wsr help me, why does my $200 tablet have a better internet connection

>>379226
Driver issues? Either that or it's a hardware problem. Are you wired or wireless on the desktop?

>>379234
Desktop is wireless since the router is downstairs and my desktop is upstairs, wifi card has the latest drivers

>>379245
Try wired, the wifi card is probably shit.

>>379245
There's probably something metal between the router and your wifi antenna.

Like, I dunno, a desktop PC case.

>>379245
The tablet probably has a better antenna than your desktop, or the wifi card is just cheap garbage that can't do any decent speeds. Either way it should be a sin to use wireless on a desktop. Get a powerline adapter or just run a 50FT Ethernet cable though the wall.

>>379247
should I just get a 50+ foot Ethernet cable? How am I supposed to run it across my living room, up the stairs, down the hall and into my room?
>>379250
it USED to be fine but only recently it's been going really slow

>>379251
It would probably be better to move the PC to the router temporarily to see if that is the problem. You can buy a better wifi card if it is.

>>379258
Do you think a Power line adaptor would work too?

>>379263
It would, but if your Internet is only 30Mbps, there's nothing wrong with wifi.

The reason Wifi gets such a bad reputation is that people don't know how to (or just don't bother to) set it up properly, then they complain. In a real-world test I did just now, my 802.11n 2x2 wifi just did 130Mbps, over five times what you need. That's a real achieved speed copying actual data, not a theoretical or maximum speed. 802.11n is ancient, and 2x2 is hardly a high-end antenna array.

Have a look on your router and see what its wifi AP is capable of: if it's even 2x2 802.11n, then you're golden. 802.11ac would be even better, but 802.11n is fine.

If you're on 802.11n or better, you can get comparable speeds by:
- selecting a free wifi channel (get a wifi monitor app for your tablet to see what's free, then log into your router to change to a free channel)
- fitting your desktop with:
802.11N:
http://cgi.ebay.com/112096782287 - 3-antenna PCIe adapter, $7
http://cgi.ebay.com/263119926622 - desktop wifi antenna, 3 x $2
http://cgi.ebay.com/401307009894 - Intel Centrino Ultimate N 6300, 450Mbps*, $6

802.11ac:
http://cgi.ebay.com/263119926622 - desktop wifi antenna, 2 x $2
http://cgi.ebay.com/302254999970 - Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265, 867Mbps*, $21

In both cases you will need a PCIe 1x slot.

* This speed is theoretical

>>379288
thanks dude, I'll try looking in to some of that, maybe I just need a new WiFi card or something, mine is pretty old