Transmit/Receive Buffer Settings

KoLAddict · 04-01-2009, 06:37 AM

I just noticed that my Linksys Wireless-G PCI card settings had Trasmit Buffer Settings and Receive Buffer Settings that are at 64 each, but could be raised/lowered. I was wondering, what do these two settings essentially do, and would raising/lowering help my connection at all? Like could I make the number huge to help my connection?

**johnwill** · 04-03-2009, 02:24 PM

Leave them at the defaults.

asgley · 04-03-2009, 04:04 PM

Never a truer word was spoken =)

KoLAddict · 04-04-2009, 02:15 AM

Ok thanks. What's it do though?

Shadow2359 · 09-24-2009, 12:06 AM

I believe the transmit and receive buffers are simply used to stack bytes of data into a single grouping (called a "buffer") to be sent out to the serial bus on an open port on your computer. They group the data into a data stream to reduce the load on the CPU, rather than having the CPU send byte by byte to serial bus and then out the open port they group them in mass and then send them, essentially saving resources.

Now I don't believe lowering or raising the transmit or recieve buffer will make your connection any faster (your download and upload speed should remain the same), however if you have high network traffic on your computer then raising these values to their maximum will reduce the load and your network should run smoother. Raising these values to the max will also increase memory usage so if you have the computer power and extra RAM then I wouldn't see any problems with keeping both the transmit and recieve at the max. I always keep mine at 512 respectively and haven't come across any problems.

04-01-2009, 06:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
KoLAddict Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 454 OS: XP	Transmit/Receive Buffer Settings I just noticed that my Linksys Wireless-G PCI card settings had Trasmit Buffer Settings and Receive Buffer Settings that are at 64 each, but could be raised/lowered. I was wondering, what do these two settings essentially do, and would raising/lowering help my connection at all? Like could I make the number huge to help my connection?

04-03-2009, 02:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,832 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Transmit/Receive Buffer Settings Leave them at the defaults. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

04-03-2009, 04:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
asgley Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 105 OS: xp32, vista64, gentoo, rhle4, rhel 5 64, centos 64, debian, solaris, 2k3, 2k8	Re: Transmit/Receive Buffer Settings Never a truer word was spoken =)

04-04-2009, 02:15 AM	#4 (permalink)
KoLAddict Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 454 OS: XP	Re: Transmit/Receive Buffer Settings Ok thanks. What's it do though?

09-24-2009, 12:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
Shadow2359 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1 OS: VISTA, Fedora linux, BackTrack 3 & 4	Re: Transmit/Receive Buffer Settings I believe the transmit and receive buffers are simply used to stack bytes of data into a single grouping (called a "buffer") to be sent out to the serial bus on an open port on your computer. They group the data into a data stream to reduce the load on the CPU, rather than having the CPU send byte by byte to serial bus and then out the open port they group them in mass and then send them, essentially saving resources. Now I don't believe lowering or raising the transmit or recieve buffer will make your connection any faster (your download and upload speed should remain the same), however if you have high network traffic on your computer then raising these values to their maximum will reduce the load and your network should run smoother. Raising these values to the max will also increase memory usage so if you have the computer power and extra RAM then I wouldn't see any problems with keeping both the transmit and recieve at the max. I always keep mine at 512 respectively and haven't come across any problems.