Wireless rookie, what router should I get?

Hi, I just bought my first laptop. It's a Hp Dv9743cl with core 2 duo processor. It has A/G/N Intel wireless. Would a N wireless router be the best. If so what brand should I get. I also have a desktop Sony VAIO and it is hooked up to a DSL phone line. After I get the router: How do I hook all that up?

Need Help, thanks.

Just got the laptop tonight from Costco, haven't opened it up yet.

 

If you are the only one that's going to be using your wireless internet, you should get an N router. They are going to be the new standard for wireless internet, it's just a matter of time. On the other hand if you know people with older wireless cards are going to use your laptop, you would be better off with a G router. The G router is still very fast, its just not ideal for downloading larger files. As far as the G router goes, the Linksys WRT54GL is the only router I will use. It has linux, and as you become more familiar with wireless, you will learn the benefits of using it.

As far as your wired desktop goes, the wireless router has both wired and wireless connections, you'll be able to connect both to the internet.

 

Buy on price as most will work fine unless you have a specific need. Plug the dsl connection into the router, then your desktop into the router as well.

 

Thanks for your help. You are great people. I probably will get a good "N" router. My 2 kids like to play games.

 

I've used tons of routers and speed is the same with G or N, and this is comparing a wireless-G router I paid $2.99 for at Futureshop to a Linksys Wireless N broadband router! I guess it just depends what you're going to be doing with it, my home is kinda small though.

 

My house is 2500 sq foot. Also I will be using it in the backyard, therefore I need to be able to get good distance capability.

 

Just remember what ever you get will not make your download speeds any faster as previously stated. The 11n speed only impacts your internal network, not www. So if you isp in a 5 mbps service you will still get 5mbps. Any of the 11g (54mbps) routers are plenty fast enough for most all internet providers. And dont by one on the fact they will get more range. This is not intirely true. Both use the 2.4ghz band, the difference is how well they handle the SNR. Some 11g routers will out talk 11n. But in most cases the 11n have good SNR radios. But so do the better 11g hardware. As far as your backyard is concern you will need to find a location that works for inside as well has outside. They best way to do that is a site survey based on different locations for the router, using a nb for the survey.

You will find the foil sheeting used on houses really kill a signal, besides going through bricks ....

 

i've had 4 routers now ,and my linksys 300n has much better throughput-signal than my netgear 624 and my dlink 784 . best signal i got with them was 18mbps with a weak signal , from the same spot my 300n gives a full 54mbps on g 240 on n with a strong signal .

 

I don't believe what you are saying is true, and there for should not be treated as such by the original poster.

First, like another poster said, wireless N will not make downloading larger files faster! How can it not be ideal when it wont make any bit of a difference!?!

Wireless N is only faster transferring files across a network. Lets say you have a media center pc that you store all of your dvd's on. If you wanted to stream a dvd wireless across your network, it would be faster on n than on g or b. However, if you were going to stream that same video over the internet, it will come to you at the SAME speed regardless if you have G or N.

Also you said that if you have friends that come over without wireless N than G will be more ideal. This again is false as N is backward compatible with G devices.

So basically it comes down to this. Are you just using the wireless for surfing the internet? If so, you wont be able to see the difference between G and N.

 

I think you guys that are claiming bunk on 11n are missing a large part of the equation. 11n WILL be faster downloading larger files from the internet for a number of reasons, even on a lower end broadband connection.

1. 11n will scale higher at near and far ranges. If the OP has a higher end broadband, i.e. cable service w/ 5Mbs+, then 11n may well benefit him. Most G equipment, at any range, will scale WELL BELOW 5Mbs. The only exception would be G w/ MIMO, that will typically get around this limitation. If you have a cable connection that exceeds 5Mbs, and many people do these days w/ 12Mbs service in many places, then G becomes even MORE of a bottleneck when it scales down the speed. Basically, if you don't have a killer G router w/ solid connection/stability (something like the Belkin PreN or one of the better Linksys models) then you are going go loose some performance. Yes, 11n will scale it down as well, but w/ a higher threshold for doing that, especially coupled with the Intel AGN client mentioned here, 11n will be better in this regard.

2. Newer 11n routers have newer internal processors and therefore will perform better across the internal network and w/ internet downloads. The speed w/ which the processor moves the data across the network (especially if you are running a secured connection) is a factor, so might as well get the newest platform that is reasonable priced.

3. Many older/budget G routers don't have a 100Mbs capable WAN port, so again, if you have 12Mbs service, you are going to limit your speed there too.

Just some things to keep in mind...

Chris

 

Really depends on your needs and your isp. What does your isp offer in term of broadband speed? Some G routers are limited like the poster above me stated but most linksys and cisco routers will do the job fine. (Cisco owns linksys). I would wait to get an N router as the standard isn't completely defined yet and is still changing. If you're going to be using it in the backyard I'd put it close to the back of your house then.

