Fresh Install of 8.1, ethernet cable unplugged?

[chev65]

Yeah that's a good way to describe it. I just got this one like a month ago, and it was the newest one they had lol.

So you are saying for the PCI cards that even if they say 10/100/1000 then they are still capped at 100?

Yes with the router you have now everything will be capped at 10/100 not 1000 or GB capable at all. Not to mention it's only wireless G capable, not N, not AC.

Is a matter of fact the specs on this router are over 10 years out of date. You would be far better served with a dedicated modem and a newer model router that is GB and wireless N capable. This would most likely solve your problems.

I figure it will hold me back some but I just don't think it's what caused this problem though.

So in your opinion would i be served well by getting a NIC card regardless if I upgrade the router or not?

An Ethernet card would be the cheapest option but it may or might not fix the problems related to the handshake between these devices. It's a cheap gamble and might be worth trying for that reason.