Wireless issue, 270mbps to 1.0mbps and lag

[llainfactor21]

Ok I am running windows vista ultimate 32bit on an MSI K8 mobo with 2 gigs of corsair xms ddr2 ram, 7800gt nvidia video card, and an athlon 64 x2 3800 processor. Also i'm using a logitech wireless keyboard (lx 710) and a wireless logitech mouse.

Here is what I use/used to network:
Netgear WNR834B RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N router (ROUTER)
Netgear WN121T RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N USB 2.0 Adapter (CURRENT ADAPTER)
EDIMAX EW-7728In 32-bit PCI Wireless 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI Card (PREVIOUS/CURRENT ADAPTER)
U.S. Robotics USR5417 PCI Wireless MAXg Adapter - Retail (PREVIOUS ADAPTER)

Ok so I just moved, yay? In my old apt. I was using the current router and the u.s. robotics card and was always at 54mbps, always. Also I was and still am using a motorola SB5 modem from comcast. Anyway I was about 6 ft from the router and always had excellent or very good signal strength. To give you an idea, I would run www.speedtest.net there and get 4-6kbps down and 800-1kbps up.

Now I moved in with 2 room mates, and my router is about 20 ft away and going through 3 walls. The signal str. was about 15-25% and I speed tested it and got about the same up and down as the previous apt. except this time because of the weak signal I would get dropped for about 5 seconds, every 20 or so seconds.

So I bought the edimax 3 antennae adapter and gave it a shot. Signal str went up to 40-45% and connection speed of the network was between 81.0mbps and 162.0mbps. Great right? Not really, couldnt play any games on it because of the lag, I wouldnt get any disconnects but it would randomly lag about once every minute for atleast 8 seconds straight. Also speedtest.net showed a very high ping (over 150ms) and only about 1.5k down 900bps up. 1.5k would be bearable except that sometimes the internet wouldnt even budge. Website and games would just get stuck.

So I bought the netgear wireless N range max usb adapter from best buy and got hosed financially. At this point I'm at whits end. I spent 7 almost straight hours this morning with it. It reports 85-100% signal STR and 230something to 270mbps. But here is what it does. I watch the mbps and it goes from 270 then all of a sudden 1.0mbps. Not 10.0mbps...1.0mbps. It rotates almost like clockwork. About 10s at 270 then 10s or more at 1.0mbps. So when the internet is not frozen, speedtest.net shows almost 20,000kbps down and 1.5kbps up. But sometimes it goes 200kbps down and 1.5kbps up. How does that even make sense Im wondering. The upload rate never ever changes. But I can get speeds consistantly low as 200kbps. And sometimes I still get 200kbps when the adapter shows 270mbps connection speed. The only way to fix it is to reboot. And then I have about 3 minutes of super super fast internet. I'm going to the store and getting about 25ft of cat5 now because I just can't take it anymore but I hate being beat. Also I'd not like to just have cable across my apt. Can anyone please help me? Thank you!

[johnwill]

Did you try changing channels on the router?

[llainfactor21]

yeah, all of em. I've been doing research on customer satisfaction with the products I've been using and it seems my router isnt so hot. Lots of people having range issues of all sorts. So I just bought a 50ft cat5 cable and I'm using that and its awesome. Oh well, so much for wi fi

[johnwill]

FWIW, I use wired connections whenever I can. There is simply no comparison in stability, speed, security, and ease of setup. Other than my laptops here, my whole network is wired.