heavy85 Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Well this is sort of a 'tech' question but anyway seems to fit best here. I bought my wife a laptop for x-mas and am shopping for a wireless router. I am clueless. It's a Dell and has a N wireless card. We have cable modem which I have been told is only about up to G card speed. Went to Best Buy today and there were four basic options for the G card. What appears to be the brand name Linksys (or something close) which comes in the basic for $50 or the high speed for $70. There was a what appears to be the generic by Belkin which is only $35 then there was another brand I dont remember which is equivalent to the high speed Linksys for $45 but again looks very generic. Any recommendations? We also have a Circuit City but I have yet to look there. The laptop will be used for photo editing including uploading to host/photo labs and web surfing. Thanks ahead for any advice. Thanks Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfreer85 Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Hey Cameron I've set up a couple of networks, my Brand peference is Buffalo Routers if you can find them. I've had Linksys, Netgear, and D-link routers all are decent no major complaints for simple networking. I would recommend you going with an wireless N capable router even if your modem is at G speeds, no point in bottlenecking it if modem can run the "N" speeds occasionally. Just my .02 Tyson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I think tyson is on the money. I have yet to see the internet use up even a "b" wifi for speed. But the pre-"N" will give you alot better range and signal strength. Maximum PC had a review on some of the "routers". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravRMK Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Definately go with the N. I like the D-Link routers myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy85 Posted December 23, 2007 Author Share Posted December 23, 2007 So is there really any difference between the high speed vs the standard speed G router? N routers at ~$170 are just too much when I can get a basement G model for $35 - I can always upgrade later for that much difference! Thanks Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Woj Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I wouldn't go for wireless-n at the moment unless you were planning on doing file transfers across your wireless network often. As was stated earlier, the two generation old wireless-b standard is still considerably faster than most broadband internet connections. If you want to push your network to great distances, then wireless-n is worth is too. Here's a study I found, pages 11-12 compare throughput of wireless G vs. N. http://www.netgear.com/upload/marketingasset/competitivecharts/wireless_n_performance_study_12-12-06.pdf By the way, Newegg has a wireless-n router for $40 after mail in rebates. Reviewed at 4 out 5 eggs, though out of stock until Christmas day. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156052 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 speed ratings (a,b,g, super g,n) are useful for xfer between computers on the same network a and b means your xfer speeds will be up to 11 megabits per second g is 54 mbps super g is 108 n is 300 avg DSL speed is 1.5-3mbps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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