Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

flammenwurfer · 2009-02-20 02:49:12

Hi. I'm new to Arch, but not to linux. I LOVE Arch, however I have one showstopper of a problem that I can't figure out. The speed of my wireless network connection is significantly slower in Arch than when I'm running Xubuntu.

If I stream a video to my PS3 in Xubuntu it plays fine. No skipping, stuttering, just smooth playpack. Transfer rate is around 2.5-3.1 Mb/s.

If I stream the same video to my PS3 in Arch it stutters and skips and won't play smoothly. Transfer rate is around 1.2-2.3 Mb/s and sometimes even lower.

I have a PCI wireless card with an Atheros chipset. I've installed the newer SVN madwifi drivers from AUR and that didn't help. I really don't know where to go from here. What could possibly be causing this? It really is critical for me because I don't have cable tv so streaming videos to my ps3 in the other room is probably the main thing I use this computer for. Thanks.

.:B:. · 2009-02-20 06:57:01

There's tons of things that could interfere, main culprits being the kernel and your driver. Try dumping your Ubuntu kernel on Arch (yes, that's possible) and see if running the Ubuntu kernel in Arch fixes it. If so, keep it.

If this is really crucial... Then keep Xubuntu.

quarkup · 2009-02-20 11:13:48

flammenwurfer wrote:

Hi. I'm new to Arch, but not to linux. I LOVE Arch, however I have one showstopper of a problem that I can't figure out. The speed of my wireless network connection is significantly slower in Arch than when I'm running Xubuntu.
If I stream a video to my PS3 in Xubuntu it plays fine. No skipping, stuttering, just smooth playpack. Transfer rate is around 2.5-3.1 Mb/s.
If I stream the same video to my PS3 in Arch it stutters and skips and won't play smoothly. Transfer rate is around 1.2-2.3 Mb/s and sometimes even lower.
I have a PCI wireless card with an Atheros chipset. I've installed the newer SVN madwifi drivers from AUR and that didn't help. I really don't know where to go from here. What could possibly be causing this? It really is critical for me because I don't have cable tv so streaming videos to my ps3 in the other room is probably the main thing I use this computer for. Thanks.

The drivers may be different..

dmartins · 2009-02-20 12:01:55

I don't have any solid answers for you, just an idea..

Have you tried comparing the transfer speed by copying a file instead of streaming a video? Maybe your problem isn't with the wireless transfer speed, but with video playback itself..

Just a thought!

flammenwurfer · 2009-02-20 14:38:18

There was a kernel update available this morning which I installed but haven't had time to test it because I had to leave for work.

How exactly would I go about dumping my ubuntu kernel on arch? Will I be able to easily revert back if I have major problems?

I only have the one computer so I don't know if I'll be able to test with a file transfer. I could try copying a video to the PS3's hard drive rather than just playing it. I'll give that a try as well when I get home.

B wrote:

If this is really crucial... Then keep Xubuntu.

, but I REALLY like Arch. I want to get this figured out so I don't have to go back to Xubuntu.

test1000 · 2009-02-20 15:02:43

maybe ubuntu is using ndiswrapper which, iv'e heard, and might only apply to a past situation, be faster than *some* native drivers.

(what's the rules regarding when to use --|- and commas btw. i want hard evidence, not some conjecture)

flammenwurfer · 2009-02-21 00:18:03

OMG! I need serious help. It has now gotten worse. Sending or receiving it won't go over 250 KB/s! This is ridiculous. I installed Madwifi SVN from AUR and that didn't improve anything so I uninstalled that and reinstalled the original madwifi driver. Now it's even slower! I'm totally bummed right now .

cerbie · 2009-02-21 05:57:10

I've had nothing but problems on three different hardware platforms, now (PIII+PCMCIA, AXP+PCMCIA, GeodeGX+PCI) trying to get 5xxx chips working with new kernels. Madwifi is a die roll with new kernels (ath5k that doesn't work, or madwifi that doesn't work: choose one).

With a decent machine, ndiswrapper performance should be fine.

flammenwurfer · 2009-02-21 06:18:36

damn, this sucks then. Is there a pci wireless card that will just work in linux?

cerbie · 2009-02-21 06:45:01

flammenwurfer wrote:

damn, this sucks then. Is there a pci wireless card that will just work in linux?

Ralink chips have drivers right in the kernel. I went from Atheros to Ralink on PCMCIA, and it just worked (Arch, now up to kernel 2.6.28.5). According to reviews at the cheapest one Newegg has (note the logo on the chip), even Debian users only had to go fetch firmware.

flammenwurfer · 2009-02-21 06:50:47

Thanks cerbie. If I can't figure this out soon I might have to order one of those. Although, I would like to know for sure what the specific problem is before I shell out the dough.

R00KIE · 2009-02-21 17:39:36

Are you sure the madwifi driver the the best one for your card? Try blacklisting it (or keep balcklisting drivers) and see if any other driver gets used and works properly.
You can also give ndiswrapper a try, it used to work better for me (with a broadcom card) until I could used the b43 driver (whatever works better )

Arch Linux

#1 2009-02-20 02:49:12

Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#2 2009-02-20 06:57:01

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#3 2009-02-20 11:13:48

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#4 2009-02-20 12:01:55

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#5 2009-02-20 14:38:18

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#6 2009-02-20 15:02:43

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#7 2009-02-21 00:18:03

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#8 2009-02-21 05:57:10

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#9 2009-02-21 06:18:36

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#10 2009-02-21 06:45:01

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#11 2009-02-21 06:50:47

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

#12 2009-02-21 17:39:36

Re: Wireless speed is slower in Arch than Xubuntu!

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