Need Same Manufacturer for Router and Adapter?

I'm in the market for an wireless router and wireless pc adapter card. Have looked at Linksys; found a good router, but the Linksys card advertised for the PC is only $10.00 less than the router itself (It's the Linksys WMP54GS). Seems kind of expensive.
So, I'm thinking about a less expensive wireless desktop card by another manufacturer. Now here's the question . . .
Is there an advantage to using the same manufacturer for both router and card, or do manufacturers products mix and match pretty well?
Thanks in advance for any information.

 

Some of the manufacturers have a proprietary 'SpeedBoost' technology (unless you tranfer alot of files / large files you probably don't need it), as well as alogorithms to simplify the adding of WEP/WAP keys (so you can enter a 'password' and have it generate the same keys on both devices), but generally speaking, most manufacturers are inter-operable (the 'standard' is 802.11b or 802.11g).

Linksys is a good brand. Look for a Router/PC Card combo package, you may save a few bucks.

-Lee

 

Depends, but not usually.

I have a NetGear router, an Atheros-chipset Gigabyte wireless card in laptop, a Linksys wireless adapter in other computer and it works fine!

 

I like Netgear, they make PIC cards too, but it's personal preference and anything should work well together.

 

Thanks for the feedback!
I just have the one desktop now, but am planning to buy a laptop this or next month and would like my wireless already in place. I don't want anything fancy, but I don't think I can buy the most inexpensive equipment available either.
I've got DSL and want to hook set up my modem to my router in a central room and access elsewhere. This will be used, in part, for work and I'm told that our apps over the VPN will require plenty of bandwidth.
One retailer had the wireless Linksys WRT54GS advertised for $89.00 and the corresponding Linksys card WMP54GS for $78.00. I didn't see a package deal containing both, but I'll keep looking.
Thanks again for the help.

 

US dollars? Seems a bit steep. Keep an eye on BestBuy & CompUSA. They have rebates just about every week, thought the specific products vary. This week there's a $30 rebate on the $89 WRT54GS at BB, and CompUSA has the NetGear WGT624NA for $49 after rebates, plus another $10 off the bundle if you buy a wireless card or adpater for $39. Remember, your 'VPN apps' will most likely be limited moreso by your cable/dsl connection than the wireless bandwidth.

 

Thanks again all for the advice. Got a wrt54gs & wusb54g yesterday. About to install (try to install?) this morning. Will report progress if anyone interested.
Regards,
n1s

 

Having a very difficult time with configuration. My pc's network card doesn't work, so I used another laptop (not mine) to configure the router with customer support help. Now I am told my network adapter will not work until I can access Device Manager.
Here's the kicker. There is nothing displaying in the Device Manager window!!!! No setting changes this. Device Manager does show up in Safe Mode however.