Is N worth it?

I have the wireless N card on my M1530, but is ito worth it to buy an N router. Can you really tell the difference in speed, im not to worried about the range.

AND: If so what is the best N router?

 

IMHO N = Waste of $$$

The question of the "best" N router depends on what N wireless card you have. The standard is still a draft so all cards don't work well with all routers. Research your card relative to the router options you have at your disposal...

 

The N standard still isn't finalized, so I would not recommend buying one right now.

 

depends Do you need the 130megabit speeds that the intel n card gives you with n routers?

Its double the speed of 802.11g but if your internet conenction doesnt use full g bandwidth and you dont do large file transfers over wireless then its not worth it.

 

I absolutely love my N wireless at home. I connect with my XPS M1530 at 130Mbs (faster than my wired connection) and can work effeciently anywhere around my house. Could I live with G? Sure, but I didn't want to.

 

same here and I use the linsys 300n ..bought from dell was on sale for $90 I believe as I have seen them for about $130 elsewhere...have yet to chk the range as it is &**( cold here ...but that will be a benefit for sure...

 

If range is not a concern for you, then N is not needed. But for me, I absolutely love being able to have a 100% speedy connection from my router on the second floor down to my basement with no breaks in signal strength.

 

"N" is not worth the cost right now. It has yet to even be approved...however, if you can get one REALLY cheap or for the same cost as a "G"...I would get one. They are right now still at a premium and not worth it imho

There are many tests out there that back up my statements...

 

N is worth it. I upgraded just recently to a N router, and even though none of my clients are N, all of them got better reception, faster file transfers and latencies etc. This is because N routers also are MIMO capable. Depending on which N router you get most will be firmware updatable to final N spec. I recommend the Trendnet TEW-633GR which is what I have and is draft N 2.0 spec and will be updatable to final spec. You'll be surprised how much better it is than G.

Despite what everyone will tell you, upgrading to N now is perfectly reasonable and fine as long as you don't get a bad router or one that isn't upgradeable. Do your research on routers before you buy.

 

N is definitely worth it, definitely on your internal network and if your ISP speed is fast (like 5Mbps cable or faster) it's likely better for that too. G scales down too much at distance and you can loose even some of the speed of a 5Mbps connection.

You can pick up some pretty cheap N routers, even Draft 2.0 certified stuff, these days and they are a good stop-gap until the final spec is ratified. Draft 2.0 stuff should be upgradeable to the final spec, but no guarantees there. Still, if you have a faster connection, does it really matter if you can upgrade it to the final spec, likely it won't matter at this point. Even Draft 2.0 should still work w/ the final spec equipment even if not at the top speed.

The D-Link DIR-615 and DIR-625 are just two pretty awesome, cheap routers that can be had for well under $100 these days. BB has them both on sale right now.

Chris

 

Agree with you Chris.
Still many will differ in the end its what do you want from network?
Using Gigabyte N drift 2 card with netgear WNDR3300 wireless N router I won't quote what speed I get but there very HIGH

 

I also have an N router (d-link DWA-655) with mimo. I do notice a speed increase from G and the signal is now stronger. As far as standards it'll be updated thru firmware as Channelv said.

 

As Hylton said, I think a lot of it depends on your ISP.
If you're in the UK, don't bother at the moment. We're so far behind in terms of Internet speed and capability for the home user, it's almost laughable.

 

I wouldn't mind a speed bump...but right now the routers are not totally going to be to "spec" I wouldn't mind having one if the price were right...but the REALLY nice ones are still too expensive to really be worth it.

Let us look at the reviews:

HERE

HERE

HERE

 

I am running the D-Link DIR-655 and it has been performing wonderfully for months now.

 

Likewise, I have been running a Linksys WRT150N for about a month now and it's been solid.

 

You wouldn't by any chance want to post some QCheck test results would you? (if you have 2 pcs on your internal network, 1 wired and 1 draft-n wireless. I'm looking at (and VERY interested) in the router you have. BB has it on sale right now for $108, which for a dual-band router w/ new antenna technology might well be the best thing out there, even over and above some of the ridiculously priced stuff from D-Link and Linksys.

