Setting up a wireless network - G or N?

[b_t]

I need to set up a wireless network in my house. Should I go with G or the new N stuff? What brand is best?

I have one computer on the main floor, one downstairs (maybe 15 feet in a direct line from where the router is right now, except I need 50 feet of ethernet cord to connect it as it sits) and then the Xbox 360 in the basement on the other side of the house (30 feet in a straight line).

[ca18det240sx]

just researched wirelss N, 300mpps is pretty damn fast.....but does your ISP put out 300 mbps? Unless youre just looking at having a fast local transfer rate between computers, i dont see the point in having a fast router when most isp's dont put out that speed.

[civic_epidemic]

Mmmhmmm....there really is no point in having N. I've used it, sure it's really fast if i'm piping stuff between external drives for backup purposes. But G will do just fine... if you do need a bit mroe range and speed...get some kinda of speed booster or whatever each company calls it. different for every company

[BlackArcher101]

G will be fine, even overkill in itself. The only need to get N would be if you wanted to transfer files from computer to computer within your network. Otherwise, it's pointless since your ISP has 10 mbps at best.

[GQBalla]

G for sure.

N is the new G over rated.

[codetrap]

I put in N. Dlink 655. The actual transfer speeds are not a whole lot faster than G, and it's actually nowhere near 300Mbps. The biggest reasons I got it, were the WISH features, and the gig ports. The reduced jitter and latency over wireless is worth it for me, since I use Cisco sofphone to work from home every other week.

I also like the improved QOS.

As to the raw speed? meh.. it's actual transfer rate according to iperf is around 24Mbps.

[ex1z7]

I'll try to field this for you, as a few people are slightly misunderstanding the point of having a fast transfer rate..

As much speed as you get from your ISP, it doesn't matter exactly when it comes to wireless, even hardwired applications..

The thing is, when you have an internal network of a few computers, an xbox, etc. you want a fast connection for all of them together, instead of having a sketchy setup with inadequate wiring and connections..

You have a 360. You no doubt want to play Live on it, 'else you wouldn't have mentioned it..

With games, any router you get that's decent, hardwire it. Use cat 6 cabling if you can find it. Replacing everything in your network with cat 6 is a great start because it makes your internal network quicker.

Wireless inhibits you immediately. The speed you get wireless wont be the speed you get wired. Wired is faster. Just look at the speed your LAN-Local Area Network can push out wired - 100mbps, wireless? 54mbps. That's why N is the new thing, it apparently pushes 300mbps wireless..

That's why your ISP doesn't matter when it comes to speed. You get what, 3-10mbps download from your ISP? Well you're only seeing maybe 200-500kbps to the internet with that, with wireless, you're lucky to get half of that.. And it just keeps going down the further you get from the router.

So when you only have, lets say, 300 kbps as a baseline download.. And you rock a wireless B or G router, you're looking at roughly 100-175 kbps download. Whereas, in theory, the N will be pushing out fast enough to achieve 300kbps. It wont, but it'll be closer than G or B, plus it's the next big thing for wireless, and it is actually incredibly fast..

The benefit of N over G is the distance, to me anyways. Being able to be 300 feet away and still have a signal is awesome, compared to 125-150 with G.. It wont be blazing, but it's there, and for simple browsing that's all that counts sometimes.

Ideally what you want is this, for what I understand your situation to be.

Modem > Router > Wireless on the 2 computers, and hardwire the 360.

Please do NOT purchase a Linksys. I work with numerous routers everyday and the one that gives me the most bullshit is Linksys, they fail repeatedly. If anyone who wants to respond is a huge fan of Linksys "Oh mine works awesome it's so reliable" Just wait, or you got lucky and got a decent one, which is rare.

D-Link make some pretty good routers, their N routers are above most out there, and priced right.. Netgear are fine but I find them a little weak when it comes to signal, unless you buy one of the higher end ones..

I find Belkin to be pretty decent, but you pay for them. Reliable though.

I would only really suggest D-Link as I've never had problems with mine, and when I have a customer having problems with their network, it's rarely the d-link that causes any drama. hell mine is in near 3 parts and still works for xbox lan's perfectly .. Given you don't shake it.

Wireless N is what it's hyped up about. It is seriously good, and it is worth it - if you go all out and have everything adjusted accordingly..

If your wireless card isn't wireless N than you wont get N speeds, you'll get what your card can handle. And vice versa. So either invest in 2 wireless N cards / adapters and a router (combined about 300$) and hardwire the xbox with cat 6 (30ft = about 40$), or cat5 (about 15 for 30ft), and you'll have a solid network.

WPA encrypt it and you're golden.


Or if you just want basic browsing without the hassle of spending 300 dollars, buy a d-link router and a few adapters / cards and seriously just hardwire the xbox, and you'll be golden for about 100$.

Hope that helped..

[codetrap]

My two bits on this response..

Originally posted by ex1z7
As much speed as you get from your ISP, it doesn't matter exactly when it comes to wireless, even hardwired applications..

Huh? I don't understand this statement.

