Wireless Setup Beginner Question(s)

Ok, here's my situation. I live in Vancouver, Canada and my ISP is Shaw. On its website, it claims the Download Speed of my Cable Broadband to be "Up to 5.0 Mb".

I just recently purchased a Toshiba Satellite A100-SK9, and I want to be able to use it wirelessly around my house. Thus, I want to connect my current PC with wires onto the new wireless router (maybe the Linksys Wireless G (with or w/o speedbooster)) while allowing my laptop to connect wirelessly. Thing is, I'm seeing all of these router speeds with Wireless B/G/ and now N which says "up to 300mbps". What I'm wondering is whats the point of that speed if my broadband Internet connection is 5Mb(I'm guessing per second). Also, my range needed is only around 40-50 feet between 2 or so rooms.

I'm looking for a wireless router that can allow my laptop to connect to the internet so that I can play games, download, stream, etc. without any loss of speed. Also, I hope the router has some type of protection from others (like neighbours) from accessing the signal (like a lock). So my question is: Can anyone recommend such a router, and also explain the speed question? Thanks a lot in advance!

 

A Wireless-G router won't give you a good signal at 70-80 feet. My cousin has a Linksys G Wireless router and he gets between 80-150 kb/sec on a 6MB connection. You might want to look at the Wireless-N routers. I haven't tried any of them yet (sort of pricey) but I'm sure there are others who have.

 

How about 40-50 feet (50 max). Thing is, my laptop only has a Intel® PRO/Wireless LAN, 802.11a/b/g, and I don't want to buy an extra N card. Does any1 know of a Wireless G router that has near perfect signal at 40-50 feet? Thanks

 

internet: you will be limited by the bandwidth of your ISP connection

LAN: you can take advantage of faster speeds depending on your hardware & cables

 

ok, so basically, it doesn't really matter what Wireless G Router I get then? At 40-50 feet, they should all be able to transfer 5Mbps? *I'm guessing thats what "Up to 5Mb" Download Speed means*

 

you just have to worry about range (40-50ft should not be a problem) and router stability. Any G router should be fast enough.

 

I have same problem (trying to setup home wireless network) and I am concernet with issue of range. I do not need range of more than 30ft, but I am worried if propagaion between diferent rooms can be problem? Is it possible for wireless router to cover house space on 2 levels?

 

thanks. so can anyone recommend a good stable Wireless G router that works well at 50 feet (and also offers some sort of lock from others using it)?

 

The weak link on most all combo units are the low (2dbi) antennas. DO NOT BUY PRE 11N OR MIMO PRODUCTS. They do not play well with others and require matching hardware on the user end to. If you find one that has 5-7 dbi antennas you should be able to cover your whole house. TomsNetworking has a router table comparing routers. But be wary of mimo and 11n. The also have articles detailing the problems these cause.

 

Quick question: Would the D-Link AirPremier AG Tri-Mode Wireless Router - DI-784 be a good product? From what I hear, Wireless G routers can be distrupted by microwaves, 2.4 GHz phones, etc, so the Dual Band on this router should remove that shouldn't it? Also, it would be faster at the claimed "Up to 108Mbps" Its this or should I go with the Linksys WRT54G or Linksys WRT54GS with Speedbooster? Thanks

*edit, nevermind on the D-Link, I probably have to get a dual-band capable card on my laptop. I'm guessing that my Intel® PRO/Wireless LAN, 802.11a/b/g doesn't support it.

 

umm a/b/g wireless card would support any wireless G router (at least theoretically).

MIMO is not all that bad, same goes for PRE-N and draft N devices. Imho any router should provide you with a decent coverage even between floors. Of course a nice feature would be an antenna that can be taken off so that if you do have trouble you can buy a higher gain antenna.

 

but it wouldn't be able to use the Dual Band feature, so it would be a waste to spend more money on a Tri-Mode Dual Band router. The point of one is, I think, change the frequency to 5GHz (Wireless A) so other electronics won't distrupt it while going at the speed of Wireless G. Correct me if I'm wrong. If I can benefit from the D-Link Tri-Mode Dual Band router, speed/range/reliablilty wise, compared to the Linksys Wireless G WRT54G please tell me.

 

*Update* Just bought a Linksys WRT54GL for $70.00 CND - $20.00 Mail in Rebate = $50.00 CND + tax (Best part about Canada) & shipping. Can anyone tell me if I chose a good wireless G router?