Network card issues

I've run into a bit of a headache that I just can't seem to shake. It's regarding my Airlive WT-2000PCI network card.

My main router is downstairs, and since my computer is temporarily set up upstairs, wireless is really my only option here.
My internet speed is supposed to be 40Mbps, but through this card, I'm struggling to get anything north of 18 or 19Mbps. I'm stumped. I’ve tried everything—fiddling with settings, swapping out drivers, tweaking the router configuration—but nothing sticks.
The frustrating part is that I know the signal is strong enough up here; I tested it with my phone and it hits near full speed easily.
According to what I've read online, this card should be capable of speeds up to 125Mbps.
I'm running Windows 10 32.
If anyone has any ideas on how to fix this, I'd really appreciate the help.

The specs on that card say it only supports "b" and "g" modes, which tops out at 54Mbps. That 125Mbps number they advertise is basically just marketing fluff because most routers nowadays run on "g" or "n," and your PCI card can't even touch "n" mode. Honestly, you’d be better off grabbing a USB Wi-Fi adapter—something like a TP-Link TL-WN822N—since those actually support "n" mode. Plus, it's way easier to just plug it into a port closer to a better signal rather than dragging your entire desktop tower halfway across the room or messing around with an antenna extension cable, which just ends up killing your signal strength anyway.

Yeah, I know it doesn't support n-mode—without that, it could probably hit 54Mbit, which is why it feels a bit weird. But honestly, it doesn't matter; it’s an old piece of gear and it's time for an upgrade anyway. Best bet is just to grab a new adapter and call it a day.

Peter King4 said:Yeah, I get that it doesn't support n-mode, and without that, it could hit 54Mbps, which is why I'm stumped. But whatever, it's an old piece of gear anyway and ready for the scrap heap. Honestly, just grab a new adapter and call it a day.

But isn't it weird to you that we're talking about theoretical peak speeds here?
I mean, we're talking lab conditions—perfect setups, identical hardware, basically what you'd see if you were sitting right on top of the router...

Sure, you can go out and buy gear that claims 10Gbps speeds, but signal propagation still has to follow the laws of physics. You've got signals getting choked out by concrete walls, especially reinforced ones, electrical wiring, and definitely water (or even just some heavy greenery)... plus all those other gadgets running on the same frequency.
Unless you're lucky enough to live in a house made of spiderwebs, if you're trying to get a signal from the basement up to the second floor through thick walls and random obstacles... well, good luck.

This is one of those areas where the "just use a bigger hammer" approach totally fails.

Look, even if everything is perfect—you're sitting right next to the router and there’s zero interference—you aren't actually going to see more than about 27Mbps if you're running on that 54Mbps "g" mode. It's just how it works. That 54 number is just the modulation speed, but Wi-Fi using the 802.11 protocol isn't just raw internet data flying through the air. It’s constantly sending and receiving little packets that include control data too. Plus, if there are other gadgets nearby fighting for the same channel, things slow down while they're busy transmitting. And if there's any noise, the system ends up re-sending packets over and over until it finally gets an acknowledgment that they arrived safely before it moves on to the next one.