G or N... Which Wireless Router I should buy...?!?

Hi friends,

I'm buying a wireless router.... i read some info on the internet and also www.smallnetbuilder.com but i'm still very confused....

My internet connection is 1 Mbps. When i'm downloading i get maximum download speed of 105 kB/s.

I bought a new laptop with Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n

i realize G can do 54 Mbps & N can do 100 Mbps.

1. But if the speed of my internet connection is 1 Mbps..... Then how does it matter if i get "G" 54 Mbps or "N" 100 Mbps...?!?

2. I will be using my "N" laptop and sometimes my brother will be using his "G" laptop.

3. What will be the difference between using a "G" or a "N" router over a 1 Mbps connection...???

So which Router should i buy & why...??? "G" or "N"....?!?

 

There will be no difference at all. In reality throughput for "g" network is about 20-23 mbps so it's a lot faster than our internet connection.
As for the "n" network- it is faster than 100mbps- 150mbps, 300mbps- depending on router and your network card capabilities but even the 300mbps is not as fast as 100mbps cable Ethernet connection (there is an article on that on smallnetbuilder, mainly due to overhead and signal degradation)
What I mean is- the only advantage of N vs. G is faster LAN speed i.e. between two laptops on your network, but since one of the laptops is "G" only you wouldn't benefit from this either.
My advice is go for a good "G" router like Linksys WRT54GL or Asus WL-500g Premium (the latter is more expensive but can work as a print server).

 

Agreed, there is no point in anything faster unless you plan to share files back and forth.

I also agree with the routers recommended, both are excellent.

 

N is about 5 times as fast G if you transfer files locally. It doesn't matter for internet unless you have more than 20mbps internet.

 

Hi rana_kirti,



What are your system specs?


<O </O

 

Doesn't N have significantly longer range?

 

also, i have a laptop (sig) which says a/b/g/n on the sticker and the actual pcie card has 3 connections, but... i only have 2 wires so, apparently, it will never work as 'n' anyway (thanks acer).
check yours before you spend the extra cash on a 'n' router.

 

hi manny..

my specs are...

1. acer 5670 cd 1.6/2gb/500gb, wireless 802.11 a/b/g
2. acer 5920 c2d 1.6/2gb/250gb, wireless 802.11 a/b/g
3. Planning to get a new Ultra-Portable with wireless "N"

would that be helpful ...?!?

gazzacbr...

what does that mean....?!? Your laptop is "N" but still not "N"..... I don't understand...?!?

 

If your laptop only has capabilities of A/B/G you can't use N router at full speed from what I've gathered from around NBR (correct me if im wrong!)

 

No it doesn't. It only gets better reception at given point than "G" but looses signal at more or less te same distance from router/AP.
There is an article on that on smallnetbuilder too

It can work as "N" with two antennas too. It's all about the number of spatial streams and the simultaneous use of these. It's pretty complicated but take a look here

 

3 antennas are for 3streem which offers up to 450mbps transfer speeds.
No routers currently support that speed really. Some do, but it's complicated and simply put, they don't.



If you mix B or G with N, N will be reduced in speed unless you have a dual band radio.

 

leslieann,



Bingo, you are right on...