Chris

 

The REALLY nice ones are going to have to come down in price soon to compete. Things like the WNDR3300 from netgear are going to start hitting the market at reasonable prices and anything over $125-150 is going to be a tough sell. The 3300 is dual-band (i.e. 300Mbps capable w/ a Draft 2.0 card), no antennas hanging off of it (which could be a minor con for tweakers that want to replace antennas, but most people don't), and all for well under $150.

I have the DIR-625, and prior to that, the DIR-615 (both purchased w/in 2 weeks of each other). I also previously owned the Belkin Pre-N router that has been and still is the range benchmark router for many test reviews out there.

Anyway, the DIR-625 review posted above is probably on an old firmware version. Most reviews typically are b/c reviews occur pretty quickly after a product release. Then firmware updates start rolling out.

My DIR-625 is rock solid as was the DIR-615. No disconnects, nothing, runs great. I'm running Intel 4965agn cards in my laptops and they don't miss a beat. I can stream HD video in most cases, 720p no problems whatsoever and most 1080p content depending on the framerate. If I had a dual-band router, 1080p would be smooth as butter in all cases. Only reason I went up to the 625 was that it went on sale for only $30 more I got QoS and a newer CPU in the router. The 615 benchmarked at pretty much the same speed, only a few Mbps lower. It did have a 'whine' though that I never determined was a general design flaw w/ the 615 or a bad capacitor.

That's all I want from my home network at this point, HD video streaming. I don't use VOIP and have no plans to. My data needs are fairly limited as well, I back up to a central server periodically.

Chris

 

Hi
Can you upgrade the xps1530 intel a/b/g to a wireless N card ??
Also Im in the UK , and isp speeds are behind the US , I might be moving to aus or NZ and isp speeds are behind the UK - NZ has actually the poorist rated isp speeds in the west.I get 130 to 350 kb/s in UK average for files , my mate in NZ gets 30kb/s average dl for files

 

Yeah, you can upgrade at a later point.
But I doubt it's worth it if you move back to NZ or AUS mate. For the time being, your a/b/g is fine.

 

No promises on the firmware upgradability... It might be possible and it might not be... No one will know until the final spec is completed...

I don't hop on the bandwagon simply because I don't see buying hardware on a draft standard that has very poor interoperability (even with a draft standard being implemented as a standard) and an uncertain future...

If the update, for instance, for the IPW4965 can't be done in the drivers I will end up paying for 2 N cards to keep up... The speeds between early N and the current drafts are pretty wide too so the final spec could make that spread even further.

I'd prefer to buy it once when its done

Most people don't need N speeds anyway.

 

I have the Netgear WNR834B, we have multiple desktops a handheld and a laptop on it and all of the signals are way stronger and faster than before as well as less packet loss. My laptop cruises along steadily at about 750 kb/s. Not that I need it but I sure love having it.

 

Can anyone recommend me a wireless N router? I have a $100 gift card from dell and I don't know what router I should spend it on.

 

I have a Linksys WRT150N and it has worked ok.

I haven't heard of any timetable of when draft-n will be certified. It seems it's been draft-n for 3 years already with every year they expected it to be certified.

Performance wise I find the N draft to be worth it as long as you are ok with getting a draft N. It has a far better signal strength and is much faster.

I figure it's only going to be in my house so draft or certified doesn't matter much. It's your N adapter that is going to matter more when draft-N is certified and everyone finds out what works and what doesn't.

 

N is good for streaming movies from your home media server. It's also good if you move larger files or collections of files like movies and batches of music. It also can extend your range, like if you have a bigger house or a pool on your estate.

It doesn't improve internet speed at all, unless you have a 100mb internet connection. in which case, I hate you.

 

According to Wikipedia, there is a dispute over patents:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_N#CSIRO_controversy
This is probably one thing holding up N.

