Should link speed (in pc network settings) match the speed you're buying from your ISP? - eviltoast
  • TheEthyr@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    In many cases, no. The link speed of your PC is dictated by the network interface in use. Gigabit Internet service with a gigabit Ethernet interface would be an example where they would match.

    In your case, you may be using a 802.11ac connection with a 40 MHz channel.

    If your router, has a setting to use 80 MHz channels, this can increase the link speed by up to 2x under ideal conditions. Actual results will depend on your environment.

    Keep in mind that overall speeds will be dictated by the speed of the slowest link. Switching to an 80 MHz channel may double your PC’s link speed to, say, 800 Mbps but access to the Internet will be capped at 600 Mbps.

    BTW, WiFi link speeds are much higher than the actual speed due to the high amount of overhead inherent in WiFi. A rule of thumb is to expect real world speeds to be 50% less than the link speed for WiFi. Ethernet is very different. Overhead is much lower, around 5%. So, even with an 800 Mbps link speed over WiFi, actual speeds will be around 400 Mbps, give or take.