Wireless G or N or both for home

[jdibber]

The last router I purchased was a Netgear MR314. I purchased the router in order to get DSL internet access for a second computer on the second floor. Many moons later, my wireless needs have grown and I'm looking to upgrade. Using FIOS as our ISP, have two older PCs with b adapters and a newer laptop w/ g. Also have TIVO on wireless b, and like to connect to the net with the PS3 and IPod Touch.

So, I thought I'd just buy a new N router and be done with it until I came across this site. Too much good info.

I'm leaning towards the recommendation from two SNB articles about keeping (or buying) a G router ("Add, Don't Replace When Upgrading to N" and "Thinking of Upgrading to Draft n? Heres What I'd Do").

Q1: Since these articles are 1.5 yrs or older, is this advice still applicable?

Q2: It seems all the reviews are for the Wireless N routers, what is a good G router? Should I only be looking for 108mbs routers?

thanks and sorry for the long post

 

[thiggins]

Q1: Since these articles are 1.5 yrs or older, is this advice still applicable?

The only advice in those articles that isn't still applicable is to try to match router and clients. It's just not practical and also isn't as important as it once was because the technology has matured somewhat.

Q2: It seems all the reviews are for the Wireless N routers, what is a good G router? Should I only be looking for 108mbs routers?

802.11g technology is very mature and you can choose a wireless router based on brand preference and routing features.

I would not, however, have a preference for "108 Mbps" products. You'll only get the 108 Mbps link rate if you use clients capable of it (based on Atheros Super G).

 

[jdibber]

Many thanks. Unfortunately, I really don't have a brand preference. Would the BELKIN Pre-N fall under the b/g umbrella? SNB had nice things to say about the router (as does CNET...can I use this word on this site?) From a price point, one of those fancy online auction sites has these new (w/ pcmcia card) for less than one Ulysses S. Grant.

 

[thiggins]

While that might be cheap, it's discontinued, so don't expect any firmware updates. It's also not a purely 11g router.

Stick with something like a Cisco/Linksys WRT54G2, NETGEAR WGT624, D-Link WBR-2310, etc.

 

[jdibber]

got it. i appreciate the recommendations. this is a great site. reminds me of the folks at www.audioholics.com