Atheros Wifi sucks

Seem like those artheros' techs can't produce a stable Wifi driver for window 7 64bit, using the lastest driver 3/30/2010 i think but still occasionally receive 4000 us spike in DPC latency checker

I think several people got the same issue

I also noticed that games that are allowed to go through window firewall stutter. Not allowing them go through window firewall make them way more smoother. This problem should be related to the unstable artheros wifi driver.

 

I can confirm problem to. I have replaced mine with intel 5100agn wireless card and are satisfied. No more latency spikes.

 

I personally like Atheros, every chip I have by them works fine and flawless.

I upgraded the one in my G73JH from the AR 9285 to AR9287(Dual Band) and couldn't be happier. Also Atheros chips seem to work best on my WDNR3700.

I personally like my AR9287 over the Centrino 6300 I bought as well, it seems more stable in the 5GHz Band.

 

You shuld use the lates version of both centrino and atheros. Your version is kind of old. Use this combination combo (latest):

Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 AGN 13.3.0.24

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller 1.0.0.43

Cheers

(do a little research before complain)

 

How much do Intel 6200's typically go for?

 

Around $20-$30US

 

I believe the fact that so many people have switched to Intel (me included) would indicate the Atheros is a bit less desirable regardless.

I'm very pleased with my Intel while gaming.

Cheers,

 

The "Latest" Atheros WiFi drivers released by ASUS for the G73 is version 8.0.0.238 - Dated (Unknown) - Which is what the OP is discussing/requesting. - I have version 9.1.0.321 Dated 9/7/2010 installed on my G73JH - I have the latest drivers because I work for a Notebook Manufacturer (not ASUS) and I have access to such things. I have only been using these drivers for a couple hours - So I can't speak directly to the issues mentioned in the OP. If anyone knows a place that I could post these drivers (At Your Own Risk Disclaimer Here) up for download - They are WHQL certified.

Nekki - You're driver referrence is for the LAN not the WIFI - Don't come down too hard on the poster - as you too might be held in contempt. (No Disrespect Intended)

Edit: Been doing some DPC Latency Testing - Just for the last hour and have noticed only a "spike" (Max 3580) every now and then. Nothing unussual and not noticeable enough to begin troubleshooting which driver might be causing the problem - I already have my LAN disabled as I don't use it anyways - Will Report Back in a couple hours to post an update.

In Peace and Agape,
Trav....

 

I fully agree. I just replaced mine because it dropped out and had really bad latency spikes. I just bought an Intel 6200 AGN from babyhemi, a member of this forum, for $28.99 w/free shipping. It's a genuine OEM. Babyhemi is always selling them here as far as I know.

I just swapped mine out yesterday and noticed immediately a big difference. No drop outs or spikes, and my signal stays at full bars no matter where I am in my house. I ran DPC Latency checker before and after the upgrade, and the results are staggering. The Atheros card would randomly peak out between 4000-5000µs, but the Intel has yet to go over 780µs. I can't recommend this upgrade enough! It made a huge difference in online gaming for me.

Here's where I got mine from. Genuine Intel 6200 AGN

 

I bought my Intel 6300 wifi card from him as well. Best $33 upgrade ever.

Cheers,

 

Is it a big performance upgrade over stock? I havn't noticed any loss in signal or speeds in the 5 or 6 days I've had the laptop but maybe I just havn't noticed.

 

Would be greatly appreciated if you could upload them for us to download. Hate that the only thing holding this computer back is the stinking WiFi-card, I mean, come on! Streaming live video is a pain, because you never know when your WiFi suddenly gives in, really annoying. And I even get some stutter in games. Arrghh... ...

 

Awesome. Gonna buy one today then. It's upgrade week for my G73

 

New Wifi card is simply the best upgrade possible, well worth the extra cash.

I did the 6300 and it installed easy as pie, just don't use the middle antenna (I actually added a third antenna when I repasted my GPU the other day, havn't noticed much of a difference except a little better (not much) reception when I'm partying @ my pool about 100ft and a brick wall away from router). Eitherway 2 antennas, 3 antennas, the intel one still blows the socks off the crappy stock one, plus you get 5Ghz N.

 

Hello,

Here is the Link to a newer Atheros Wireless Driver - I just ran the setup.exe supplied and it updated the driver with no issues -

MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service

I should mention here, though I have edited my previous post - that I do notice some DPC Latency Checker spikes - Not consistently and right now the highest spike is 11678 - Which looks like occurred 1 time. I will also mention that I am streaming music (audio) through IE9 Zune.net (via Zune Pass) - and I notice NO issues, skips, or jumps.

Let me know if you have any problems...

In Christ,
Trav...

 

Huh, I haven't had any issues. But then I don't have 100/100 line here. For gaming my ping is still around 28-32 ms, good enough for me.

I suppose if I had a pool 100 ft away from my router, I'd think about upgrading

 

I will say the Atheros stuff is hit and miss. But so far my wifi card has worked extremely well. Full 150 N speeds and all.

 

i got the intel one and no complains.. getting plenty of networks.. haven't tested range yet.. waiting for uni for that

 

Thanks Travelor, will try it out now

In case I want a new WiFi-card, this is compatible, right?
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 633ANHMW wireless card - eBay (item 220669658167 end time Oct-14-10 20:25:59 PDT)

 

Hello,
Hopefully someone else will have the answer to that question -
If I remember correctly there are only 2 antenna wires connected to the Atheros card and I didn't see a 3rd wire hanging around. The card you link to above has 3 antenna connectors so you'll need to figure out which connectors to use if there are only 2 wires in the G73JH.

In Christ,
Trav...

