Is Wireless-N worth the upgrade?

Early B.

I've got a Linksys wireless G router that works great. I was wondering if it's worth it to upgrade to a Linksys wireless-N router?

My laptop gets a weak signal in some spots downstairs, and even in one of the rooms upstairs (router is located upstairs), so I'm hoping wireless-n would help with that issue. More importantly, I'm wondering if I would get faster speed with wireless-n.

The cost for the wireless-n "upgrade" would be $98. Is it worth it?

BTW, both of my desktop computers are hardwired.

Thanks.

wingnut4772

Yes. Just make sure you get the N card for the computer too. I just upgraded to N with my Apple and it's faster. (macbook pro and airport extreme)I did not find it to be any stronger though.

treitz3

Not if it's for music Early. Otherwise, yes.

mantis

wingnut4772 wrote: »

Yes. Just make sure you get the N card for the computer too. I just upgraded to N with my Apple and it's faster. (macbook pro and airport extreme)I did not find it to be any stronger though.

Agreed. I also did the same exact thing. I use the Apple N router and it's fantastic. One thing I noticed about the Apple over the Linksys Wireless G I had (wrt 54g) is the fact I have not had to reboot the Apple. The Linksys would drop out alot and then sometimes not work unitl I rebooted it. I also noticed a further range with the Apple over the Linksys even using a G laptop. My Imac is Wireless N and it blazes.

Dan

Systems

I use the higher end Linsys "N" model and its rock solid. In fact, even with my devices that are still "g" spec, its signal to them is flawless with no problems (drops etc).

Serendipity

It depends on what your primary use is. If you are streaming high-def content to a HTPC, then yes, it does make a difference. My HTPC currently has wireless "g" which works fine but streaming video could definitely use a wireless N connection.

If just web browsing/surfing, then no.

Polk addict

You will definetely have faster connection for sure. However, I have researched this to some extent, and you can only expect a little bitter or same reception. It's a little weaker frequency...

brettw22

My understanding was that N wasn't a faster frequency, just a stronger frequency over G to give you more coverage..............

bobman1235

It's a bit stronger, so you will get better range.

People saying they notice the speed difference are most likely hallucinating, though. You'll see faster speeds when transferring / streaming between computers on your network, but anything on the outside world is orders of magnitude slower than your router already, so it doesn't matter how much faster the router is, the connection to the outside is the limiting factor.

Average data rate for 802.11-g is ~19Mb/s.
Average data rate for 802.11-n is ~74Mb/s.

Most cable users are capped at about 6-8Mb/s (and good luck ever getting even close to that to begin with).

You do the math

ben62670

Linksys sucks. I own a computer repair business, and they crash and burn all the time. If you are just browsing the internet with a 3meg connection who cares if your router can do 80? Now if you are doing file sharing than it would make a difference. Even wireless B for internet purposes is fine if you have a half way decent signal.

Edit...
What Bob said

Shizelbs

How much more range does N have over G? I'd love to have whole house WiFi with a minimum of access points.

Early B.

bobman1235 wrote: »

It's a bit stronger, so you will get better range.

People saying they notice the speed difference are most likely hallucinating, though. You'll see faster speeds when transferring / streaming between computers on your network, but anything on the outside world is orders of magnitude slower than your router already, so it doesn't matter how much faster the router is, the connection to the outside is the limiting factor.

Average data rate for 802.11-g is ~19Mb/s.
Average data rate for 802.11-n is ~74Mb/s.

Most cable users are capped at about 6-8Mb/s (and good luck ever getting even close to that to begin with).

You do the math

What's the average data rate for b? I don't doubt what you're saying, but I'm wondering if people made the same argument between b & g.

This issue reminds me of the "do cables make a difference?" debate in audio. The user camp swears the upgrade is faster, and the techie camp says it ain't scientifically possible.

bobman1235

Average for b is ~4.5Mb/s, so it's conceivable that if you had a fast enough internet connection, that could be a limiting factor (but extremely unlikely given the average internet provider).

All my numbers are from the Wikipedia article on IEEE 802.11 (aka, WiFi).