Setting up wireless fpr my room

Hello NBR Wireless Masters,

I wish to setup wireless connectivity for my laptop in my room.
However, after reading many posts both here and at other websites, I am left more confused than ever. I want to buy a wireless router but am unsure of which one I need.

My requirements are:
Fastest wireless connection possible (I would like to reach 300Mbps). My laptop will have an Intel 4965 AGN wireless card (I assume, I ordered the dell m1530 which just said "Intel-Wireless-N, please correct me if i am wrong about this as well").
Range will not be needed much I will rarely if ever be using the wireless connection from more than 5~8 ft away.
Frequent Connection Drops as I have been reading for some routers are unacceptable.
I would like to select between: Netgear, Linksys, or D-link routers.
However if anyone else has had exceptional performance beyond what may be possible with the highest end of these manufacturers please let me know about that alternative.
I will not care about backwards compatibility with a/b/g devices.


Some General Questions:
What exactly is Dual-N? Does this mean i can connect with a single network card on both frequencies at the same time? What advantages does this have?

Thanks in advance.

 

You'll never reach 300mbps wirelessly(With current hardware anyway). The N throughput is more like 150mbps-200mbps(If that). If you're just surfing the internet, all that bandwidth isn't going to do you any good as I believe most internet providers are still struggling to reach 15mbps(with the exception of FIOS which I believe is up to 50mpbs down). The only real need for N would be if you are going to be transferring large files over your internal network and/or if you need better range. It's a common misconception that buying a N router is going to speed up your internet connection.

That being said, the DLink DIR-655 is an awesome router and highly praised.

 

Thanks for the reply on my question.
However since my dorm room is connected to the school ethernet connection.
Shouldnt the speed of my wireless connection be the bottleneck?
In this case, wouldnt the fastest available speeds be limited by my wireless connection?

Also for the DIR-655 It doesnt achieve its best speeds with Intel 4965 AGN cards from what i've read on the forums right?

 

You didnt say dorm room in the first post, just room. In this case, yes, you would likely benefit from increased throughput. As far as the 4965, we have 2 laptops with those cards running off the 655 at work and they do very well. Speed wise and range wise. YMMV. I'm not a dire 655 pusher, I just know it works well for me and others seem to be pleased with its performance.

 

As far as I know, Intel 4965 is incapable of reaching full N speeds. I have the DIR-655 and my old 6860 topped out at like 100something mbps. My old desktop which had a DWA-556 got the full 300mbps. However, that doesn't mean you should go out and buy a new adapter. File transfers never hit the full speed anyway, and your internet speed definitely never will either. The 4965 should suit your needs just fine.

 

However, you may have difficulties connecting a wireless router into the school's wired ethernet network - network admins get really, really burned up when someone adds a component to their network that they didn't know about, and some networks are set up to prevent that sort of access - you might want to double-check with your school's IT department before you go ahead and invest significant money in a setup that might not function on the school's network.

 

Shyster you beat me to the punch.

Schools frown on routers connected to there networks. If I recall 1 is now making a 11n AP which may be to solution if he's only needing wireless. That way all of the MAC address will be passed through.