Need suggestions from the computer gurus - wireless routers

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  • dewi1219
    Established Member
    • Dec 2005
    • 307
    • Birmingham, AL

    Need suggestions from the computer gurus - wireless routers

    I have a several-year-old (but still good performing) Sony Vaio desktop and AT&T DSL. I would like to set up a wireless network that will be used mainly for web browsing with a laptop and a Wii and some file sharing with the desktop (photos, etc.). I would like to be able to browse over wireless at speeds somewhat near what I have currently with the desktop. Should I go ahead and get a draft N router, or will an 802.11g be all I need? I realize that if I go with a draft N router I will need a draft N card in my laptop to get the best performance. Do I need a gigabit unit? Does anyone have any make/model suggestions? I have searched already for answers, but haven't come up with anything conclusive. It seems like you can get a good draft N unit for as little as $80 which is near the upper end of what I want to spend, so it seems like I should go that route but I'm just not sure. The desktop is on the bottom floor at one end of the house (and therefore the router will be there also), and where the laptop will be used will be on the opposite end of the house on the upper floor approximately 30-40 feet away. Any help is appreciated.
    Scott
  • Knottscott
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2004
    • 3815
    • Rochester, NY.
    • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

    #2
    We have 3 desktop PC's and a laptop in our house. I recently asked a guru at work what I should buy to get internet to the other computers. He suggested a Linksys WRT54GL. It was on sale on Newegg.com for ~ $55 shipped (after rebate) with a free 2GB flash drive. It's in transit so I can't speak from first hand knowledge.
    Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

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    • jackellis
      Veteran Member
      • Nov 2003
      • 2638
      • Tahoe City, CA, USA.
      • BT3100

      #3
      Even with cable, the fastest Internet speed you can expect is about 16 Mbits per second. Your desktop is unlikely to be able to deliver data faster than 100 Mbits per second even if you put a faster network card in it.

      Get a 802.11 g router. LinkSys and NetGear both make respectable devices for reasonable prices. That's what I have and it's fine, even when I want to move large files around.

      Comment

      • LCHIEN
        Internet Fact Checker
        • Dec 2002
        • 20914
        • Katy, TX, USA.
        • BT3000 vintage 1999

        #4
        My answer was going to be like Jack ellis'
        If you are mostly going to surf the net then you performance will be limited by your DSL which is probably 3 or at very tops 6 mbps under the very best of conditions.
        802.11G will easily beat that, even under medium or fair conditions. Under good conditions it will do 54 mbps.
        Most wired networks do 100 mbps, max.
        Loring in Katy, TX USA
        If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
        BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

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        • leehljp
          Just me
          • Dec 2002
          • 8429
          • Tunica, MS
          • BT3000/3100

          #5
          I am going to disagree on getting the "g" unit. I upgraded to an "n" wireless unit in April, but my 2 year old laptop only a "g" card in it. LOML's new laptop had an "n" card, but the new "n" router would only go at the speed of the slowest on the networked computer (My computer) when both are on at the same time.

          LOML kept complaining that hers certainly seemed faster when I wasn't online too. SO, I took that as a strong suggestion to upgrade my laptop with an "n" internal card to match hers and the Wireless unit capability - and all that I can say is Wow - it is quite noticeably faster. I know that this is subjective and to many people 1 to 1 1/2 second for a site load is not that much difference than a 2 to 4 second site load. But for me, I noticed that immediately.

          One thing that I can tell fairly accurately because of the "n" setup - There is often a lag time for a page to load, and occasionally a page won't load and will time out. You don't know for several seconds which way it is going to go. With the "n" wireless, I can fairly quickly tell if it is going to be a web page timing out. Generally, no lag time with the "n" on 90% of the sites that I go to.


          After getting my laptop onto the "n" speed, I set our wireless unit to transmit on "n" only. I have the older "g" unit set up to running when a visitor or coworker drops by with a slower speed laptop.

          I haven't had as much streaming problems since the upgrade to "n" either. My daughter in the US says that our video Skype has seemed a little smoother since July 5 when I installed the n card.

          By getting an "n" unit now, you will have it if you are able to upgrade you internet connection. Also, but getting an "n" unit, you will know that basically any web page delays will not be from your wireless router network.

          My "n" unit has a 500g HD in it and I use that for my backup. I noticed a good speed increase in backup since I moved up to n versus g speed.
          Last edited by leehljp; 07-23-2008, 03:40 AM.
          Hank Lee

          Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

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          • shoottx
            Veteran Member
            • May 2008
            • 1240
            • Plano, Texas
            • BT3000

            #6
            I have a Linksys and can tell you the setup and support is great. I wish all of my computer installation and set were as easy as installing the router. I am on my second, I think lightening got the first.
            Often in error - Never in doubt

            Mike

            Comment

            • JSUPreston
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2005
              • 1189
              • Montgomery, AL.
              • Delta 36-979 w/Biesemyere fence kit making it a 36-982. Previous saw was BT3100-1.

              #7
              The Linksys previously mentioned (which is what I have) is typically considered a very good wireless router. I've had it for years and like the fact that Cisco/Linksys still supports it. I bought a D-Link that support was dropped on less than 6 months after purchase. No upgrades or anything. My FIL like the Netgear that he purchased about a year ago. Seems to be a fine piece to me, but I prefer the Linksys interface.

