Router Wireless n and g together

[kbz1960]

Hi, so what router do I need to be able to have one laptop running n and another older one running g that will live together without problems. One is also on win7 64 bit and the other on xp pro 32 bit.

Thanks

 

[Darryl Licht]

kbz:

Wireless 802.11n is fully backwards compatible with 802.11g... so in answer to your question... any wireless N router should do the trick. I will say this, personally I am partial to Cisco/Linksys routers.

 

[kbz1960]

Thanks, had trouble with the d-link n one that I had. The old linksys g one works fine with both. Now I understand that if one is running g both will run at g which I can live with if there are no other issues and I think the g laptop will be getting upgraded for xmas so then both can run n.................... I hope.

 

[Darryl Licht]

True that if you have both on and one is g... transfer will drop to g speeds. However when just the n system is on you will have n speed.

No matter what, I am willing to bet your bottleneck will will be your Internet connection... very few in the USA have broadband speeds that approach the 802.11g speed of 54mbps... even fewer have that near n speeds!

If you x-fer large amounts of data or stream between your 2 PC's... I'd upgrade from g to n... usb 802.11n on your g lappy!

 

[MattRainier]

I would recommend either Cisco (Linksys) or Belkin routers...with wireless 'N' capability. 'N' is backward-compatible (as Darryl mentioned) with 'A/B/G' specs, so you'll be fine. Belkin and Linksys tend to be the most secure, and they also offer the best range/coverage area.

 

[Darryl Licht]

Yeah, Ive also heard good things about Buffalo.

And... yes, Belkin has really picked up their game in the last few years.

I tend to stick with Linksys, it's been my preference for years. I like them even more since their affiliation with uber-router-house Cisco! Many of their routers unofficially support DDWRT and other alternative firmware... which is an added plus! I run DWRT on both my Linksys routers...

But I'm stuck at 54mbps as my lappy only supports g. <--- thinkin of replacing my internal mini pcie in my old toshiba lappy to a n version... and if I have to upgrade my router after that, I will also get one of the newer 1Gbps wired routers with dual band n (both a 2.4GHz and 5GHz tranceiver in single router)!

 

[Barman58]

One thing to consider at the moment is that the 802.11n standard has just been ratified. if i were in the market for an "N" grade router i would make sure that the firmware fully complies with the standard.

This will ensure full compatibility in the future whereas "Draft N" routers may not

 

[Darryl Licht]

I agree, but most pre-N routers have been out for some time now and all the major manufacturers should have a firmware upgrade for any changes made since the IEEE ratified the 802.11n spec.

 

[win7clutz]

Verify that your N-Router checks for firmware upgrades (Netgear for example), and all should be fine...