Intel WiFi Link 1000 BGN issues

I have an Alienware m14x with the wifi link 1000 bgn. I got this back in November, everything was working just fine, was getting great download speeds, great ingame connection, fast web browsing.. well a couple days ago I reformatted, and ever since my internet speed is awful! Stupidly slow! It randomly loses connection. I can't download anything, Nvidia driver took 3 hours to download! On speedtest.net my speeds are 2 - 2.4 mbps - WiFi. With the computer connected via cat-5 cable, my speeds are 30+ mbps. I still have the same router and everything, so I dont see how that could be the problem, i've tried changing settings in my router, installing new drivers. I've tried looking for new drivers for the wifi link 1000 but I cant seem to find one anywhere. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone have a solution? Plz help.

WiFi link 1000 bgn
Netgear WNR1000v2 Router - wireless N router
comcast broadband

 

Uninstall your current wireless drivers and try those: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det... (64-bit)*&DownloadType=Software Applications. Other than that, you could do a power cycling of your router if you haven't tried that either.

 

Just installed new driver and same slow speeds. The driver was installed for a Centrino Wireless-N 1000 router, but the net still works so...? Power cycle my router? I'll look that up and try now.

 

Ok I tried power cycling, and still no dice. After i did the power cycle, rebooted, i ran a speed test, I was getting 9.5 mbps, which i believe was my speeds before I reformatted, but after about 2-3 minutes my speeds go back to being slow/losing connection. So it seems like there is a setting somewhere or a program that is making my internet mess up? Any more idea's? Thanks for helping

Edit: Im going to take this to a friends house today, he has a Linksys Wireless G router i believe. So im gonna put this on his WiFi and see if the speeds/performance is any different compared to the Netgear. If so atleast I'll know its not a hardware issue and more of a setting/software issue somewhere. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

At what speed are you connected to the router according to Windows?

 

Wireless Network Connection Status shows:

Speed 65.0mbps

 

Use inSSIDer and post a screenshot. It may be interference or signal may be low.

 

Here you go, my network is ownage, i live in an apartment thats why there is so many networks.

 

Holy sweet mother of god! 56 APs. I would look no further than that for the problems you are getting, especially if the router at your friend's house gives you better performance. Could you post a screenshot of the 2.4GHz channels. There might be one that is less crowded though i doubt it given the 56 APs in range.

 

I got this sudden feeling like we might be getting somewhere?

 

There's not much you can do but start with setting your Wi-Fi channel width to 20MHz (not 40MHz or auto).
If that isn't enough try using channel one (signal strength difference there seems bigger than on channel 6)

 

Ok when i comes down to network settings and stuff im kinda moronic lol... umm how do i do that?

Edit: ok I went into properties and checked 802.11n channel width for band 2.4. It was already set to "20MHz only" I changed the channel in my router settings to 1 and now my speeds are slower . 1-1.5 mbps on speedtest.com.

 

It's weird since inSSIDer shows your network as the one using two bonded channels which means 40MHz channel width.
Since there are other devices using 2.4GHz band apart from 56 Wi-Fi networks you can see that are not shown on the graph you should test each channel and see which one gives you best speeds.

Also make sure that no power-saving options are enabled for your Wi-Fi card (device manager/advanced tab and Windows power options).

To be brutally honest the only real solution for you is to move to 5GHz band which means changing the router and Wi-Fi card.

 

I checked power settings and it is set to Maximum Performance..
I'm sure your right, I knew when I ordered this computer to go with a better wifi card but unfortunately I didn't.. Now it will cost me more money. I'm going to give up on this router for now, im gonna go and pick up one of my old linksys routers tonight and try that out. Also, where can I get a wifi card that is compatible with this PC without going to alienware? because they are expensive, which one would you recommend?

 

Intel 6200 or 6205 would be fine (not 6230 though).
Two stream and dual band, quite reasonably priced these days.

Card itself won't cost you that much- it's the router that will make your wallet $80-100 thinner.

 

Alright cool (not the router part) but atleast I know what I gotta do now. Man all of this just to wreck people in battlefield oh well, im sure after im all done it will be better then ever.
Thanks tijo/downloads appreciate the help.

 

A setup like mine shouldn't cost too much these days. I got an Intel 6200 ($20) and a Linksys E3000 ($60 if you find a deal). I used to be alone on 5GHz, but one of my neighbors upgraded his router so now we're two sharing the whole band. It is still pretty much deserted though. There are other great dual band routers available though like the Netgear WNDR3700.

 

Well just to update, I went and got my old Linksys Wireless G router and everything seems fine now, my speeds are fast 12+ mbps on speedtests downloads are quick, I can actually stay in game now without getting disconnected from servers... i guess this card and the router just didnt get along.. go figure. i'll probably update to 5GHz connection soon anyway so thanks for the pointers