              I'm not familiar with any of the "draft n" products yet and am hesitant to recommend them, considering the "n" standard is not a standard yet. Anyone remember all the confusion over K56 and 56x? N isn't quite that bad, but some folks will probably still get burned.

              Lee, I imagine that Japan has a better broadband infrastructure than the U.S., which may explain why your access times improved. I imagine the router still got the site downloaded at its best speed, but that the link between your NIC and the router was the bottleneck. Just my opinion...which I have no way of testing.
              "It's a dog eat dog world out there, and I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear."- Norm (from Cheers)

              Eat beef-because the west wasn't won on salad.

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              • dewi1219
                Established Member
                • Dec 2005
                • 307
                • Birmingham, AL

                #8
                Thanks for all the input guys. What you are telling me basically reinforces the dilemma I was in:
                1) I'm sure that I could be happy with the speed of a G router for surfing right now.
                2) The main reason to go with an N unit, as Hank said, would be to help future-proof the network in the event that my internet service is upgraded. It would also make file sharing between computers faster, but that's not a huge deal in itself. However, at some point I may be streaming HD video to a slingbox type unit and at that point the N router would be beneficial/necessary. The thing is that by the time I begin streaming video there will likely be a new format out that is even better.

                Comment

                • kirkroy
                  Established Member
                  • Feb 2007
                  • 343
                  • Brunswick, MD

                  #9
                  I understand that draft N has significantly better range than G. In my small house I had to set up a 2nd wireless G router as a bridge to get enough range to use wireless throughout the house...

                  Comment

                  • Alex Franke
                    Veteran Member
                    • Feb 2007
                    • 2641
                    • Chapel Hill, NC
                    • Ryobi BT3100

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Dustmight
                    We have 3 desktop PC's and a laptop in our house. I recently asked a guru at work what I should buy to get internet to the other computers. He suggested a Linksys WRT54GL. It was on sale on Newegg.com for ~ $55 shipped (after rebate) with a free 2GB flash drive. It's in transit so I can't speak from first hand knowledge.
                    I 100% agree. Lots of 3rd party firmware, too. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_WRT54G_series.
                    online at http://www.theFrankes.com
                    while ( !( succeed = try() ) ) ;
                    "Life is short, Art long, Occasion sudden and dangerous, Experience deceitful, and Judgment difficult." -Hippocrates

                    Comment

                    • LCHIEN
                      Internet Fact Checker
                      • Dec 2002
                      • 20914
                      • Katy, TX, USA.
                      • BT3000 vintage 1999

                      #11
                      Originally posted by shoottx
                      I have a Linksys and can tell you the setup and support is great. I wish all of my computer installation and set were as easy as installing the router. I am on my second, I think lightening got the first.

                      Hmmm, I don't recommend Linksys because I "lost" at least 2 Linksys wireless router units to partial failures and had to replace them. Sounds like you are at 50%. I question the reliability of Linksys.
                      Loring in Katy, TX USA
                      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                      Comment

                      • dewi1219
                        Established Member
                        • Dec 2005
                        • 307
                        • Birmingham, AL

                        #12
                        Originally posted by LCHIEN
                        Hmmm, I don't recommend Linksys because I "lost" at least 2 Linksys wireless router units to partial failures and had to replace them. Sounds like you are at 50%. I question the reliability of Linksys.
                        I initially felt the same way about Linksys based on some previous reviews I read. However, the WRT54GL gets excellent reviews for reliability from what I see.

                        Comment

                        • pelligrini
                          Veteran Member
                          • Apr 2007
                          • 4217
                          • Fort Worth, TX
                          • Craftsman 21829

                          #13
                          Originally posted by kirkroy
                          I understand that draft N has significantly better range than G. In my small house I had to set up a 2nd wireless G router as a bridge to get enough range to use wireless throughout the house...
                          Yea, they do, but I'm not sure if the G frequencies do though. My Linksys WRT330N now provides a pretty good signal to my phone or laptop in my shop out in the backyard.
                          Erik

                          Comment

                          • OpaDC
                            Established Member
                            • Feb 2008
                            • 393
                            • Pensacola, FL
                            • Ridgid TS3650

                            #14
                            Right now I use a Belkin54g, which was fine when I had 2 wireless and 1 hardwire. Now that my daughter and her sons have moved in, there are 5 wireless computers, 1 wireless printer and one hardwire. Too much for the G I think. Slows down and even locks up for wireless more frequently and only doing web browsing. I suspect N would take care of this for me.

                            I am going to plead ignorance on this though. How does the WII come into the equation? Don't own one so I am curious.
                            _____________
                            Opa

                            second star to the right and straight on til morning

                            Comment

                            • dewi1219
                              Established Member
                              • Dec 2005
                              • 307
                              • Birmingham, AL

                              #15
                              Originally posted by OpaDC
                              I am going to plead ignorance on this though. How does the WII come into the equation? Don't own one so I am curious.
                              The Wii has built-in wireless and can be used to browse and even download games as I understand it. It also has "channels" set up for news and weather that are customizable by area. Don't feel bad, I didn't know this myself until a few days ago and we've had the Wii for a few months now...

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