so im setting up the network in my house, and now i need a router

all the stores are saying N is much better than G

is it worth what you pay extra?

1/29/2009 7:44:46 AM

depends.

what are you gonna be doing with it on a daily basis?

if just browsing the internet then both are overkill.

1/29/2009 7:54:52 AM

5 computers - internet and downloading shit
that and everyone using the same printer

1/29/2009 8:29:55 AM

it isn't going to matter then. internet bandwidth is the limiting factor here, not the router.

1/29/2009 8:32:11 AM

can't be that much extra to get N, what's the price difference on the routers you are considering?

1/29/2009 8:35:02 AM

On the same topic, can someone recommend a good N router that can run Tomato or dd-wrt? I'm still using my really old WRT54Gv2 with Tomato, and while I love it, transferring files is painfully slow (about 1MB/s average from a wireless MacBookPro to a wired desktop PC).

1/29/2009 8:36:31 AM

^ i was going to ask a similar question...though i figure that if i'm buying a new router, might as well get gigabit, too

and tomato FTW...my buffalo is doing quite well (wireless transfers are around 4-5mbps and hardwired are 9-10mbps, so there's no big hurry)

1/29/2009 8:57:58 AM

if you're doing networking between computers - get N
otherwise, go with G if it's more than $25 cheaper

1/29/2009 10:36:41 AM

what is this tomato you speak of?

1/29/2009 11:20:43 AM

In my apartment there are a ton of G networks, and I'm assuming other things that share the 2.4GHz band, so my speeds were always bad. I went and found a router that could do a 5GHz N network and a 2.4GHz G network at the same time, they call them different things but I think netgear calls them dualband. The plus is that on the N network, I can stream HD and do file transfers without it being piss poor slow, and there is still a seperate G network for my ancient laptops and whatever else anyone brings over. Be aware if you buy an N router that works on 2.4Ghz, whenever you connect a G device to it, when that device is active everytihng on the network is bumped to G speed. But if your just using it for internet and a printer it doesn't matter.

1/29/2009 11:25:25 AM

unless you're file sharing within your network, it won't make any difference.

1/29/2009 11:36:34 AM

Quote :

"Be aware if you buy an N router that works on 2.4Ghz, whenever you connect a G device to it, when that device is active everytihng on the network is bumped to G speed. But if your just using it for internet and a printer it doesn't matter."

This statement is not true. In fact, far from it. There are several brands of routers that can get greater than 100 Mbps N throughput while in compatibility mode (of course, that's still not as good as the 250 Mbps or so you get when they're in native N). The performance hit depends on the antenna configuration of your router. I have a D-Link DIR-655 ($78 new off eBay buy-it-now). It's hosting two wireless networks. One is set for native N and the other is set to N with B/G compatibility. If someone connects to the network with a G device, only the N performance on the backward compatible network is affected noticeably. That way if someone comes over with a punkass B device, my N throughput will not be tarnished.

Dual band routers would be great since they'd be compatible with 802.11a also, but there's not single dual band router on the market that will let you set up a 600Mbps dual band network (the "up to 14x as fast as G" printed on draft-n boxes is based off this figure even though none actually creates faster than a 300Mbps network). There have been prototypes and research that get over 1 Gbps MIMO throughput, but it'll be another 5 years before you see such devices at the local computer store.

1/29/2009 12:56:30 PM

Go with n, it's backward compatable with it's predecessors.

1/29/2009 12:57:11 PM

why is N going to be official? it's been draft for years now, hasn't it?

1/29/2009 3:10:28 PM

Its been draft for years, but certified draft N equipment will work with "official" N stuff whenever the standard is finalized.

According to every WFA certification test plan I've seen.

1/29/2009 4:43:00 PM

Quote :

"unless you're file sharing within your network, it won't make any difference."

not true.

Quote :

"Where standard 802.11b and 802.11g routers contain just one WiFi radio and antenna, wireless N routers contain two or three radios specifically designed to maximize WiFi range. Note that the actual range and performance of any wireless router varies substantially depending on conditions of the environment such as obstructions and radio interference. http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelessrouters/f/bestwifirange.htm"

you're supposed to be able to get up to twice the range with 802.11n over 802.11g.

if bandwidth is your only concern, then yes, n is overkill and g is more than enough; but since i'm on your network too, you need to make sure i can get a clear signal from the street corner.

1/30/2009 12:13:48 AM

There are a HELL of a lot more benefits to using N than that.

N is the way to go, period.

Quote :

""Where standard 802.11b and 802.11g routers contain just one WiFi radio and antenna, wireless N routers contain two or three radios specifically designed to maximize WiFi range. Note that the actual range and performance of any wireless router varies substantially depending on conditions of the environment such as obstructions and radio interference."

Theres a little more to it than that but I guess the target audience isnt going to comprehend anything much deeper, or at least extract much more value out of it.

1/30/2009 12:37:00 AM

IIRC, the linksys WRT310N runs DD-WRT and is gigabit and wireless-n

you can also get it for $80 shipped every couple of weeks (though right now it's $90 shipped):
http://www.buy.com/prod/linksys-wrt310n-wireless-n-gigabit-router-linksys-wrt310n-wireless-n/q/loc/101/206462229.html

1/30/2009 9:28:13 AM

true... I should have mentioned the range issues, I was only thinking about speed when I posted earlier. sorry sorry.

1/30/2009 10:24:23 AM