Originally posted by ex1z7
With games, any router you get that's decent, hardwire it. Use cat 6 cabling if you can find it. Replacing everything in your network with cat 6 is a great start because it makes your internal network quicker.[/B]

Cat6 Cable doesn't speed things up by itself. It has better shielding for long runs. Thats it. Cat5e will work just fine for regular runs using standard 100Mb network cards. If you want to use gigabit for anything longer than 10-12 feet, then you have to use Cat6. Anything shorter, and you can get away with 5e. If you only going to ever have 100Mb nics on the network, then cat6 isn't worth the additional expense.

Originally posted by ex1z7
Wireless inhibits you immediately. The speed you get wireless wont be the speed you get wired. Wired is faster. Just look at the speed your LAN-Local Area Network can push out wired - 100mbps, wireless? 54mbps. That's why N is the new thing, it apparently pushes 300mbps wireless..

Yes, wired lans will test with an actual throughput as advertised. Wireless, you can pretty much cut it in half for anything at 54G. Actual data rates as tested will yeild on average between 25 & 30Mbps. Extreme N does not get anywhere near 150Mb. Sorry, it just doesn't.

Originally posted by ex1z7
That's why your ISP doesn't matter when it comes to speed. You get what, 3-10mbps download from your ISP? Well you're only seeing maybe 200-500kbps to the internet with that, with wireless, you're lucky to get half of that.. And it just keeps going down the further you get from the router.

So when you only have, lets say, 300 kbps as a baseline download.. And you rock a wireless B or G router, you're looking at roughly 100-175 kbps download. Whereas, in theory, the N will be pushing out fast enough to achieve 300kbps. It wont, but it'll be closer than G or B, plus it's the next big thing for wireless, and it is actually incredibly fast..

I disagree with this. My internal wireless consistenly gets around 30Mbps - 40 actual true throughput. This means that my laptop, in the backyard, has more than enough bandwidth available to saturate my 10Mbp internet connection. I've also found, using various web throughput testing, that the results are all consistent within a few k. You're only as slow as the slowest link. You don't automagically lose half your internet thoughput because you're moving it over wireless, provided you have enough capacity to handle it all.

For you example, in reality, you'll see that 200-500kbps easily. And I really hope you get better than that off a 3-10 link. I know I do. I can get up to my 8Mbps no problem.

Originally posted by ex1z7
The benefit of N over G is the distance, to me anyways. Being able to be 300 feet away and still have a signal is awesome, compared to 125-150 with G.. It wont be blazing, but it's there, and for simple browsing that's all that counts sometimes.

N does have better distance, but having compared linksys G, and Dlink N, they're both sufficient for most in house applications. Unless you really have a big house, or like me, like watching tv on your laptop in a hammock in the back yard, while your router is in the basement...

Originally posted by ex1z7
Modem > Router > Wireless on the 2 computers, and hardwire the 360.

This is the best application, if you can pull it off.

Originally posted by ex1z7
Please do NOT purchase a Linksys. I work with numerous routers everyday and the one that gives me the most bullshit is Linksys, they fail repeatedly. If anyone who wants to respond is a huge fan of Linksys "Oh mine works awesome it's so reliable" Just wait, or you got lucky and got a decent one, which is rare.

I think if you can get an older linksys, you'd be better off. anything prior to Rev 5 should be ok, and you can load it with alternative IOS's. Anything newer, and you limit your options. The dlink I have is pretty solid, and I'm happy, but I spent a lot of money to put extreme N in all my pc's, and a card for my laptop.

Originally posted by ex1z7
Wireless N is what it's hyped up about. It is seriously good, and it is worth it - if you go all out and have everything adjusted accordingly..

If your wireless card isn't wireless N than you wont get N speeds, you'll get what your card can handle. And vice versa. So either invest in 2 wireless N cards / adapters and a router (combined about 300$) and hardwire the xbox with cat 6 (30ft = about 40$), or cat5 (about 15 for 30ft), and you'll have a solid network.

WPA encrypt it and you're golden.

N isn't everything it's hyped, it has it's good points, and drawback (cost). Also, unless ALL your nic's are wireless N, then it's going to step back to 54G the moment the non N nic access the network. Also, WPA has issues. A weak encyrption during the authentication will allow someone to brute force your network password. It can also be subject to force disconnections for unauthenticated hosts. WPA2 is better, and you can add the capability to any WinXP box simply by downloading a hotfix from MS.

A very good site with lots of information, www.smallnetbuilder.com. It's a spinoff of Tomshardware I think. Lots of good info there.

[coolme]

All the 'N' routers avaliable are actually 'pre-N'.

And yes, there is a difference. 'pre-N' is not a true standard, meaning that every different company has their version of 'pre-N' and their products may not work properly with 'pre-N' products that are manufactured by other companies.

Also, when the 802.11N standard is finally ratified, there is no guarantee that a firmware upgrade is all that's necessary for 'pre-N' routers to become 802.11N routers, and there is no promise that 'pre-N' will have continued support in the future.

For compatibility reasons, it's best that you stick with 802.11G. If you want advaned router options (including QOS) you might want to check out the WRT54G/GS V.4 or below, they allow you to load third-party firmwares that make your router much more powerful.