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Triple the WIFI Performance?

OP
N

N.G.

Member
"Two things come into play here....". This is IRT the performance issues of generations 1 & 2, and the bluetooth/wifi EMC/EMI/EMR issues (I see and cause me to not use BT), right? To me, looks like this is saying the SP3 delivers approximately twice the performance of a 1 or 2 in the same network and locations. Not upgrade your network (which I did 3 TIMES with my SP1, before I got the WIFI out of it, I got out of the Acer netbook it replaced) and you can get twice the performance.
 

kevinlevrone

Active Member
You have to realize that Internet speeds are way lower than even 802.11n in most places and the vast majority of homes.
Only if you have and use a home network with a NAS server streaming HD content or anything like this will the 802.11ac prove useful.
 
OP
N

N.G.

Member
Well since the limiting internet factor on my SP1 has always been the Marvell chip/radios/antenna array wifi subsystem (not sure about my wife's 2 - she won't use it because of the floppy keyboard/easel arrangements) I was searching to find out if they improved the antennas/wifi system given the opportunity of a bigger device (or maybe even replaced Marvell). I gather it has a new Marvell chip (fills me with confidence) and a bus that can handle Internet and Wifi speeds you can get in a lab.

Well my Internet provider isn't the best, which is another reason the wifi system on the device needs to work well. The link above was the only reference I found to wifi performance. Maybe that means nobody is complaining, but nobody appears to be saying it works well either.
 

wditters

Active Member
Well, an Avastar combo chipset is confirmed by one of my blogger buddies, but performance issues not tested for yet. Chances are however that the SP3 will suffer from the same issue...
 
OP
N

N.G.

Member
I've only got 2 real issues stopping me from ordering the SP3. One is the keyboard/lapability thing (maybe that isn't an issue -going to try one at the local store). The other is the wifi thing. I have NO desire to go through with the 3, what I went through with the SP1, having bought right after they came out. I spent almost as much on my home network upgrades (including buying an expensive router with Marvell hardware with external high-gain antennas and range extenders) as I spent on Surfaces and MS put out a huge number of fixes and tweaks, before it stabilized. Now they got a NEW Marvell chip, so I'd like to know the 3's wifi works at least as well as the SP1's (or my Kindle Fire HDX's). Unfortunately, wifi is not a capability they appear to be featuring.
 

drolem

Active Member
I spent almost as much on my home network upgrades (including buying an expensive router with Marvell hardware with external high-gain antennas and range extenders) as I spent on Surfaces

Seriously, why? I have two obsolete routers, a Linksys WRT545GL and a Netgear WGR614 v7, and my SP works just fine with them. The throughput I'm getting is way above my connection's link speed, so if I'm not getting the theoretical max between the SP and the router -- no big deal.
 
OP
N

N.G.

Member
Seriously. House has some aspects, of a Faraday Cage. Wife's décor desires have impact too, but the SP1 with that wonderful Marvell chip as initially delivered could not keep a connection 2 years ago, in places everything else could. Microsoft did a LOT of software engineering to improve it, but Sony and Acer laptops, various Kindles, iPhones and iPads, Galaxy Tabs, Palm Pres and Galaxy Nexuses all worked out of the box. I think the Marvell chip and signal attenuation by the SP metal case were at root of the problem. Microsoft worked software wonders, but the hardware is what it is. It's all in the old postings in this forum.
 
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