Will I gain anything by changing the router

Just curious,

I have a Linksys WRT300N router in my home. It is several years old. My laptop has a Network Card: Intel 4965AGN Wireless WiFi Adapter (DELL - MOW1)

If I changed to one of the newer wireless routers available today would I gain anything or is the change going to be so minimal that it would just be a waste of money.

Thanks,

 

You could try changing the router firmware to dd-wrt. I haven't tried it myself, but supposedly it improves your router's performance. Best of all, its free.

 

Is there a problem with your wireless such as poor streaming of video or drop offs. Are you not able to use the wireless signal from the router everywhere you need to in your dwelling. What is the reason for the new router.
If it works don't fix it. Put the money in the bank and wait for the current model to drop dead. It will eventually do this and by this time the newer technology will have evolved some more.

 

No problem really. do have poor streaming sometimes but not sure its the router. Just wandering through walmart today and noticed the new routers. Just wondering if they be any better than the one I have. You know things change so quickly in the computer world.

 

I would check out a few things prior to purchasing a new router. I recently had some streaming problems and it was solved by changing the channel my router was broadcasting on. There is a free program called inssider in case this is an issue you can check to see if others nearby are using the same channel.
Some appliances while being used like wireless phones and baby monitors etc can also mess up your wireless signal. I would also consider changing the routers firmware as previously posted. This can make everything more stable.
inSSIDer Download | MetaGeek

 

If you are streaming from your computer to your PS3 for example, since the PS3 is wireless g only, the poor streaming could be due to the g throughput instead of the router.

Unless you need features your router doesn't offer, i don't see a reason to change. The Linksys WRT series are good routers. Besides newer doesn't always means better, there are bad routers out there.

do you do a lot of file transfer via the network?
do you have a NAS and computers wired to the router rather than connected wireless?
how many devices do you have and do you plan to add more to the network?
are you experiencing slowdowns streaming media when all your devices are connected? (aside from the internet which has nothing to do with the router itself)

 

If you're not having any problems, there's not much reason to upgrade. One reason to consider changing would be to buy a router that offers dual-band capability since your notebook can take advantage of the less-crowded 5 GHz frequency. Keep in mind, while throughput is better on 5 GHz, its range and ability to penetrate walls is not as good. So keep that in mind if you have a larger house and plan to use your notebook all over it.

If you have other wireless devices that are not 5 GHz capable, you'd need to buy a simultaneous dual-band router. Most of the less-expensive dual-band units are not capable of running both 2.4 and 5 GHz at the same time.

 

I recommend OpenWRT instead.

 

OpenWRT is a bit too complicated for a beginner but the whole point of an alternative firmware is a bit off here.
OP made no indication that he has firmware issues or any issues for that matter and I don't see a reason to start playing with a working setup just for the sakes of it.

 

I completely agree with downloads on this matter. If it works don't fix it.

 

Indeed, by trying to fix things, sometimes it messes up. I even reverted on an older firmware on my E3000 since the latest one was giving me problems with older wireless g devices.

 

My MBR1000 was purchased primarily for EVDO meaning 3g & 4g wireles modems and express cards. I went to DSL months ago and let my brother use the modem in his computer. Everything was working fine and I decided to upgrade the firmware. The new firmware installed but wiped the setup info. This had not happened before and my paperwork that had my DSL info for the router was not to be found. It took several hours to get back up and running. Seeing that the firmware updates are aimed at compatibility for newer modems I believe I will leave it as is in the future.