 

I agree w/ the comment above as well, I should have clarified further. I'm not saying go buy N just b/c it's N, but because you may well get more performance out of it for more reasons than just the speed up to your ISP.

I also agree, the standard is good to wait for, but you can get cheap N equipment for the same or in many cases less than G. I recently, as a stop-gap until N is ratified, picked up a DLink DIR615 ($50) and then swapped for a DIR625 ($80) just to get QoS. Both provided twice the thru-put (w/ my Intel agn card) of anything G out there, including my old trusted Belkin PreN router, because they were N. The range is just as good as G-MIMO/PreN because it's basically the same technology w/ regard to the radio transmitting in MIMO fashion.

Anyway...wasn't trying to say go for N for N sake, but just to keep in mind that you may still get better performance.

For example, my Belkin PreN had a 10mbs WAN port w/ 10/100 LAN ports. Internally, I test out over twice as fast w/ my el-cheapo N gear than I did w/ the Belkin PreN. On internet downloads, they previously tested out at 5-6Mbs w/ my PreN. Fast, but not what I was paying for. I have 12Mbs service thru my cable provider. Once I switched out to a newer router w/ a 10/100 WAN port, I now get the full speed on bandwidth tests. I test out now at 11-12Mbs. I test that fast almost anywhere in the house too, because even when the N scales down to a lower speed to keep the connection, it's enough to maintain well over 10Mbs. G won't do that in most cases.

If you have 5Mbs service, G may work fine until you reach outer limits of your range, but for the same money (or less in come cases), why not go cheap N?

Chris

 

Depending on how your house is laid out, you may even need to add a second AP and use the roaming feature. I use seperate AP's instead of combo units. They give you more flexability and better performance most all of the time. The main reason is the AP has only 1 function to do where a wireless router has many things to do, NAT, Lan, ISP, Wlan (AP)... Besides sharing memory and cpu.

If you have a room that has all of your pc gear, and this is where the incoming ISP terminates, adding a lan drop for a AP may suite your need. Most other 1/2's are more to cosmetics than function, so concentrating your gear in one room that is out of site suits them. Have a bunch of wires exposed in the main living area normally does not go over well. Stuffing a wireless router in to a book shelf shortens the range and increase the heat. They work best if located up high and and the open.

Now I know this does not specify what router to use. But you need to look at the whole picture.

 

lordy, get an "n" router. They are going to be the standard within a year and most will likely just require a firmware upgrade. The cost is negligible- some of the lower cost n routers are under $100 and comparable in price to a good G router.

The distance IS a factor, and if you or your friends have an N card, you will see a diff. My brother switched to an N router and has a G card in his macbook and it improved signal strength and distance.

As stated, n is backwards compatible and we run an G/N mixed signal, use the corresponding adapters and still get 300mbps w the local network. Our wifi printer is g.....

 

I couldn't notice a diffrence at all

 

I think every setup is going to be different. This is a very tough comparison to make between person A's setup and person B's setup. Everyone's home/office environment is different, different construction and surrounding homes/buildings, geography that may absorb/reflect signals. Couple that w/ differences in notebooks (manuf placement of antennas), client card used in sed notebook, router used and placement of sed router, etc...you get the idea.

You also may want to download an app called QCheck from IXIA and install it between 2 computers on your network. It will tell you truly if you are getting higher speeds (internally of course). As discussed here, depending on your ISP, and your signal, you may or may not get any benefit from N, it just depends. If your G equipment makes a solid connection and you get the true ~15-20Mbps that it's capable of (54Mbps never occurs, that's just the theoretical max that Windows reports) then your G is going to be fine. But, when G scales down at distance or under stress from obstacles between client and router, N (or G+MIMO) may significantly improve your signal strength and thru-put.

I would agree that if you have something G w/ MIMO or equivalent 'range extending' technology, even w/ a standard G client, in most cases you won't see much improvement going to N, but I did (Pre-N to Draft-N router w/ standard G cards, going to N cards was even greater). But standard G stuff, even more likely to see a boost.

Chris

 

Also probably because it's a industrial size G router and I'm the only one using it , Cisco FTW anyways for the orginal poster go with http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7806788&type=product&id=1142293513898

 

I'd consider the following, much cheaper for the short term than the Linksys. They are both Draft 2.0, so they _MAY_ get full spec upgrades when the time comes. If they don't not as much $ lost and you can spluge for a dual-band jobby when the standard is ratified.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...r-615&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1173577562535

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...r-625&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1142298456685

I have tried both of these models. I get ~70-130Mbps (per Windows) anywhere in my house that test out w/ QCheck at an actual speed of ~30-45Mbps.

I'm planning on adding DLink hi-gain antennas soon to stabilize my connection strength at the outer reaches of my house/property.

Last, speaking of dual-band, I'd consider the following also, it's dual-band and supposedly these metamaterial antennas really work well...worth a try for under $110. This was just announced at CES and may be the new defacto performance king w/ Draft 2.0 clients.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...+band&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1197074537600

Chris