Cutter59
join:2008-08-18
Alachua, FL
| reply to No_Strings
Re: Should I buy an "N" router?
I recently switched from a Linksys G router to a Belkin N-Vision router. I have 3 Windows PC's and 3 Macs. The macs have an internal card that supports N. With the new Belkin router I am clocking speeds of 103 mbps/sec. That is a significant step up from the max of 54 mbps/sec offered by G. At this point my Windows PC's have seen no slowdown. In fact they are slightly faster. An N router can make sense as long as your devices make use of N as is the case with my Macs. |
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Eug
join:2007-04-14
Toronto, ON
1 edit | said by andyi  :I would buy N because prices have come down significantly and they are at the same price level as G now (in the $35-$40). I just bought a g wireless router for CAD$19.99 new on sale at a major electronics chain. TRENDnet TEW-452BRP.
said by Cutter59 :I recently switched from a Linksys G router to a Belkin N-Vision router. I have 3 Windows PC's and 3 Macs. The macs have an internal card that supports N. With the new Belkin router I am clocking speeds of 103 mbps/sec. That is a significant step up from the max of 54 mbps/sec offered by G. At this point my Windows PC's have seen no slowdown. In fact they are slightly faster. An N router can make sense as long as your devices make use of N as is the case with my Macs. You won't get 54 Mbps with standard 802.11g wireless. More like 20-something. ie. Your n network is 4X as fast as a g network.
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Everything Apple |
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Kais
@rr.com
| I have to neighboring houses that we own. One house we have the linksys wireless g router (the one with speedbooster), forget the model, and the adapters to go with it. In that house, the computers were one room apart from each other so signal strength was not an issue and it was working perfect.
I just moved into the house nextdoor. Older house with more walls and interference. Computers were on opposite sides of the house this time. Figured I'd buy the linksys router because of how good a service it was giving me in the other house. Well, I was getting NO signal to both computers at all. Had another friend try out his router he brought over (forget the name) and got the same results. Did some research and found the N routers. Purchased the belkin n1 with the adapters and now both computers have perfect signals.. $269 is a little pricey but at least I know I wont ever have problems losing my signal. |
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jsciii
join:2002-08-19
Petersburg, VA
| reply to No_Strings
Here's a real world example.
My son lives about 200 yards down the road. Since I have SpeakEasy, I have excellent DSL service which I share with him.
My set up was to use a LinkSys WRT45GL running OpenWRT with the power set to maximum and a pair of +7 Db antennas. The result, he could receive a signal in most parts of his house and he had acceptable speed both up and down using his HP laptop's built-in G adapter.
I had resisted draft N because the adapters are expensive even if the price of the routers has come down. But TigerDirect has D-Link Range Extender DWA-142 adapters for $29, so I bought several of those and a DIR-625 D-Link Range Extender router.
The LinkSys +7 Db antennas wouldn't fit on the DIR-625, so I used the stock antennas.
The result.... No Signal at all with N!
Through last night, D-Link had a $20 rebate on their ANS24-0700 antennas, so I ordered a pair. we'll see if that helps.
But for now, my recommendation for improving range is to:
1) Stay with G
2) Install OpenWRT so you can turn the power up
3) Buy good antennas when they are on sale.
Good luck,
Jamie |
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Scot
@as9105.com
| reply to No_Strings
My existing laptop is 802.11g, although I have never actually used its wireless capabilities.
I am in the process of buying a new one that is 802.11n (and apparently 802.11g backward compatible) which I would like to use wireless.
If I buy an 802.11g modem router, am I right in thinking that I could link both laptops to it, the old one wired and the new one wireless ?
But if I buy an 802.11n modem router, would I only be able to link the new laptop to it ? |
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JohnInSJ
Premium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA
 ·Comcast
| Most (all?) n routers can do mixed mode n/g (ie, they accept g clients) - however having both n and g clients tends to slow down the n client a bit.
This is not unlike when g came out, and could accept plain old 802.11 clients, but doing that would slow down the g clients.
Just make sure whatever you pick supports mixed g/n clients.
