Linksys Max-Stream AC600 Wi-Fi Micro USB Adapter Review

WLAN Performance: 5GHz 802.11ac

5GHz is a more recent addition to the consumer WiFi specification, and on this frequency, we find both 802.11n and AC standards on offer. We note that 802.11n is the only standard to run at both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies and this is the most common standard for ISP routers to feature. Unlike the 2.4GHz band, 5GHz radio waves and solid brick walls do not go that well hand in hand, so while it does support a much faster throughput speed, its range is severely crippled in a dense operating environment.

Fixed Block Size

Testing the maximum throughput speed that a wireless connection can handle, a fixed block size of 16384 Bytes is sent from the client to the server over a period of five minutes. The higher block size will allow the transfer rate to stay as high as possible – in the same way, that large files transfer from one drive to another quicker than lots of small files of the same total size.

Variable Packet Size

In a real world situation, the blocks of data that pass through a wireless adaptor are not of the same size each time, so to give a more realistic impression of how an adaptor performs, the adaptor is tested at each range for five minutes. This time, however, the block size will vary from 32 Bytes up to 16384 Bytes in increasing steps of 148.7 Bytes each time.

Performance Analysis

Each of the lines below represents a single test, and the colour represents the distance between the two network devices during this test. Blue is for a short distance, green is for a medium range, and red is for the longest distance.

Fixed Packet Size

Variable Packet Size