Wireless G vs N for Browsing

I have an older notebook ( Eurocom 3420)that doesn't have any networking capability. I'm planning to buy a USB network adapter because the PCMCIA port is damaged. From what I've learned so far from searching older topics here, 802.11G will have far more speed that what can be provided by my broadband connection. However, it sounds like 802.11N has better signal strength than 802.11G which in turn means better range. However, Wireless G USB adapters are still a bit cheaper than Wireless N devices.

At this time, I've added a D-Link DIR-601 as a wireless access point in my home wired network as it was fairly cheap and I only needed get my daughter's iPod online. However, it would be handy to use my laptop wirelessly too for browsing. Although the 601 is in my living room and range isn't really an issue, I thought it would also be useful to take the laptop when we're on vacation because it's useful to access the internet from the hotel room rather than the public computer in the lobby. I expect that the range advantage of Wireless N would be more apparent this case.

Would I really notice an improvement in browsing speed with Wireless N?

Does anyone have any recommendations for USB network adapters?

Does anyone have any experience with the NetGear WN111?

 

You won't notice any speed increase going from G to N

I can't recommend anything, but that WN111 seems OK.

 

Does every wireless capable equipment in your house use wireless N?
If not you wont see any gains using that N adapter, since your network is running in wireless G mode.

Either way you should buy a N adapter.

 

Actually, most of the devices are wired. I bought a WNA-2330 for my other 3420, which seems to work well enough. Very rarely do I have to copy files through the network and usually because I'm installing software that I've already downloaded to a different computer. The iPod Touch uses Wireless B/G

I was more concerned about connecting to a wireless network while I'm on the road. Do Wireless N devices actually have better range than Wireless G devices?

 

Yes N has a better range than G (if both devices are N-enabled) but G still has a pretty large range unless you plan to share connection with all your neighborhood.

 

if ur router is a wireless n and ur use is wirless n u will notice a faster browseing speed but ur speed also depends on what internet service u have(exp dsl satilite or cable) but a g router with a n card in ur computer ur not gonna see a difference in speed a n router and n card gives u 13 channels of connection as opposed to 3 or less with the g my advice is and i agree with deagleson u should get a n since more hotels and motels use wireless n to accomadate all of their guests .......

 

You will not notice any speed difference between 11g or 11n when it comes to browsing. 11n loose speed real fast as you get further away. A far as distance if your 11 g router uses the MIMO technology there will be no difference is distance. the 2.4ghz that 11g uses and 11n is very crowded in some areas. Where the 5ghz used by the dual band hardware has little traffic.

You already have 11g hardware just stick with it, it will serve you just fine. When it comes time to replace your router and/or AP then move up to the 11n hardware. There is already new tech that is going to push 11n speeds to new levels.

 

Wouldn't any router loose signal strength exponentially? With the square of distance perhaps?

It doesn't appear that the DIR-601 uses MIMO.

Are you saying that both 11G and 11N use 2.4 GHz? My wireless phone also uses 2.4 GHz.

That sounds like another reason to get a Wireless N adapter.

 

11n seams to more sensitive to strength than 11g. And at longer distance that 11g will have greater speed than 11n.

Yes 2.4ghz is very crowded. The reason most like to get a dual band to put 11n on 5ghz. The newer Dec 6.0 phones operate in a 1.6ghz freq and is wireless network friendly. and Yes 2.4ghz phone do impact wireless networks. 5ghz do not penetrate walls as well as 2.4ghz.

 

I would recommend buying an N card, the cost difference isn't much and gives you an easier upgrade path later when you do decide to upgrade your router. I wouldn't be in any big hurry though.

If you are in a crowded area, N can be beneficial, IF it is dual band (most USB adapters are not). As for distance, this is sketchy at best.

 

You can use both router at same time. For copying file locally, n is about 5 times faster. I don't think there's any difference for browsing web.

 

Everybody says there's no difference when it comes to browsing the web, but I have a question then.. I have a 15mbps internet connection, and when I try a speedtest online from wireless, I never get much more than 10mbps. But when I test connected to ethernet (100mbs) I get the full 15. Since wireless N is supposed to do local transfers faster than megabit ethernet, wouldn't that mean I get the same 50% boost to browsing.

 

I've been looking through the Wireless G and N USB (and PCMCIA) adapters and discovered that they have heat issues, fragile construction, wireless adapter software problems, tech support issues, etc. Even the more expensive ones aren't always better than the cheaper ones.

Having checked user reviews, I'm tempted to just use the cheapest one with the least amount of reported problems. TigerDirect has the Sabrent USB-G802 (G) for ~$14 (out of stock) and the Netgear WN111 (N) for $19.99. NewEgg has the LevelOne WNC-0306USB (G) for $12.70.

 

Thats because your Ethernet port is purpose built for networking. USB initally only had a 12mbps trasnfer rate and that had to be shared by all devices on the particular bus you were using. USB 2.0 has a much higher throughput but i'm still happier keeping things other then printers, cameras, card reader, etc on their own dedicated lanes.