Zoom x6 wifi speed

I just realised that I should have posted this here, rather than the forum on suppliers.No doubt I'll be posting there if I have to take this back :-;

Since browsing this forum, I've also just realised that I've overpaid.

I've just bought a Zoom X6 so that I can get ADSL 2+. When I tested the wifi performance, the maximum throughput that I could get was 1Mbps! The box claims speeds 'up to' 125 Mbps. test was a simple scp file xfer of dvd image from one laptop plugged into an ethernet port to another laptop paired on the wifi.

Well I suppose that 1Mbps is less than 125Mbps.

Can anyone suggest any obvious mistake that I may have made, or suggest an alternative device (this one cost 39 quid at PCWorld and I expect to be able to get sensible performance at that price). Apart from actually doing what it says on the box, what do you get for the extra dosh on these things?

Your Modeml like most modern modems, is capable of ADSL2+ speeds but you appear to be using it on an ADSL line limited to 1Mbps. Unless you are on a LLU connection which is currently limited to 24Mbps, you can assume that you on a standard BT ADSL line.

BT ADSL lines can either be configured as FIXED sync speed (typically 512K, 1Mbps or 2Mbps) or ADSL Max which will automatically select the highest speed that your line is capable of up to 8Mbps.

It would appear that you are on a Fixed 1Mbps BT Line.

Nope. I've got no ADSL in the test setup, just the ethernet and one wifi device.

Ah! I think I understand what you are doing (I think). You are testing the LAN speed between the Wired Ethernet port and the WiFi connection.

The 125Mbps speed quoted for WiFi is the maximum speed attainable using a proprietary Client adapter matching the Zoom Router. If your Laptop has a standard 802.11g Client adapter then the maximum theoretical speed will be 54Mbps which with overheads will give you an actual Data transfr rate of about half that.

If your Client adapter is the older 802.11b standard, it would have a theiretical maximum speed of 11Kbps and attainable rate of around half that

On the Ethernet side, if you are using a reasonably modern adapter, it would have a speed of 100Kbps. If it is an older one, it is likely to be the older 10Mbps standard.

This still doesn't explain the 1Mbps you are reporting. Are you sure that it isn't 1MBps (Bytes rather than bits) ? If so it would tie up with a 10Mbps adapter or 802.11b Wifi adapter.

I'm transferring between a laptop, which has 802.11g and an oldish desktop, which has 100Mbps Ethernet card. However, the router's wifi's set to both 802.11b and 802.11g, so, when I get the time, I'm going to change it to 802.11g only and sit next to it to try the throughput :-)

Your figures are all over the place man....

10M bit wired ethernet - expect 900kBytes per second (this on ISA ethernet cards circa 1993)
11M bit wireless (802.11b) - expect 550kBytes per second as a guide

You said:
"11M bit wireless (802.11b) - expect 550kBytes per second as a guide "

I said the OP could expect about hald the 11Mbit rate. 550KBytes is approximately 5000Kbits if you allow for Parity and Start/Stop bits, so not far off my statement. And, I did suggest that the confusion was caused by mixing up bits and Bytes!

I must admit that I do look at this detail from a bit further away than most.....

Wheelnut - you said "If your Client adapter is the older 802.11b standard, it would have a theiretical maximum speed of 11Kbps"

half of 11Kbps != 5000kbps how ever you convert bits to bytes.

My statement in my post above which said: "If your Client adapter is the older 802.11b standard, it would have a theiretical maximum speed of 11Kbps and attainable rate of around half that " ...

Should have said: "If your Client adapter is the older 802.11b standard, it would have a theoretical maximum speed of 11Mbps and attainable rate of around half that "

Edited by deleted (Mon 15-Oct-07 19:14:25)