Using the same manufacturer for router and wireless card for speed?

Hi.

I would like to achieve the best performance that I can using 802.11n with a laptop, and was looking for some suggestions or advice as to what to try next.

Currently, I have tried some performance testing in Ubuntu 9.04 with a D-Link DWA-652 (PC card) and with an Intel 4965AGN (mini PCI-e). I selected these cards because they are supported in Ubuntu, as I do not want to use ndiswrapper.

However, when connected to a Linksys WRT300N 802.11n router, and observing performance results using Iperf, I am only seeing ~15Mbps throughput, to another laptop that is on the same network (sitting on the same table actually). This was done on multiple channels, to eliminate the possibility of interference with other devices (no other devices were detected on the channels that I used).

To achieve the best data rates in Ubuntu using 802.11n, would you suggest that I try a D-Link router -- is it recommended for the best speeds that I use the same brand router as wireless card that I am using?

Thanks.

Speed is dependent on signal strength. If your signal is less than perfect you can forget n speeds. More bandwidth requires stronger signal. It will start at n, then go down to g, then down to b as signal gets weaker and weaker.

n is marketing bs, because your signal most of the time is less than ideal, so most of the time you can realistically count on a medium G speed like you have. Note, bandwidth and throughput are totally different too! Full G speed 54Mbps is "bandwidth" with all overhead considered. The usable throughput is typically around 15 to 20Mbps.

RFMAN!