Wieless router?

Looking to buy a wireless router for satellite internet. It will be our first satellite service and first wireless router.

Just got our HP dv9500t that we will be using with the router (only computer that will be hooked up to internet).

Any suggestions? We were told by Satellite company that it really didn't matter what kind? Is this true?

What are the differences?

Comparing these at Walmart? all different prices, so which works best with laptop and would prefer to stay as cheap as possible.
http://www.walmart.com/search/searc...eless+router&search_constraint=0&ic=48_0&ref=

 

Do you have a wireless N card in your dv9500?

 

Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection

 

Personally I prefer Linksys and Netgear...

 

I am quite happy with my Belkin that I purchased from Wal-mart over a year ago for around $34. I have had three machines connected to it the entire time, and it has been very dependable. I am posting from Work so I don't know the exact model number. The Linksys and Netgear routers they sell are also excellent.

 

The Linksys WRT54G is a good choice. Its on sale at BestBuy for $50.

 

Belkin, Linksys, Netgear......I've used each and love them all. I currently have a NetGear and I love it, except the fact that it doesn't have VPN functionality (but I'm sure they have models that do)

 

Thanks.. Do I need to buy one that says its specifically for Wireless N? I see this one says Wireless-G, will it work with my notebook?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2470125

or this one: Linksys WRT300N Wireless-N
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5131177

 

I actually just bought this router on Friday. I bought one about two years ago for my previous residence. I left it there so my roommate would still have a router, it's still working as the day I bought it. So I bought this same router on Friday for a friends house that I practically live at on the weekends. So I installed it within 5mins. So I decided I would go outside and see how good it would work. SO I was about 50 feet away from the router and the signal was crossing on Block concrete wall and two wood frame interior walls. It didn't lose one bar of signal for droped speed. Also I noticed that my battery wasn't draining as fast as it used to with the old Belkin or D-link router that I have been using at home. I guess since it has a stronger signal the laptop doesn't have to work as hard to get the signal. SO i totally recomend the Linksys WRT54G wireless G-router.

 

The wireless G router will work with your laptop (which by default comes with a draft wireless N module), but you will not get wirelss N speed and range.

However, this is not really important since this is the only machine on the network. Even at wireless G speeds, data transmission will exceed the speed of your satellite internet connection, so it makes no difference.

However, if you were to add more wireless devices to the network (other laptops or wireless printers) it will make a difference in speed from device to device (moving files, printing large documents).

The wireless N router will also improve the range of your connection, so much depends on how you will use your laptop. Is the router going to be in the center of the house? Will you be surfing the net from outside your house? If the distance from the router to the laptop is great, wireless N will be a better choice for RANGE.

Thngs to consider/know--satellite has come a long way but there are certain areas that satellite companies don't talk about. Gaming...latency is very high on satellite, so gaming is/can be an ugly experience. Also, secure sites tend to be VERY VERY slow, so if you happen to be banking or purchasing online, expect it and don't think something is wrong.

 

The Linksys WRT54 L router has the added plus of being able to load third party firmware like DD-WRT

 

A wireless G router will work with an "N" wireless laptop. "N" is a faster specification, but the routers for them are really expensive, and it's all backwards compatible. You laptop will work with any router that is "A", "B", "G", or "N". "B" is very slow, and "A" is extremely rare.

 

You can get a router that supports Wireless-G instead of Wireless-N and your wireless card will work, you just won't get the max speed that Wireless-N offers. Unless you are transferring data on your local network between machines you will never use the full bandwidth, because as well all know internet just isn't at that speed yet.

 

I think both will work for your laptop. What model is your wireless card? If the model number has an N at the end then it is capable of using a "N" router. If that is the case both of those routers will work. N is supposed to be the fastest but you can only go as fast as your Internet Service Provider.
The WRT54G router only goes up to 54mbps. Thats great for me. The wireless N is supposed to go up to 300mbps, but again you can only go as fast as your ISP. I would go with the WRT54G as the N techology is a work in progress. Also why are you going with satelite INternet over a wired cable ISP?

 

"B" is not slow--slow is subjective.

Let's look at it this way

The maximum throughput for a cable connection is 10 million bits per second, but most people max out at about 3-5 mbps. The maximum throughput for wireless B is 11 mbps

A DSL connection for home use maxes out at about 3mbps; a satellite connection maxes out at about 1.5 mbps.

So, a person who is surfing the internet will see no difference between a wireless B, G, or N connection. Of course, with drop off you can cut these rates in half, but even then the speed of the wireless connection exceeds the speed of the satellite

The difference only will come into play during connections on the home network. Since he only has one machine, it will not make any difference to him.

 

Going with Satellite because we want to eliminate our phone line and only use cell phone for phone etc. This way we don't pay for cellphone service and phone line together.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Looks like we may go with the Linksys WRT54G.

Speaking of satellite. Is it worth it to get the higher speed option over the lowest? I know its faster, but we have dialup now and the lowest speed option will feel fast to us. Just wondering if the highest speed option is really worth the extra cost?

 

THe reason I was asking you about why you were going with satelite over a cable TV provider's ISP is that a relative of mine tried out that satelite internet and it worked fine until a cloud obscurred there signal. It was so bad that on some days they wouldnt even get signal. I live in Florida and it rains a lot in the summer so you don't want to lose your connection when it rains.

 

The quoted speeds for wireless are theoretical. Anyone who has wireless knows that you never get the stated speed, maybe if you're lucky and sitting right next to the router. If you're just doing some light web surfing, then "B" is fine too, but I definitely notice the difference between B and G when surfing and downloading.

 

We have satellite TV and its been working great even through most storms. I know that in heavy storms the service can go out, but most times you don't want to be using the notebook at this time anyway. There is always a possiblity of it now working in heavy rain/storms, but its something you live with, when using Satellite. All I know is it will be tons better then dialup!

 

Satelite better than dialup thats for sure

 

No kidding? Really? And your point here is what--the drop off from maximum throughput for Wireless G is somehow less that the drop off from the theoretical Wireless B?

Yes, I know the quoted speeds are "theoretical"--it does not matter. If you want to let's say that the average throughput for wireless B is 5-6 mbps and the average speed for wireless g is 28-38 mbps....OK.

Your satellite throughput is still maxed at 1.5mbps (average about 300-500 kbps) so your wireless g is still no faster than wireless b.

I know you don't want to admit it, but your surfing and downloading experience just seems faster unless you are having some other problem.

If it makes you feel any better, I run faster in new tennis shoes....

 

In addition to throughput (bandwidth) you also have latency. Latency on a B network is higher than on a G network. The higher the latency, the more laggy a connection can be. Latency is the type of thing gamers complain about when they have a high "ping".

A satellite connection is going to have astronomical latency, but latency is additive. A "B" connection will add a few more milliseconds than a G network will. Also a G network can cope better with interference because it has better error handling.

 

I dont know what you guys are talking about but i've had two B routers and they blow compared to my latest purchase G router. I've also noticed that the speed and signal is lower on a B compared to a G.

 

That is sort of true, but only because Wireless G supports orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing--which is only relevent when transmitting above 20mbps--given the Internet connection as the bottleneck, it is kind of irrelevent for this discussion.

See above. You shouldn't see any additional latency under typical surfing conditions beyond the huge latency you see from the satellite.

This is more a function of a better router than of wireless G itself. A competent wireless b router should be just as efficient as a wireless G router. Since both operate at the same frequency, and have the same range, the amount of interference experienced is the same. The error handling capability of the router is related to the firmware and processor within the router.

At slower speeds, the 802.11b and 802.11g router should perform the same.

C'mon, the tennis shoe line was a good one, right?