Speed Issues w/Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG wireless card

Question

Hello,   I am having some speed issues with my wireless network...specifically my Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG wireless card.    I have an Inspiron 9300 (2 months old) (and an IBM T43 (also 2 months old))...both using the Intel 2200bg internal wireless card.  My router is a Linksys BEFW11S4 (802.11b)   A few weeks ago (while using my IBM) I noticed that the network speed seemed extremely slow, so I switched to a wired connection...speed problem resolved...sort of.  I went to the various 'speed test' web sites and found that my wired connection was approx 10 times faster than my wireless connection.  I then tried the exact same 'tests' with my Dell laptop and had similar results...wired connection 10x faster than wireless.   Then, out of curiosity, I installed my original Linksys WPC11 802.11b wireless notebook adapter and disabled the internal Intel card...speed issue resolved...on both laptops.   Anyone have any idea why the Intel card (with 'newer' technology) is slower than my (old technology)  Linksys adapter?   Could it have anything to do with the 'wireless-B network' and the 'dual' B/G card?   I have the latest drivers installed for the Intel card and have the latest firmware installed on the Linksys router.   These issues occur on both laptops, whether I'm running on AC or Battery power....and I have the 'Power Management property set to 'maximum' performance and the transmit power set to 'Highest' (the default value)...and all other properties are set to the default value as well.    Has anyone else experience this?   I'm ok using the old adapter, but I'm kinda bummed that I paid for an internal card that performs worse than my old adapter.  Plus I liked the idea of no longer having something sticking out the side of my computer.   Thanks in advance for any suggestions,   scott

steven troise · Answer

your wireless router is putting out 11mbps max because its b 802.11b. g is 54mbps. if you want wireless to go faster you will need linksys router wrt54gs model router.

your 2200 card can handle b or g speeds. b being 11 and g being 54

when your wired on your laptops your at 100mbps.

scooter67 · Answer

steve,

thanks for the input, however, my issue isn't necessarily with the "b" or "g" speeds. my broadband connection speed doesn't even approach the 11mbps limit of my "b" network. depending on the "speed test" site i use, i max out around 2.5-3 mbps. My provider advertises speeds "Up To" 5mbps.

my issue involves the wireless adapter.

with my old Linksys "b" adapter, i'm seeing download speeds around 2.5mbps

with the internal Intel 2200B/G, i'm lucky if i see 500kbps download speeds...and i also see speeds like this on my IBM laptop (2.5Mbps with the Linksys adapter, 500kbps with the Intel adapter).

I'm stumped...

volcano11 · Answer

Scooter,   You should see little if any difference between the internet speed using the wired connection or the wireless connection.   With either type of connection, the internet speed should be controlled by the speed of your broadband connection, which won't be greater than about 6 Mbps, slower than the 11 Mbps of your wireless router.   Still, since the router is an 11 Mbps router, it may be getting confused by the 54 Mbps network cards.   See if there is something in the configuration of the wireless cards that you can use to turn off the 802.11g (54 Mbps) mode.  Try going to Device Manager, expanding the listing for network adapters, then right clicking the wireless network adapter and selecting Properties.  On the Advanced tab, there may be a settiing you can change.  For example on one of my Network adapters there is an option to change the BSS mode to 802.11b only.  If that is present for your wireless cards, try changing it and see if it improves the connection speed.  Just be sure to only change one setting at a time and remember what you did each step so that you can change it back if necessary.   Steve

NemesisDB · Answer

when you said the latest drivers are they the latest from www.intel.com ?  if all else fails, download a program called cablenut (google it).  it raised my effective speeds from 2.5mpbs to over 7 (for wireless internet).

esquire · Answer

Regardless of broadband speed limits (some countries offer speeds as fast as 100Mbps), a 802.11b network transfer speeds maxes out at about 6Mbps and a 802.11g network at 30Mbps. This is due to signal noise, signal quality and strength, the amount of radio interference, network overhead, etc. This is considerable slower than a wired connection, but it is expected.

Message Edited by esquire on 12-13-2005 11:55 PM

scooter67 · Answer

ok, here's the latest...still have poor performance with my NEW internal Intel PRO/Wireless adapter, when compared with my OLD Linksys wireless-B adapter

My Linksys adapter performs nearly as well as a wired connect...the difference is so minor, it's not an issue. The Intel adapter performs at one 10th the speed of the Linksys...that's my problem.

I tweaked all the settings on the Intel adapter (one at a time and checked performance after each change). If the change did not yield any significant improvement, I reverted back to the default settings. Here's a list of the changes I made...none of which improved my speed, some of the changes actually hurt the performance.

"Enabled" Intel Throughput Enhancement
"Power Management" is set to "Highest" (i.e. Maximum performance when operating on battery power)
Selected 802.11b as my "preferred band"
"Transmit Power" set to "Maximum coverage"
Wireless mode set to "802.11b only"

No improvement with any of these changes.

The driver for the Intel adapter is the latest driver from Intel.

I even switched between windows managing the connection and using the Intel software to manage the connection...no improvement.