 

That's the big misconception. The assumption there is that your G equipment actually runs at the speed Windows reports..which is doesn't. Furthermore, this assumption doesn't take into consideration that if N gets you double the speed and >= the range of your G that N is scaling at double the speed, which means at the same distances, you are still getting twice the speed between your router and your client, which with G, may bump you below your ISP speed off the modem.

I don't have a 100Mbps connection to the internet, I have 5Mbps cable service w/ 12Mbs boost speeds when the network isn't tapped out. Switching from G (Pre-N mimo, same thing) to N improved my speed on the internet dramaticallly. I performed the file download tests to prove it to myself, it's nearly 2 times faster at any given distance in my house.

Chris

 

Do you want to add to the $100 and get something dual-band or just spend as little as possible?

For around that price, I'd look at this...
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...oductdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=A1466753

It's new, so the jury is still out, but it's a smokin' price for a dual-band router that is the latest and greatest and most likely to be upgradeable to the final spec when it's ratified.

Only drawback I can see w/ this unit would be if the antenna technology doesn't work well for you, the metamaterial antenna setup, you can't replace it since it's integrated into the board. Most other routers, other than Belkin, have removeable antennas that can be replaced w/ hi-gain antennas for greater range. But, according to the claims, these metamaterial antennas that Netgear seems to be moving to work really well in a home/soho environment.

Otherwise, most of Dell's prices look pretty steep (i.e. MFG list prices) for routers...I'd just read some reviews and put your $100 toward the one you like the best. The Linksys WRT150N and WRT300N and most of D-Link's N models get good reviews.

Chris

 

Thanks for the reply, I'm just trying to spend as little as possible. I'm looking for a decent router with fast speeds at medium range( 2 story house). So I understand that dual band can run G and N at the same time without any interference? How good are trendnet routers? I was looking at the TEW-631BRP and it got decent reviews and comes with a 3 year warranty. That Netgear WNDR3300 RangeMax router you showed me also looks pretty good, but it is out of stock. Also I notice that all Belkin routers have lifetime warranty?

 

I am currently using the TEW-631BRP along with the TEW-623PI N-Draft PCI Adapter for my desktop. I've had them both for about 6 months now and both work perfectly.

 

That's good to hear... does it have dual band or do you run it in N mode only?

 

I run it in N mode only since my desktop has the draft-n card and my brother's M1530 has the intel abgn card.

EDIT: I should clarify that it has the option to run "b only", "g only", "n only", "mixed b and g", "mixed g and n", and "mixed b, g, and n".

 

Well, sounds like i am buying a new router this weekend!!!
Thanks for the input.

 

i have had the linksys wrt300 for about 2 years now and i tried to get my laptop (m1530) to connect on the "n" band and failed everytime. so i just leave the router on mixed band and the laptop just connects on the g band. oh well.

 

You use Windows to manage your wireless connection? After I allowed just having Windows configure my wireless, everything worked out well. The N wireless really seems to stretch out further, which is always nice for wireless connectivity.

 

Sorry, I know zilch about trendnet routers. The internals of all these routers are made by 2 or 3 companies, so it's unlikely that it'll perform much different than another brand of the same underlying chipset. Check out what it uses and then look for a review of something that has the same thing. It'll be marvell, broadcom, airgo, and there is another that escapes me right now.

Anyway...BB had that netgear on sale, if you want to save your Dell card for something else later.

About the dual-band thing, I don't have any measureable speed different running my D-Link DIR-625 router in mixed mode. It's not dual band, N and G clients can connect to it. I have not tried adding a G client to see if my speeds drop down at all, but there is PLENTY of G interference in my neighborhood, just no G connected to my network at this point.

I want dual-band for the increase in performance for streaming HD video. If you don't need that, I doubt dual-band will offer you a noticeable improvement.

If cheap is your goal, I would have to recommend one of these D-Link units, the 615 or 625. BB has them both on sale right now ($50 and $80 respectively) and you could just use your Dell card for a later purchase.

Happy shopping.
Chris