Acer Aspire E1-572 Network Adapter

Hi,

I got my Acer Aspire E1-572 computer sometime in 2014 and it has been fine for my use in photo editing and such, it can be a bit sluggish at times but otherwise runs relatively okay. It's a model with intel i7 so I really did have high expectations for it but recently it has driven me beyond the brink of frustration. The internet is abysmal.

I should probably first highlight that I am absolutely useless when it comes to computer jargon. I have done my research, read around the problem but have not yet found anything that has conclusively solved my problem or been possible for me to understand, let alone do. I'm primarily a mac user nowadays and windows 8.1 is my idea of a nightmare. However, as I do like to use the Acer now and then, more so recently, I cannot really let this issue continue otherwise I'm sitting there with an expensive computer that really is more hassle than it's worth. 

My home internet runs fine for all other devices and it is not an issue whereby the Acer cannot find the wi-fi, it's there nice and clear, but untilising it is near impossible. I have 3/5 bars of internet so would expect at least some kind of feedback from it. It will sort of chug along for a little while, then load, then stop working or just not load at all. For this model lots of people seem to go on about configuring the power management settings, which I did and perhaps there was a tiny (??) bit of improvement but I certainly wasn't jumping for joy. The internet is still one step forwards, two steps back. Any and all other advice just went straight over my head, it means nothing to me.

It's hard to recall as it has never been my 'browsing' computer, but I do think when I first got it, I did not have this problem. It might not have been winning any races with speed but it did actually work. I wondered if perhaps the update from windows 8 to 8.1 had thrown a spanner in the works, but it's utter speculation on my part.

So I come on to drivers, wondering if that was the issue as a lot of people mention it in various forums. Similarly, I know nothing of this. I used the acer drivers search to find compatible drivers for my model:

Wireless LAN: Atheros (Wireless LAN Driver - WLAN+BT Driver) Version 10.0.0.285

Wireless LAN: Atheros (Wireless LAN Driver) Version 10.0.0.263

Wireless LAN: Atheros (Wireless LAN Driver - WLAN+Bluetooth Driver) Version 10.0.0.263

Wireless LAN: Broadcom (Wireless LAN Driver) Version 6.30.223.170

Great... except I dont know which I need (or if I need them at all) what one to download and what to do with it when I've endured the painstaking download process. 

I would rather not have to take it back to the store, it is always a massive hassle and hopefully it's something that can actually be fixed at home.

Any help would be sincerely appreciated (especially if it's something I can understand) as I'm getting close to desperation with the cursed thing!

Thanks.