if i get faster router....will pc be bottlenecked?

[Chuckster]

do i need to worry about changing desktop pc network adapter?

still trying to self-educate about whole network/router/modem dynamics....so forgive if i ask stupid question(s)....

current setup:
spectrum broadband into house....
...to cable/phone modem....
...to netgear WNDR3700 dual band N600 wireless....
...only wired output (ethernet cable?...not sure of name) to Dell XPS 8700 Windows 7 Pro i7 64bit with Dell Wireless 1703 802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz (card? adapter?)
...all other connections to router are wireless (tv, wii, ps4, printer, phones, etc).

If i upgrade to LINKSYS Tri-Band AC4000 or AC5400, to take advantage of 5.0 ac connectivity, do i need to update my desktop network adapter (if that's what it's called).  I'm not sure if it's an adapter on the motherboard (i think it might be), and if so, is it advisable for speed purposes, to try to swap it out for a card that can handle ac (if i can even swap/remove it from motherboard for a newer one), or do i just try to do one of those usb dongle adapters (no idea of how those work....seems like they wouldn't be as fast as something directly hardwired into my pc).  i think i do have usb 3.0, if that matters.

or is that even a concern, given that my desktop pc is directly connected to the router by an ethernet cable?  part of me is thinking that i would be getting my internet directly in/out from the cable modem via the new router....i guess it would be acting as nothing more than a powered switch, so to speak, so do i even need to worry if my pc can or can't handle 5.0ghz or ac, because it's not like i have my pc receiving data from the router wirelessly, so maybe it's all irrelevant?

FAST INTERNET.....
"EVERYBODY WANTS SOME....I WANT SOME TOO....OWW!!!"   ~dave lee roth

[Salmon Trout]

If your desktop PC's Ethernet connector is connected to the router directly by Ethernet cable, and that is the connection you are using, then you already have the fastest possible connection, and you do not need to even think about that desktop PC's wi-fi adapter.

[DaveLembke]

Given your on Windows XP according to your profile, just make sure the router is configured for IPv4 and not IPv6. IPv6 support was added with Service Pack 2 for XP, but I have seen some odd issues with XP and IPv6. There is no need to go with IPv6 and most peoples home networks and even websites still run on IPv4.

So if your looking in the new routers settings and it has a choice for IPv4 or IPv6, stick with IPv4 and you should be all set.

There is very little ( unnoticeable to most users ) speed difference between older routers and newer routers. Its mostly a difference in security, features, and newer protocols for routers. A healthy 10 year old router and a band new router connected via broadband running www.speedtest.net should come up with just about identical benchmark for upload/download speeds for broadband speeds that are 100mbps or lesser. If your lucky enough to have a faster than 100mbps broadband connection then you would need a router that is rated for gigabit connectivity to have 1000mbps support, otherwise the older 100mbps router would act like a bottleneck to speed potential capping you at lesser than 100mbps.

Only bottleneck of your PC with a faster router would be if you had a better than 100mbps broadband package and your network adapter in the computer only has a 100mbps NIC. Easy fix for this would be to install a Gigabit ( 1000mbps ) network adapter and use that to get greater than a 100mbps connection. However a computer even if bottlenecked at 100mbps for internet speed would still bs very fast. And depending on age of the computer, the computer itself might not even be capable of tapping into the full potential of the fast internet connection due to a slow hard drive and/or processor.

I have a 25/5 package for my broadband and that's not bad for most internet users for multiple systems streaming content etc. Even if the computer only had a 100mbps network adapter, it would be able to connect up to 4x faster than what I have for internet which is more than plenty for most people. So buying a Gigabit network adapter to have 1000mbps for an older computer that is otherwise 100mbps might not be worth the upgrade, however the upgrade to Gigabit 1000mbps can be achieved for less that $20 doing it yourself.

[Chuckster]

salmon & lembke - thank you both very much for responses.

mr. lembke - sorry, i had old profile.  fixed now.  (XP...lol....dang, i'm not a troglodyte....at least not yet)

if i'm understanding correctly - i have more than one adapter in my desktop (see attachment)...the dell wireless adapter is if i wanted to hook my pc up wirelessly (which i don't), and the Realtek PCI GBE family controller is the network Adapter used for hardwired circumstances (which is how i'm hooked up, via an ethernet cable to my router).  i think the Realtek is a 10/100/1000 adapter, so my pc will always be capable of up to 1GBs download as long as i'm not on wireless.  if i'm on wireless, then my pc would only be capable of the b/g/n 2.4ghz max, correct?

if my card or adapter should be fast enough already, then i should be good to go with whatever speeds are available now or near future (several providers already wiring fiber around town, although not in my neighborhood yet), which means for right now the only thing i need to do is swap out my old router for the faster tri-band router i've been eyeballing...everything else should then be maximum speeds possible, yes? (of course depending upon remote device capability of receiving 5ghz ac, i presume)

[Salmon Trout]

i think the Realtek is a 10/100/1000 adapter, so my pc will always be capable of up to 1GBs download as long as i'm not on wireless.  if i'm on wireless, then my pc would only be capable of the b/g/n 2.4ghz max, correct?

On Ethernet you should get close to what your Internet Service Provider service claims to be, from a good website or download source (they vary). On wifi, you could get these speeds below, depending on things like the distance from router to each device's wi-fi adapter, and the amount of radio wave interference, neighbours, microwave ovens, etc but you'll always be limited to the speed you pay your ISP for...

         Theoretical  Actual
802.11b  11 Mbps      5.5 Mbps
802.11a  54 Mbps      20 Mbps
802.11g  54 Mbps      20 Mbps
802.11n  600 Mbps     100 Mbps
802.11ac 1,300 Mbps   200 Mbps