as the router. Usually clients are limited to one or two antenna's.

Depending on the environment (rural area versus a crowded apartment building), distance and disturbance, the router accepts certain settings. Most important is the bandwidth on 5 GHz, for the highest speed you need 160 MHz. Usually you only get 80 MHz which half's the capability.

This table indicates Wi-Fi standards and the maximum data rate per data stream for a given bandwidth for 5 GHz or 6 GHz (Wi-Fi 6E):

The above shows that the possible or final Wi-Fi speed is not a straightforward number, it is always the sum and result of many variables.

[EDIT]
And very right said by Yota, if speed is ultimately important: use a 1 Gbps wired connection from your PC to the router without the need to upgrade the router.

 

[XIII]

Just want high download speeds because I download a fair amount of apps.

Mobile or desktop? What’s the typical App size?

(Are the Apps that large that it’s even worth spending (a lot of) money on this?)

 

[Yota]

If you're using a laptop or PC, consider a wired connection, if you don't have an Ethernet port, buy a 1000Mbps USB-C to Ethernet adapter for a few dollars, it's the most reliable upgrade, far cheaper and more reliable than spending a few hundred dollars to upgrade your router and clients.

But if you are using a mobile phone, then if the phone was purchased in the last 2 years, it may already support wifi6, you can Google your phone model to confirm whether it supports wifi6, if it supports wifi6, you can consider buying a wifi6 router, most people will recommend RT-AX86U here.

But before we give you any further advice, I suggest you describe your needs in detail, as few people use 1Gbps bandwidth 24/7 these days, as it quickly fills up most people's drives, or even their NAS.

And no streaming or real-time application today will fully utilize the full bandwidth of 1Gbps. (The exception is streaming uncompressed Blu-ray 4K UHD over a LAN, which will consume around 600Mbps at peak, and even more than 800Mbps in some demo videos, but since most TVs today are 100Mbps Ethernet interfaces, so such use cases are limited to very specific groups)