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    How much better is agn than abg?

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by vaw, Apr 21, 2009.

  1. vaw

    vaw Notebook Deity

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    Does it worth the extra dollars to get agn over abg card? In how many years will it make big difference?
     
    vaw, Apr 21, 2009
    #1
  2. solomaster

    solomaster Notebook Geek

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    Wireless N is much better than abg. Faster speeds and longer ranges. Wireless N will be the best signal for awhile now they are making cards that have more antennas instead of making better signals. Get the Wireless N. IMO
     
    solomaster, Apr 21, 2009
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  3. jackluo923

    jackluo923 Notebook Virtuoso

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    If you have a wireless G router, the speed will be the same.
     
    jackluo923, Apr 21, 2009
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  4. sublime313

    sublime313 Notebook Evangelist

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    the premium paid for wireless N is minimal.. i was asking this same question though not too long ago.. basically, unless you're transferring files through a home network and have an N router OR can receive greater than 65Mbps internet connection, you don't need an N card right now. somebody correct me if this wrong.
     
    sublime313, Apr 21, 2009
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  5. Shyster1

    Shyster1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You are correct; most folks will see little or no benefit from wireless N.
     
    Shyster1, Apr 21, 2009
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  6. Rob41

    Rob41 Team Pirate Control

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    However if you are like me and use your home wireless network a lot, it is well worth it.

    Just be sure to upgrade your router accordingly.

    As mentioned above, better range and increased speeds.
     
    Rob41, Apr 21, 2009
    #6
  7. jackluo923

    jackluo923 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Wireless G is only capable of 54Mbit/s throughput. That number is almost impossible to achieve. Typical transfer rate is about 25-32Mbit/s. If your signal is weak, that number will decrease a lot.

    My stupid router is limiting my 30Mbit/s internet connection. Time for Wireless N upgrade.
     
    jackluo923, Apr 21, 2009
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  8. NotebookReunion

    NotebookReunion Notebook Enthusiast

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    Nice speed, but have you actually run up against that limit? AFAIK, most of the internet doesn't run at that speed yet, particularly the sources.

    Could you (or anyone with a similarly fast or faster internet connection) run a test? Find a fast site and download a large file (CD or DVD image?) via wired (100Mb or 1Gb) versus wireless and compare the speeds. Please report file size, seconds to download and/or reported rate of transfer. Systems configuration and loads may impact results as well, so comments towards making more comparative results are appreciated.

    Here's what I tried on a slow broadband (1.5Mb DSL) connection. I started downloading on a wired (100Mb) and a wireless (11g) the Windows XP Service Pack 3 - ISO-9660 CD Image File, 544.9 MB at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...ce-b5fb-4488-8c50-fe22559d164e&displaylang=en

    I ran each back-to-back for a few minutes to stabilize and observed nearly identical results of 150-160 KB/sec and about 1 hour remaining for complete download. All this really proves is that the bottleneck for this situation is the 1.5Mb DSL.

    I'd like to see if anyone can show that there is a significant difference with 30Mb/s or faster internet connection and 11g on ACTUAL INTERNET usage. Thanks!


    Here's an old thread along similar lines, but needs to be updated to new speeds: http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-98142.html

    Multiple simultaneous downloads or torrents could likely make the case towards 11n, but those are relatively rare users IMHO.
     
    NotebookReunion, Apr 23, 2009
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  9. NotebookReunion

    NotebookReunion Notebook Enthusiast

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    Additional data point:

    I'm currently trying to download ubuntu 9.04 on a busy day (opening day) and the best I'm getting for a number of mirrors is 20-30 KB/s and 5-12 hr downloads.

    Unless you're also trying to download for actual use, it's best to avoid overloading those servers today with unneeded testing, but for those that are coming across this a few days or a week or more after, it could be a good test to see how fast they serve up on lighter loads.

    http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

    BTW, I recall last version was downloaded in 1-2 hours, consistent with the connection used, and faster connection may yield faster results.

    Edit: Found a faster server (5th or 6th try)...Argonne National Labs (135KB/s expected to download in ~90 minutes)...Thanks Uncle Sam!
     
    NotebookReunion, Apr 23, 2009
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  10. beige

    beige Notebook Deity

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    GET the N if u need
    -range
    -and have N router
    -and if u transfer large files ( B and G will do great for most of internet connections) ie u will not feel the difference

    but buy it if you plan to use than PC for long time ( 2 3 years ), cause maybe by that time you ll find all routers every where are N compatible:0
     
    beige, Apr 25, 2009
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  11. jackluo923

    jackluo923 Notebook Virtuoso

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    I downloaded microsoft office 2007 trial, about 700MB. It finished within 5 minutes with wireless internet.

    Windows XP Sp3 downloaded at a speed of around 15Mbit/s.

    I did a speedtest from speedtest.net
    Wifi -22.13Mbit/s down and 0.49Mbit/s up and 39ms ping
    Wired from router - 28.94Mbit/s down and 0.51Mbit/s up and 35ms ping
    Wired from modem - 29.42Mbit/s down and 0.52Mbit/s up and 32ms ping

    I've tried downloading ubuntu, the best connection only had 3.2Mbit/s capped bandwidth thus only getting 400KB/s download speed.
     
    jackluo923, Apr 25, 2009
    #11