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My place : »www.schettino.us |
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PGHammer
join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to Scot
said by Scot :
My existing laptop is 802.11g, although I have never actually used its wireless capabilities.
I am in the process of buying a new one that is 802.11n (and apparently 802.11g backward compatible) which I would like to use wireless.
If I buy an 802.11g modem router, am I right in thinking that I could link both laptops to it, the old one wired and the new one wireless ?
But if I buy an 802.11n modem router, would I only be able to link the new laptop to it ?
I've owned my current router (the same model as yours, incidentally; the WRT54GS) for three years, but the household just bought its first laptop - an older (used) Gateway Solo 600 that supports wireless-b or wired built-in. Laptops and even desktops can be adapted to connect wirelessly (USB-based wireless adapters will work with either, for example); at most, any home LAN needs (truly) but one wired-only computer (the administrator's station); the remaining clients can all be wireless otherwise.
However, I strongly suggest that all wireless clients support wireless-g at minimum, but for reasons of security, rather than speed or range. For non-gaming connectivity (even downloads from Microsoft or some other source) even b is certainly fast enough. However, wireless-b connectivity on older laptops has issues with even the moldy-oldie WEP encryption, let alone WPA. Wireless-g, however, due primarily to the inclusion of flash memory on most modern PC cards and USB adapters, is usually not prone to this problem. Also, all N routers will also support wireless-g (Linksys' own N routers will also support SpeedBoosted g), so you don't have to upgrade right away (just make sure the router itself is configured to support both g and N). |
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jlsohio
Premium
join:2002-12-16
Mentor, OH
| I switched to Linksys WRT310N router. So far I like it. It installed in a few minutes, no issues.
I also purchased a wireless adapter for my laptop. I'm getting speeds of 130Mbps. The range is excellent.
My two cents.
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I need speed... |
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dellsweig
Extreme Aerobatics
Premium,MVM
join:2003-12-10
Campbell Hall, NY
 ·Time Warner VOIP
·Vonage
·RoadRunner Cable
| said by jlsohio :I switched to Linksys WRT310N router. So far I like it. It installed in a few minutes, no issues. I also purchased a wireless adapter for my laptop. I'm getting speeds of 130Mbps. The range is excellent. My two cents. Do you know if the 310 slows it's N connection to G speeds in a mixed environment?? I have both G and N clients. |
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fp_goodwill
join:2008-12-19
| reply to No_Strings
Haha just read this sticky.
In my experience, surprisingly most N routers are not performing that well- some even fall short behind those G routers (the greatest range so far I got is from Buffalo WHR-HP-G54). However speed claims seems to be a bit more real- considering if you have similar signal coverage, N seems really gives better speed (if you have an N client of course :P)
Anybody used a N router that really preforms as it claims? (something like 3x range of a G router...)
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Need a router? Visit our store! |
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JohnInSJ
Premium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA
·Comcast
| quote:
Anybody used a N router that really preforms as it claims?
You mean, anyone other then myself, and all of the various testing sites?
For example, the dir-655 marketingspeak says "delivers up to 14x faster speeds* and 6x farther range* than 802.11g"
What I see in my install is it has about 2x the range and 2.5x the speed of a linksys wrt54cg router with an external omni-directional antenna in the same location. Compared to the same g router without the external omni it delivers out of the box (thanks to its much better set of three antennas) about 4x the range (or a 4x better signal at the same range) and 5x the speed (measured via iperf)
So I'd say its performing as claimed.