After returning all the settings back to their default values, I even connected to a few 802.11g networks (1 Belkin and 1 Netgear) within range of my home. I expected to see some improvement...Nope. While my signal strength was "Low", I don't think that is entirely responsible for the pathetic performance. I saw speeds similar to the "B" network within my home.

Any other ideas? Like I said in previous posts, I have an acceptable work around, but it's the principle. I would equate this to buying a car with remote operated power door locks that only unlock with the key in the door - it works, but I didn't get what I paid for.

Thanks again,

scott

esquire · Answer

Are you testing your download speeds in the same room as your router and within 5-10 feet from it without any physical obstacles in between?

scooter67 · Answer

I wasn't in the same room, but I relocated to the same room, approx 7' away.  same results Intel adapter - slow (approx 200-300Kbps) Linksys adapter - fast (approx 3-3.5Mbps) I have used a variety of speed test sites the results above were obtained from http://www.speedtest.suscom.net/  - this also happens to be my service provider's site, so they may fudge the numbers a little (just unfounded suspicion on my part) I've also tried several other speed test sites http://us.mcafee.com/root/speedometer/default.asp http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/   I take the results with a grain of salt since each test site yields significantly different results - anywhere from 450Kbps to 3.5Mbps for my Linksys adapter (and 95-300Kbps for the Intel adapter.  I just use the results to compare each adapter within each test site.   The odd thing is that I get similar performance on two different pc's that have the Intel adapter.  There are two possible pieces of hardware that are common to both pc's The Intel adapter (not the exact same adapter...each pc has an Intel adapter) and my router.  At first, I figured it must be the router, since two separate pc's were experiencing the same performance.  But once I connected to a couple other networks within range, speed test results were similar.  So I assume the issue is with the Intel adapter.   Still stumped....   does anyone feel I may get some resolution from Dell if I contact them?  I'm not really looking to point fingers, just would like an 'expert' to poke around and see if they can figure it out.  But I'm not sure if Dell can help, since it's an Intel part, working with a Linksys piece of equipment.   Thanks again for any tips,   Scott

NemesisDB · Answer

scooter, how does the signal strength look with the intel card? you might have to make up some more symptoms (disconnects or weak signal?) but you can likely get them to replace the card under warranty if you push...

If you're running a mixed mode system, make sure you pick the appropriate mixed mode protection for the linksys card -- RTS/CTS is the safest but will cause a slight throughput reduction. Make sure your SSID is set to broadcast (this can tank throughput when it's turned off for some cards). If there's any chance at all your neighbors have access points, stealthed or otherwise, then keep your access point in mixed mode in case your neighbors have a B only network.

poolnut67 · Answer

Scooter, I'm having the same exact problem with the same laptops (now 9300) and had a T43. Have you been able to figure out a solution? Thanks, poolnut67

scooter67 · Answer

poolnut67,

over the holidays, i took my T43 to my father's (he has a wireless G network). using the intel card, i had the same performance whether wired or wireless...so i'm assuming the Intel wireless B/G card doesn't really like wireless-B networks (or at the very least, doesn't like the linksys). i'll have to try the same with my 9300 to confirm, but i may be in the market for a wireless G router now - i can get a linksys from circuit city for $39, so i'm not really out a whole lot. Of course, there's the remote possibilty that Intel or Linksys could put out an updated driver or firmware to address this...but i'm not holding my breath.

sorry for your troubles, but it's reassuring to hear i'm not alone.

scott

poolnut67 · Answer

Good news. I was able to get the speed to perform normally. I changed the channel on the Linksys. For some reason, it seams that even channels are slow, but odd channels are normal. Try channel 1 or 9. Hope it works for you. Good luck!

bigbertha78 · Answer

I'm experiencing the EXACT same problem.  On a hard-wired connection I'm getting 4.5+ mbs on speed test.  Connect via wireless I'm about 200 kps.  My signal strength is excellent, connection speed is 54 MBS.   I've played with every setting I can find, including router settings.   Yesterday it was fine, was receiving 4.5+ MBS on wireless. Today, not.    Does QOS (qualifty of service) affect anything? It seems to be an artificial throughput.   --dave

scooter67 · Answer

poolnut,

thanks for the tip...i tried channel 1 and it seems to have solved my problem. i'm regularly getting download speeds above 3Mbps. i might try a couple of other channels to see if there is any improvement...but right now i'm thinking - it ain't broke, don't fix it.

who would have thought something so simple would cause such a headache.

thanks again

scott

scooter67 · Answer

dave,

don't have an answer on the QOS question. but i noticed that certain times of the day seem to be much better than others. for me, mornings seem to be slow and right now (10:30PM) seems to be pretty quick.

i also noticed that on my work pc (the IBM T43), i suffer added speed loss when i run our VPN software...i have no choice when working remotely, i must run VPN to gain access to our servers. but, even the reduced speed from home is still faster than our lousy network connection in the office....so i'll live.

scott

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Speed Issues w/Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG wireless card

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