WiFi antennas 2x2 vs 3x3

LOL what's going on? I didn't even click the submit button 4 times?

 

There have been some server side issues with the forum lately...

EDIT: what is your question about 2x2 vs 3x3?

 

So the question was, that generally you can choose from four options, stock, two Intel (one 2x2 and one 3x3) and one some Killer Bigfoot thing.

The prices vary between 20-70 bucks. Considering there are four options, does anyone know which upgrade, if any, are worth it and why? Does the 3x3 really affect speeds that much? I know it has nothing to do with the range. You need a much wider loop for that.

If it changes anthing, i go to university and we have WiFi speeds here exceeding 60Mbps.

 

It's just more bandwidth with more Tx/Rx chains. A 2x2:2 would be two transmit and two receive chains on two spacial streams. Meaning it could push 300Mbps easily, and with a more stable connection. You have to watch the 3x3's though. Some will be 3x3:3 and some will be 3x3:2. That last ":3" gives you an extra spacial stream which means speed limits of 450Mbps are possible with the right equipment.

Then you have technologies like Beamforming, Maximal Ratio Combining, etc. All of these help to give you a more stable connection with better range and throughput. Beamforming will help particularly with Tx range... so you know those times when you can detect a network but you try to connect and it can't? Think of it like this: Your computer can hear the AP sending out signals, but it's voice isn't loud enough to talk back. Beamforming is like handing your WiFi card a megaphone.

Stock is usually some cheap 2x2:1 or 2x2:2 meaning 150-270/300Mbps
The Intel 6205 is a 2x2:2 which is 300Mbps
The Intel 6300 is a 3x3:3 which is 450Mbps (with compliant equipment)
The Killer 1103 is a 3x3:3 which is 450Mbps ("")

Different OEM's offer different stock cards. Acer usually offers Atheros Ar9285 as standard. Toshiba usually offers some Ralink RTLxxxx card. Dell usually uses rebranded Broadcom cards, lately being the BCM4322 AKA: Dell Wireless 1520.

 

bump?... well if we bumping this then to add to signal discussion some benching with obsctruction and range say the bigfoot performs better... bigfoot is going to come out with a new card in june but it will be 2x2 with bluetooth support... range vs bandwidth... bigfoot is also an atheros card... bandwidth normally get bottlenecked at the isp depending on the service, so reduced bandwidth for a stable/stronger link might be more beneficial... i don't like it is done with software... intel really needs to come out with a card that does what bigfoot does natively as i don't like added software

 

Does anyone ever get over 150 Mbps through wifi?

 

Yeah, i do and i'm not only talking about the connection speed displayed by windows. I'm talking about actual throughput. I average at 136Mbps when transferring data over the wireless. If you factor in the overhead, that is over 150mbps. I need to be on 5GHz to achieve that though since the 2.4GHz band is too crowded to attain those speeds.

 

I would say get 1 with 5ghz if the price is reasonable (~20), otherwise diy and add it later when feel like needed.

 

Who is your ISP?

 

You asked about wifi, not internet. I'm not getting a 150mbps internet connection. Wi-fi is just the wireless network, i get those speeds when i transfer or stream data from one computer to another through the network, one wired, one wireless. I got a pretty crappy internet connection, 3mbps, but i have other uses for my network where the extra bandwidth at 2x2 or 3x3 comes in handy. At my university it is possible to get close to 120mbps internet when no one is around and i have seen faster at other universities though.

 

Okay I thought you had your router hooked up to the internet and you got over 150 from that. I will not be transferring much through WiFi. If I need to transfer data, the laptop would come with a USB 3.0 and I have a compatible external so I would prefer using that.