You’ve had high-speed internet access at home for years.  It’s never been as fast as your connection at work, but you just got a new computer and/or router, so it should be faster, right?  Not necessarily.  The article “Unshackle Your WiFi,” posted this morning on Switched.com by Jon Chase indicates otherwise.

“If your home Wi-Fi network sometimes seems to drag at a snails pace, check if all the PCs on your network have the same speed wireless cards (Wi-Fi or 802.11 comes in three main speeds: in order of slower to faster, b, g and n). It turns out that Wi-Fi routers run only as fast as the slowest device on the network. So even if you have a new “n” router, a new desktop PC with a speedy 802.11n wireless card, and an old laptop with an 802.11b card, the router will only transfer data at the “b” speeds when both are connected at the same time. So if any of your machines are stuck with old 802.11b cards, the only option is to upgrade them with new internal or USB wireless cards, or to make sure to turn off your slower devices when you feel the need for speed.”

This was news to me.  Fortunately, I don’t fall into this category.  I have a new laptop (capable of connecting to 802.11n) but I am still rockin’ the old 802.11g router.  I have thought about purchasing a new router, but now I am hesitant to make any adjustments to my home network setup.  I would have to “upgrade” my other computers to new wireless cards and/or external USB connections in order to get the most out of my new connection speed.

What else connects to your home network.  Don’t forget about game systems, phones that use wi-fi, iPods, etc.  Anything with wi-fi capabilities could be the “weakest link” that is slowing your connection speeds.  For now, it seems as if the safest bet for new PC and/or router owners is to disconnect all other devices when looking for that ultra-fast connection.