If you’re paying more, you might as well consider upgrading your standalone router, running an Ethernet cable to the PC, or installing a new mesh network in your home. Paying more doesn’t necessarily mean better performance the pricier adapters didn’t win all of our tests. Our test measures in megabytes per second (MB/s), and 12 MB/s translates into 96 Mbps, which is about as fast as the average broadband Internet connection, so we looked for that threshold on our tests. We tested each adapter to see how it could do in a real home. For example, an AC1200 adapter is rated to provide 300 Mbps (megabits per second) on the 2.4 GHz band and 867 Mbps on the 5 GHz bands, but no adapter can achieve that.
We started by looking at each adapter’s AC rating: while those numbers are generally pretty misleading, they do tell you each adapter’s maximum theoretical throughput. You need throughput to download updates and stream videos at the quality you’re paying for.
Good throughput: Think of the tasks you do the most where you’re waiting and watching a spinning pinwheel.