 

$17.95 shipped from Colorado

 

You can connect to any 2. The third no matter which it is, is just for better reception. I read up on these before I got the 6200. You could always add another antenna wire to increase reception.

I didn't want to bother with adding another wire.

 

just ordered one from the guy on eBay. he emailed me (personally) within minutes of my purchase. highly recommend.

 

We are talking about atheros AR9285 wifi not atheros AR8131 lan driver

BTW, atheros website sucks as well, can't find any driver there, i have to get my one from asus support site.

 

Hooray for google

Modded drivers with everything enabled and NMI/parity error fixes. Also yay for google again.

 

Thank you for the driver but i still have randon 4000us spikes with it just like yours

guess the artheros card sucks itself

 

The Atheros WiFi and/or drivers can be a bit of a bus hog.

 

Good thing the Intel 6200 is so affordable for those who are having issues.

 

I've never had problems like that with my Atheros Card or drivers. I used to get spikes but no longer do after running Windows Update.

 

Would love to upgrade the wireless card, I'm getting way less reception than with other wireless products... :\

I can't find the Intel 6200 on the market here anywhere though. Could it be that it's not available for european consumers because of the specs not matching with for example Dutch wireless standards/laws?

 

I've had nothing but trouble with Atheros wifi on multiple computers.

I upgraded my G73 with an Intel 6300 and haven't regretted it.

I even bought a 6300 for my netbook and that made a HUGE difference.

 

I think Chastity posted a link to provantage.com. My 6200 is due for delivery today. They ship international as well.

 

Here is a link to the 6200. As the G73JH only has 2 antennas (my understanding) I don't think you would get any benefit from buying the 6300.

PROVANTAGE: Intel 622AN.HMWWB Intel Wifi Link 6200 622AN.HMWWB Half Height Minicard VPRO Enabled Retail

 

I don't care if 6200 affordable or not.

Does Asus mean to give us a working wifi card at the first place

 

Is the card not working or just not giving you the performance you want? The latter has nothing to do with Asus and is the reason many of us upgrade.

 

i guess i'm not understanding the whole wifi thing, this is my first N card and is by far the best wifi card iv'e used (best as in it picks up / holds a signal better than anything else i've used) , my issue is this: i'm connected to my router at 150mb/s and i only get between 8 and 9 mb/s transfer speeds when moving files between my laptop and desktop.

i know you won't get 150mb/s during data transfers but i thought it would be better than 8 or 9... the router supports full N300 and the wired connection are gigabit as well as a gigabit nic in my desktop.

over gigabit i get around 80 - 90 mb/s between my laptop and desktop

would this be solved with a better wifi card or even a full 300N card?

 

Hey Interested Readers -

I remained with the Atheros all day yesterday and continued to get random DPC Latency Spikes using the DPC Latency Checker v1.2.0. So I figured I would hunt around my lab (I work for a different Notebook Manufacturer - Not ASUS) and I found an Intel 6200 WiFi card - I installed it into my G73JH (baby) this morning and I've been running the Latency Checker since.

With the Atheros Hardware/Drivers I would get somewhere between 10-15 spikes a minute. Spikes ranging from 4000 to 8000 - (RED SPIKES!!!)As such the Latency Checker would recommend going through the work of troubleshooting the various hardware components to find out which hardware/driver was causing the latency and making my G73JH more likely to have problems streaming audio/video without drop-outs. The drop-outs weren't noticeble streaming audio (Zune.net) but they were noticeable when streaming video (Watching Leverage on TNT.TV)

With the Intel Centrino 6200 WiFi card I have had NO spikes - It does get the occassional 1300 spike (Yellow), but nothing "in the red". I've been streaming audio and video all morning with no spikes and no drop-outs. Watched another Leverage Episode and listened to music on the Zune.net - No drop-outs!!! -

I do know why the notebook manufacturer I work for uses Atheros WiFi - on their "lower cost" products and I know that they install the Intel WiFi on their "higher cost" products. My G73JH is the BestBuy version - "lower cost" which probably explains the use of the Atheros -

In any case, just thought I would share the results of my tests.

In Christ,
Trav...

 

I bought an Intel 6200, but it would get a really poor connection on my Netgear 3700, it might have been faulty I never got round to sending it back. It also would not connect at 300mbps, yet my Atheros does. However I purchased a Atheros 9280 and it works fine, except I cannot for the life of me get a decent connection for wireless with my Xbox and media centre.

Is it possible I just had a faulty card, I might buy another Intel to test out if that is the case?

 

I've had very poor luck with Netgear. Try a different router for testing purposes (go to a friend if you don't have other brands to test). On my Dlink I get 300 regularly on my Intel 6300.

Cheers,

 

Intel requires WMM to be enabled for N speeds. You may have had that disabled.

 

duh, i don't consider card that gives me 4000us spikes working

 

Just ordered my new Intel 6200. Its easy to replace under the bottom panel correct?

 

It's probably more work to open a door.

 

Sounds like my kind of upgrade.

 

I will be stealing that line... just so you know.

 

Me too; Classic!

Cheers,

 

I agree with the comments here... got a new router/modem at the same time asmy G73, so I was unsure whether it was this or that, but yet my desktop stays connected perfectly.

On my 12MB connection, it tends to drop down to 2~3 at times, then up to 8, then evetually to 12. This makes online streaming a pain and near impossible... I ordered the N6200 yesterday and can't wait for it to arrive?

Anyone else experience similar issues?

 

Have never had an issue with the atheros in either my g72gx or g73jh

 

i have random red spikes with atheros lan and wifi disabled. all driver updated

 

I neither have drops nor do I have high latency. DPC latency concluded my Atheros is good for streaming video/audio ;p