ok, got chance to play around with it a bit more. Disabling power saving seems to have increased total power consumption noticebly;; eyeballing my battery-eye graph Id say by 10-15 percent compared to a time of similar usage yesterday (while connected, with email polling every 30 minutes and some internet desktop widgets, light browsing)

I did some speed tests, first with it off and then with it back on (using a gpodder to get podcasts as the test, as I want to get some on the phone before I head to the gym -- but please let me know of any other more reliable non-flash speed tests I could do):

Results were sporadic, but speed in general is much better than before, seems like I had lower lows with power saving on, but I hit highs of 1100 kbs down both with it on and with it off, so it definitely wasnt throttling it before. Campus is starting to empty so I think lower traffic is responsible for the generally higher speeds.

So I guess it was just an erratic network. dj_steve, so what you're saying is that wifi power settings shouldnt effect prioritzation? i.e. shouldnt result in slower speeds on a network experiencing heavy traffic from non-power saving devices?

At any rate, Im leaving it on max. When I get home Ill test some more under more reliable conditions.

edit: @zarf Yes I drop connections often; on campus its unsecured (with a browser-based log in), but I also drop connections at home, so Ill try out your suggestions