R7500v2

Question

This my 1st ever post.&nbsp; I have Netgear R7500v2 used by both my home Desktop and Laptop computers. I have no issues with my Laptop (Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro) connected via wifi having a wifi-AC network adapter.&nbsp; My Desktop is hard wire connected via Ethernet.The router port led indicator light is amber suggesting active connectivity, but at slower speeds (at least this is what Netgear support indicated to me). Whereas a solid white led indicator light would indicate active connectivity at optimum speeds.If the above is true and my Ethernet cable is Cat5e or higher, then the solution seems to me that I should upgrade my Ethernet network adapter card.Would anyone agree on this ?If so, does anyone have a suggestion for a replacement.My current card is a Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller and before anyone asks, I did upgrade the driver dated 12/2017.My desktop is an HP purchased around 2006, which sounds dated but it does have an Intel i5 chip, and has 16mb memory, running Windows 10. I therefore would assume my network adapter card is vintage 2006 or older.Any comments would be much appreciated.&nbsp; Thanks in advance.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

michaelkenward · Answer

Jim_Elma wrote:
This my 1st ever post.&nbsp; I have Netgear R7500v2 used by both my home Desktop and Laptop computers.
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Welcome to the funny farm. For future reference, you've put your message in the space reserved for Home Networking Apps, that's the software people use to control their kit. This means that it won't get that many readers.
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Follow this link to see where people chat about Nighthawk routers:
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Nighthawk WiFi Routers - NETGEAR Communities
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Back to your problem. You say:
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The router port led indicator light is amber suggesting active connectivity, but at slower speeds (at least this is what Netgear support indicated to me). Whereas a solid white led indicator light would indicate active connectivity at optimum speeds. 
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There is a manual for the R7500v2 somewhere at the end of this link:
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 &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Nighthawk R7500v2 | AC2350 Smart WiFi Router | NETGEAR Support &lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; 
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On page 10 you can see what those LEDs are showing. An Amber LED means that the connection is at 100 MBps. It is not an indicator of the speed that it is working at. It certainly does not "indicate active connectivity at optimum speeds".
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I'm a bit confused by your comments on the network connection. Which are you using?
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You talk about " Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller" and then say the "network adapter card is vintage 2006 or older". The 2006 card is almost&nbsp;certainly 100 Mbps LAN, which explains the amber light.
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If you are saying that Windows is telling you that it is using the &nbsp;Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller, that will not make the NIC card work at 1000 Mbps. It is stuck at 100 Mbps. Hence the amber light.
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To get 1000 Mbps, and a white light, you can add&nbsp; an inexpensive PCIe NIC card, if there is room. Mibe comes with a stack of USB3 ports.
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Trying to squeeze much performance out of a 12 year old box may be pushing it given the CPUs made back then. I'm surprised that Windows 10 works.
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Jim_Elma · Answer

My desktop is aged no doubt, but I have not replaced it because it has an Intel-i5 chip at 2.7ghz with 16mb memory and seems plenty fast. I've seen brand new PC with lower spec's.

I'm a bit confused. My Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro laptop came with a wireless-N network adapter and I upgraded that with a wireless-AC adapter which improved network traffic speeds. I thought the concept would be the same for the Ethernet network adapter card as well.

I think you are suggesting it will not and therefore my confusion. If true, perhaps I should install a wifi adapter in my desktop if my motherboard has extra slots to accommodate one ?

michaelkenward · Answer

Jim_Elma wrote:I'm a bit confused. My Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro laptop came with a wireless-N network adapter and I upgraded that with a wireless-AC adapter which improved network traffic speeds. I thought the concept would be the same for the Ethernet network adapter card as well.
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That should work.
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You did not answer my question about the confusion in yourt first message over the Ethernet network adapter card and the PC's NIC.
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Are you now saying that you installed a Gbps Ethernet card in the PC? Or is the Gbps something to do with the laptop?
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You said:
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My current card is a Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller .....I therefore would assume my network adapter card is vintage 2006 or older.
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Which is providing the Ethernet output from the PC?
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If you aren't using the on-board NIC, why mention it? Certainly don't plug anything into it.
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Jim_Elma · Answer

I'm sorry if my wording confused you.&nbsp; I did upgrade my laptop and made no physical hardware changes to my desktop. The Realtek Network Adapter is what came with this device. The Desktop is a HP Pavilivon Elite HPE origionally installed with Windows 7. Just minutes age I physically opened up this machine and found that the Ethernet port (for which I assume is the network adapter) is NOT a physical card slot component (which was my assumption) but rather physically intigrated into the motherboard.I therefore believe you may be correct that the speed issue may in fact be a limitation of the desktop PC it self and perhaps consider a new machine if this speed issue really bothers me.I'm still working with Netgear support on oy issue and their last suggestion was to make DNS primary and secondary address revisions.&nbsp; I replied with where and how to make these revisions.This is where I'm at at present.&nbsp; Thanks for your prompt replies and suggestions.I'll still take whatever baby steps that might be necessary to resolve this with my Desktop PC. It could be worse as it otherwise functions OK.&nbsp; Buying another desktop is not an issue for me; the biggest headache would be in the tranferring software and files from one machine to another.

michaelkenward · Answer

OK. If you are relying on the PC's original NIC card, you will probably be speed limited. The manual should tell you the speed.
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To get it to go faster, you can see if you can get a PCI or PCIe card. Something like this:
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TP-LINK TG-3468 Gigabit PCI Express Network Adapter - Green: Amazon.co.uk: Computers &amp; Accessories
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I pick Amazon as an example simply because it is easiest. I rarely buy that sort of stuff there.
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If the LAN is on a separate card in the HP, and not built into the motherboard, simply swapping it out might do the job.
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If you have spare USB ports, that's another option: 
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USB Network Adapter,TechRise High Speed USB 3.0 to RJ45: Amazon.co.uk: Computers &amp; Accessories
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Again that's just an example.
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At around $10, a whole lot cheaper than a new PC!
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On a&nbsp;completely different topic, are you still using a "mechanical" hard drive? A solid-state drive is an inexpensive and easily installed "go fast" option.
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R7500v2

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