[/QUOTE]=PierreRodrigue;79895]Well just found out my 8 year old router that I thought was doing fine is an antique piece-o-crap! I thought my internet connection was ok, but then a while ago, someone posted about a speed check site. Mine is a Pontiac Accadian in a world of Camaros! A blistering 3.2MBS My service tested at 20 MBS, not screaming fast, but a lot better than 3.2! What routers work better in a home setting, with 3 computers, I-pad, 2 I-pods, and 2 android phones (wi-fi) running at any and all times? Sorry, I'm not the most tech savy any more...[/QUOTE]
Lets clear a couple of things.
Speed testing your service does not test your router. It tests the maximum speed of your internet connection.
The theoretical speed of your service does not mean you will get 20 MB/S on all your downloads. Its the maximum speed you can get, however the speed you get depends on
- The number of people downloading or accessing the server you are downloading from (i.e. - ITunes)
The more people on the server means the total bandwidth shared get smaller (slower speeds).
- Is there traffic on the internet that is using the same path as your request
- Is the speed being capped on the server you are accessing.
If you are getting 3.2 MBP/S sustained during a download, you are doing good. Rarely are the conditions correct for getting high speeds unless the site is using a lot of servers to meet the demand.
A router is an internal traffic cop within your own personal network. A router does not affect the speed of your internet connection. It inspects the requests sent out and ensures the response is routed to the correct device when the response is sent. Rarely will your router be the bottleneck when it comes the download or upload speeds.
The router does have maximum speeds but that is for wired and wireless connections between the router and your devices.
The maximums for wired connections
100 MB/S - older standard
1 GB/S - Newer Standard
The maximum for wireless connections are MBP/S (Mega Bits per second)
802.11b - 11 MBP/S
802.11g - 54 MBP/S
802.11n - 130 MBP/S
Again these are potential maximums not taking into account for interference, walls, distance. If you are not having problems with the devices on your network, the router is probably fine and does not need replacement. If you are having problems check your devices to see if all of them are slow. If it one is slow and the others fine, its probably that device. Check for interference, routers transmit on 2.4ghz channel and that is shared with cordless phones, baby monitors, and a ton of other wireless devices. If there are a lot of devices on the 2.4 ghz channel it can interfere and slow speeds. Microwave ovens when running can cause interference as well. When in doubt re-boot your network (This solves 70% of all computer problems from servers to tablets). The steps to follow are.
Power down your cable or DSL modem and the router
Wait 30 seconds or longer
Reboot the cable or DSL modem and give it a minute or two to start up
Reboot the router and give it a minute or two to start up.
Refresh the connections on your devices or reboot them.
This should do it for most router problems, if that doesn't work after couple of times you might have a problematic router or device.
I would NOT buy a new router to get better download speeds, The maximum speed of your connection and router are unrelated for the most part. Routers are not stress by home use and typically last a long time. A friend and I installed a Linksys router (802.11b) at his parents place almost 9 years ago and its still running. If you must buy a router, I would choose D-Link, Cisco (Linksys), or Buffalo.
Sorry for the untra long response, but I figured why not explain it all at once. PM me with any questions.