Radio Monk33

Hey folks,

Apologies, but I'm abit behind the times with the latest wireless standards. I just got fiber at 10Mbps up/down at home and need to pick up a router but I'm not sure if I should go to the draft N standard as it tends to be pricier. I'm hoping to keep the cost below 70, but I don't want to bottleneck the fast broadband.

So does it make a difference in real world speed between N and G? I wouldn't pay a premium just for more reliable connectivity..I'm not sure if this will provide a substantial real world bottleneck. Suggestions on brands or features also welcome!

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Martian

It all depends on what you're doing.

I generally advise folk to go for draft n if they can do so reasonably, since it's likely going to be the standard going forward and scalability is good. If there's a substantial cost difference, however, 802.11g will work just fine. It's often possible to grab a draft n router on sale for a comparable price or only slightly more, but if that's not the case for you then don't worry about it.

Also noteworthy is that not many laptops are supporting draft n yet. Having a draft n router is more about keeping your bases covered in the future; I consider this particularly important in networking devices, where the upgrade cycle is much longer.

802.11g will be more than sufficient for your connection. 10 mbps isn't all that much, really. If you plan on connecting more than a few devices and moving a lot of traffic within the network itself, the bandwidth gains of draft n will be useful. For the internet connection itself you're not really going to see a difference.

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Lasereth

Get G, you won't notice a difference.

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Cynthetiq

esp. since N is still draft.. and they keep pushing the date back.. and back... and back... and back..

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Ratman

When I got my fibre internet in Japan, they had a campaign for reduced price or a free router. I took the router, a Buffalo WZR2-G300N supporting g, b, and draft n. The ISP only claimed speed up to 70Mbps. I connected wireless at 130Mbps from the git-go. A couple of months ago, there was a software upgrade, I now connect at 270-300Mbps, with no price increase from the ISP. When the States gets act together and the technology becomes available and affordable, you will notice the difference.

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Martian

...Which is why I recommend getting the new standard where feasible. At the same time, that level of infrastructure is at least 3-5 years out in North America (probably longer, judging by the way the ISPs are dragging their feet), so really if it's an issue of 'I have to have a wireless router, this is my budget' then a b/g router will serve for the time being.

It's true that n is still draft, but I don't see any major changes to the spec occurring between now and when it's finalized. Keeping the ceiling as high as possible is always a good idea, and it's my opinion that draft n isn't going to be a dead end, so investing in it now seems like a way to save money down the road.

I haven't needed a new router in years, but when I do it'll be draft n.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
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spindles

My rule of thumb for any computer related purchase - buy the best you can for the money you have to spend. I have a wireless g router here, but I cat-5 cabled to both my office and my wife's desk so our main computers are wired into the router and I only use the wireless occasionally. So from a speed perspective wiring the most important point might get you a speed kick.

Anyway, enough of my rambling about my place - mine is another vote for n if you can afford it.

Brands? I'm a fan of linksys, can't give you a specific model, but they make good stuff...

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underdun

I've had both, had a G, bought the N, now im back with the G. I've had no major complaints with the G, once and a while I will have to reset the wireless connection with my xbox but that's it. Correct me if im wrong but I think the N is still in the consumer trial and error period??? My personal opinion is to go with the G, I don't really think the N is worth the extra $$$

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Radio Monk33

I'm looking at 2 models right now, the Linksys G: NCIX.com - Reviews of Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless G 54MBPS CABLE/DSL Router 802.11G 4 Port 10/100 - WRT54G2.

and the D-Link N: NCIX.com - Buy D-LINK DIR-615 Wireless N Router 802.11N Draft 802.11G 300MBPS 4 Port 10/100 - DIR-615 In Canada.

Both are $60...making the N very tempting even though I prefer the Linksys brand (admittedly never used a D-link router, only their early hubs).

The jury seems to be split on this one. :s Also, while I have your attention, does it matter that these routers only use Fast Ethernet rather than Gigabit? I've admittedly never hooked up my computers before to share files, but I'll be more tempted in the future as I continue to add hardware and go all digital..

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Leto

hmmm.. I bought a wireless N Dlink router about a year and half ago from Best Buy (or Futureshop?). No complaints, good strength and range, and it was only $39.

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Ratman

Mine is fast ethernet, too. However, since the wireless connection is way faster, I have yet to hard wire the computers. I'm curious, Monk. Is your fiber at 10Mbps cheaper than ADSL?

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Radio Monk33

[/COLOR]Pretty much break-even for the mid range ADSL service; ~35$ a month in Vancouver.

I'd go completely wireless except that I have a desktop with no wireless, therefore that fast ethernet migth be a bit more inconvenient.

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"Punk rock had this cool, political personal message. It was a bit more cerebral than just stupid cock rock, you know"
-Kurt Cobain

Martian

For your purposes, you're unlikely to notice any difference between the two.

Gigabit ethernet is great and all, except that the average home user has almost no applications that are going to take advantage of that kind of throughput. If you offload most of the network traffic to the wireless connection, this proves even more true.

Between the two that you posted, I'd probably go with the D-Link. Linksys routers are my own preference, and the WRT lineup does have the third party firmware; balanced against that is the fact that the D-Link is a good price, has gotten reasonably good reviews and will support draft N when/if you have devices capable of taking advantage of it, and that the third party firmware for the WRT54Gx routers is mostly advantageous for adding extra functionality that you as an average user are unlikely to ever need or use.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Shauk

the thing a lot of people don't seem to consider is this version only applies to local traffic since it's not likely your internet connection is pushing those kinds of speeds. Like I have a cable connection rated at 10mbps which, honestly the 802.11b standard supports
Wireless Standards - 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g 802.11n - Which Is Best?

so for the average home "internet user" portion of it, anything above .11b is pretty much a waste

where the speeds become more notable is your local traffic, if you do a lot of file transferring internally across multiple computers wirelessly this might be a concern.

but again, the typical configuration is the home PC is hardwired to the router which bypasses wireless speeds altogether and is governed by the slowest speed supported in the chain.


so say
a 10mbps internet connection
a home pc using a gigabit NIC, wired to a router that supports 100mpbs, and has 802.11b on it.
throw in a laptop that has a wireless interface that supports 802.11g


this mish mash of hardware basically means that the fastest your wireless will go is 11mbps (as per the 802.11b standard supported by the router) which is faster than your internet connection technically
but you'll also only be transferring files from your PC to your laptop at 11mbps as well

say you upgraded your wireless router to 802.11g to fall in line with what your laptop supports, your internet will not be any faster, but you'll be able to transfer files to and from your computer at 54mbps, which, surprise surprise, still isn't gonna hit the transfer potential of a hardwired 100mbps connection, or even a gigabit connection

so to me, upgrading a wireless router seems to have a very limited benefit to most users unless you're transferring like gigabytes worth of data every day/week between those computers, but if that were the case, you'd be better off just jacking the damn thing in with an Ethernet cable.



that gigabit NIC isn't ever going to see a gigabit (1000mbps)

Radio Monk33

Excellent breakdown and explanation Shauk, thank you! Ultimately, I went with the Wireless N due to the low price for a good brand. I'm not a heavy file transfer user currently, but I suppose it's nice to have the option in the future..assuming I'm not bottlenecked somewhere else.

Cheers.

__________________
"Punk rock had this cool, political personal message. It was a bit more cerebral than just stupid cock rock, you know"
-Kurt Cobain

vinceco252

A caveat: the bandwidth on your LAN can affect things like streaming movies from a media server to a media device like an XBOX360.