802.11g 125 high speed network - Broadcom/Gateway doesn't reach 125?

Question

Windows XP Home. Buffalo PCI desktop wireless card, 125* capable. Belkin router, 125* capable. Gateway laptop 7422GX, with Broadcom wireless chip set, 125* capable.

In theory, a fully 125* capable environment will reach 125 Mbps. With just the desktop and router on, I get this. Add the laptop, and speeds drop to 54 or less. With just the laptop and router, still 54 (sometimes 48 or 36).

How to get the 125 speed on all? Afterburner setting enabled on desktop. Afterburner and Xpress enabled on laptop.

Answer 1

Don't forget, wireless is a shared medium. Like a hub. If you're running two clients full speed to a single access point, each can only use half the rated bandwidth.



And just having a second host turned on could be throwing out packets (NetBIOS discovery, virus updates, any amount of chatty traffic spewing out of the modern laptop) that are slowing down the other device.



Also note that because 125 isn't a part of the real spec, any number of oddball things could be happening behind the scenes.