Which Wireless Router Do you Recommend?

[radhak]

Can you still buy a "b" only router? I haven't checked but would be surprised if they are still readily available - other than someone selling a used one.

most probably not - I just happened to have one lying around, and it surprised me by working pretty nicely!

[LCHIEN]

I have a very insightful (I believe) question : as I rarely (if ever) transfer files between my computers, does it matter if I never get away from 'b' version?

As I said, I am now on my very old router (which I now think is a 'b') while I ponder which new one to buy - and it seems to work very well with most of my internet habits, considering that I don't do heavy downloads too often.

going from B to G generations of routers generally gets you:
1. faster bit rate between router and clients (but as you note internet speed is still throttled by your modem/ISP)
2. higher security, I believe WPA is associated with the G and up routers whereas B only had the less secure WEP.
3. I think but don't hold me to this, G has better transmission characteristics and can go a bit farther.

[leehljp]

LCHIEN:

going from B to G generations of routers generally gets you:
1. faster bit rate between router and clients (but as you note internet speed is still throttled by your modem/ISP)

I am sure you know this and it is an oversight - but the answer to this is "yes and no."

Internet speed IS throttled my the modem/ISP for sure but not at the slow rate of a B or G speed. Even a slow CableModem wired to the computer will generally be faster than a "b" or "g" wireless. In effect, the real "throttling" will be the wireless b or g instead of the modem/ISP. B and probably G will rarely, even under ideal conditions will be more than the Modem/ISP deliver.

[jackellis]

I have a Netgear WGR 614 in one home and use the AT&T-supplied 2Wire modem router combination in the other.

The Netgear is located in our living room and the wireless signals must pass through two walls to get to the office. In the office, a tower machine fitted with a wireless card and my Thinkpad do not pick up the signals reliably (so they use wired connections), while my wife's Thinkpad works very well.

At the old Tahoe place, the wireless router is located near the ceiling along the middle of one wall of the downstairs great room and my laptop is about one floor vertically and 15 feet horizontally away from the router. Works like a charm!

I have the new house wired with Cat5 in every room but I will install as many wireless access points as I need to avoid the clutter of wires I have now with four machines used regularly and several others for "experiments".

[cwsmith]

Loring,

Thanks for the advice on switching to a lower power. I haven't had an opportunity to try that yet, but will tomorrow, hopefully.

Thanks again,

CWS

[LCHIEN]

LCHIEN:

I am sure you know this and it is an oversight - but the answer to this is "yes and no."

Internet speed IS throttled my the modem/ISP for sure but not at the slow rate of a B or G speed. Even a slow CableModem wired to the computer will generally be faster than a "b" or "g" wireless. In effect, the real "throttling" will be the wireless b or g instead of the modem/ISP. B and probably G will rarely, even under ideal conditions will be more than the Modem/ISP deliver.

I did not mean throttling as in intentionally limited. I mean throttled as in a physical bottleneck.

Those of us with home/residential access generall have DSL or cable modem or whater, with rates in the range of 3, 6, or 12 megabits per second being common, entering the house. In fact my ADSL is even lower going back out - I think around 0.6 megabits per second.

On the other hand, wifi rates for G routers are 54 megabits per second which is nearly ten times faster than your connection to the internet. N routers I think is even higher like 144 or 600 theroetical megabits per second.

So, my point was, that if vritually all your network traffic is connection to the internet, then whether you have 11, 54 or 108 or even 600 megabits per second on your home internal networking, you're still limited (throttled) by your internet connection speed. Having a faster N router is not going to speed up your data from the internet any over a g router.