Ok...


I have my my desktop, a second Desktop, Wife's Laptop (wireless) and soon to be my phone and a Wii to hook up to my cable internet.



I have a cheap wireless router now and would like to get something nicer since we will be having 3 computers and the Wii hooked up.....so....what chould I look for....whats so great about the new "n" desination....



Please help me I would like to make sure the kids and I arent fighting over bandwidth.




Shawn
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I’ve had a G series LINKSYS for over 5 years with no problems. The only thing I can tell you about the N series is that they are supposed to be faster.
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Here is the deal. 802.11g gives you 54MBit/s between computers on the local network (between you PCs, network printer, media servers, etc). 802.11n give a maximum of 600MBit/s I believe which is rediculous and not needed. 802.11n is also EXTREMELY expensive right now. I would got for a solid g router like a linksys. Here is why. You limitation will currently happen with your internet connection. I have 20MBit/s coming into my place which is VERY rare. Most DSL/Cable models top out around 6-8Mbit/s. So the g router will not slow your internet even with 10 machines, the internet connection itself will be the limiter. 2nd, 54Mbits/s is already a healthy bandwidth. If you had a slingbox, it is more then enough to stream HD tv over your local network as HD is ~11-13 Mbit/s (I currently dont do this, but a friend does and I will soon too). If you had a media server and all 3 computers where listining to MP3 and your wife was streaming HD movies, you would still have more then half your g bandwidth available. 802.11n might one day be normal when the price difference between g and n is small, but g is here to stay for a long time and I would recommend it. If money is not object, I would STILL recommend g over n as n is new and trailblazing technology almost always dissapoints. In summary, linksys g router:-)

1 caveat actually, n has a longer range too, not sure of the difference. If you live on a small holding or small farm this would be worthwhile!
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You also want to look for something that some brands call MIMO (Multiple In Multiple Out) It lets each device get the full bandwidth on wireless (up to a certain number) otherwise they share the bandwidth of the single radio.
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I agree with Bigloo on getting a solid G router any of the major Vendor will be just fine. Netgear, Linksys, if you want to drop the coin and do a little work pick up a Cisco It is the best.

The 54MBits is a shared Theoretical Bus speed Depending on interference and distance the 54Mbits/s will never happen and its shared between all the PC/Devices. Because of the shared bus and speed of the wireless, If i can hardwire I do hardwire.
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Search around, I got a refurb Linksys 'n' router for the same price as a new 'g' router. It was either Amazon or Newegg. To be honest though, I don't see much speed difference over the G router I replaced. ~$50 should be all you need to spend.
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:-)Spot on answer... D-link, Netgear, are my favs, Linksys I have had som driver issues in the past but still a good home device.
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Only thing I would add is that D-Link and Netgear have an easier interface for those not familiar with it setting it all up. Linksys can be a bit involved. On my latest Linksys - every time my cable connection hiccups it resets the IPs on everything - so trying to set static IPs on my network printers was a bit buried under advanced this and advanced that with having to set Mac addresses along with it.


Ron
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I agree - Linksys is/has some options that are more complicated to use. Like I noted, good equipment, just not as friendly. But they are a division of Cisco now, so maybe bieng complicated comes from the big guy. The easiest I have set up for my home customers is the D-Link line... Just too easy.
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Buy a good Linksys that you can load a 3rd party firmware onto... WRT54GL is good and there are a few others as well... :-)
Posted via Mobile Device
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833156052


Was looking at this..good reviews on a few sites....looks like what I can use now and hopefully not have the same issues with my old one...


I was looking in to the DD-WRT but have no clue on what it does or how it makes anything better...




Thanks Guys!




Shawn
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DD-WRT is a different operating system that allows more control.

You can increase power on the Linksys 54GL, for example, to levels higher than the Linksys operating software allows.

You will risk bricking the router when installing it and you MUST NOT try to install with software firewall or antivirus programs running. I have the DD-WRT on one of my linksys routers and do not know enough to take advantage of the new capabilities. For somebody like this (i.e., me) I would recommend not playing with DD-WRT. I did brick one router because I forgot to remove zonealarm before flashing. Unbricking is possible but also tricky.
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DD-WRT is a great program but is not need and does not do much for most people.
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Tomato is good too... I agree most people will not use most of the features, but typically they are more stable and that is why I use them! :-)
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In my experience OEM is more stable than DD with out tweaking.
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I'm just going to say I disagree and leave it at that... :-)
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I may be able to hook you up. PM sent.
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Hey Shawn,
I've gone through a lot of wireless routers. I've had my best luck with Netgear, although Linksys is also good. I've worn out a few Linksys routers, only one Netgear.
Point is...
If you buy anything at all, buy from one of the top three.
I've never even heard of trendnet. I'd be scared to death it'll fry in a heartbeat.
Another thing...
If you go to your local Staples and buy a nice dlink or linksys router, odds are that if it smokes you can drive right down there and buy a direct replacement, possibly saving a lot of grief, especially if you're not all that computer savvy.
The difference between a rock-solid Linksys G router and an inexpensive Trendnet N router will "likely" end up being measured in aggravation before too long. :-)
By likely, I mean you can bank on it. Especially if you depend on your router. :-)
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Thanks Guys for all the advice!!!


I got a Pm and I am gonna be taken care of so I won't have to read 1000's of reviews and hope that I get lucky. I just want to make sure when the kids are on the Wii that Karie can still have plenty of bandwidth to get all her school info (Online College).



I am glad I have acess to a wealth of knowledge like CA for the important questions!!!






Shawn
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While we're talking computers, I'm wondering if anyone has a decent amount of info on the new Core i7s? There's not too much out on them yet, but I'm wondering if I should go for an i7 build which will run $1400 or stick with Core 2 Quad for under $1000. The Core i7 will be 6GB of Tri-Channel DDR3 and the Core 2 will be 8GB of DDR2. Consider this a budget gaming rig.
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