What are you selling? |
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slam5
Premium
join:2003-01-10
Vancouver, BC
| reply to No_Strings
N ver G. You should consider a few factors. First, do you have any clients that support only b/g? How wireless friendly is your place(how many wireless router is around you)? n has mimo and that is a big bonus over g in radio noisy envirnoment. now the big question is how many g or b clients you got. imo, b is a standard that should be phrased out. i once had a client who has no connection upstairs when the router is set for b/g. once it was set for g only, it was more stable. i suspect if you have a mixed envirnoment, the same result may apply. Regardless, I think you should switch to a n router. it definitely is future proof for sure for $ 30 or so. |
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djleej
@charter.com
|  reply to No_Strings
I am new to this and I have a simple question, I want to know what type of router I need, my neighbor across the street is going to let me jump off his wireless signal, but when I tried his signal was not strong enough! He lives about 500Ft. away across from me. What router do we need? a g, g+, n or what? please help... Thanks!!! |
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tipstir
join:2004-11-14
Enfield, CT
·Cox HSI
| reply to No_Strings
G and N which one? What are your needs? Can you live with 30mbps or better yet real world 130M for N. I say N is the way to go. Sure you won't get 300mbps as they tell you on the box, although the chips on the router is suppose to go that high but after you factor in all the signal crap then you're looking at 65mbps to 150mbps (300Mbps) for N. G is standard rates of that are much lower, but most users don't mine it.
I run both G and N, I use two different access points to manage both. Most DLINK wireless router with N still use mix mode G/N to give you N. Some don't like Trendnet TEW-654BRP |
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utdno11
@co.uk
| reply to No_Strings
Okay, so 130M or so for the N router- how about if a router is on the ground floor, would it happily work through to the 3rd floor of a house? My current G router doesn't. Just says the signal is `very weak` and fails to make a usable connection of any sort.
Kris |
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No_Strings
Premium,Mod
join:2001-11-22
The OC
Host:
Wireless Networking
All Things Unix
Cox HSI
Qwest
Efficient
| Probably not.
The most important variable isn't G or N, it's how much radio signal is getting to the client (and back, but since you're using the "weak" signal as measured by the client as a reference point, we'll focus on that).
A typical router antenna configuration produces a signal pattern that looks something like a doughnut. You can angle the doughnut my moving the antenna, assuming it's external, and sometimes that will help.
Obstacles and the composition of them makes a big difference. Old lathe & plaster construction attenuates the signal more than modern drywall.
Interference and reflected signal can hurt range. This is where N has an advantage over G, but only if the G devices are not MIMO and both ends of the equation are N.
Throw in some variability between brands or even within a model and it makes performance predictions pretty scary. In short, 802.11N will not by itself provide a magic fix. I can help in some cases.
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To you, I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the loyal opposition. -- Woody Allen, Stardust Memories |
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tipstir
join:2004-11-14
Enfield, CT
·Cox HSI
| reply to utdno11
You need wireless access point up there to help out the main wireless router. Don't get fooled by the claims of what Wireless N can do as it really can do it. I ran some test myself and found G wireless access points overlapping on Channel 6 could cover the house more than using N. Once you had you add N to the mix using another wireless N access point then you can overlap channel 6. Each access point needs it's own wireless channel to work.
Weak areas needs wireless access point. You could use WDS (100% wireless device) connected to wired wireless access point. This WDS would be used if you don't want to run LAN cable from the main to the wireless access point to the 3rd. I've tried this works great!
Best N Router right now that works as Router or WAP is the NetGear WRN834Bv2 don't use DD-WRT with it if you plan on using it as WAP in N only mode 40Hz. DD-WRT has lousy N only results. But DD-WRT as a wired router would be ideal.
Or stick with the netgear firmware. |
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magic108
join:2009-01-23
united state
| reply to No_Strings
I have a DIR 615 from dlink, its N and I used a N card with it. It worked great, but it wasnt gigabit. It was 40 bucks so cant complain, but 3 month later i replaced it with a 4300 which is for gaming with gigabit, plus most of my stuff is G anyways. You cant go wrong with DIR 615 though for a cheap solution. Now I use a cisco aironet A/G card. Really damn good card.
This is coming form a 14 year old, with a few years of networking experience running an office network for family. |
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No_Strings
Premium,Mod
join:2001-11-22
The OC
Host:
Wireless Networking
All Things Unix
Cox HSI
Qwest
Efficient
| said by magic108 :Really damn good card. This is coming form a 14 year old, My 14 year-old would lose his network if he talked like that.
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tipstir
join:2004-11-14
Enfield, CT
1 edit | reply to magic108
Great! Cisco Aironet cards are great also! Anyway I hope you continue with IT (information technology) I had started when I was 17 years old and been at it ever since.. |
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