Intel wireless n 1000 vs advanced n 6200 vs ultimate n 6300

So far I have read the spec sheets and I know what the differences of these are spec wise.

1000 is 1x2 300mbps receive 150mbps transmit
6200 is 2x2 300mbps receive 300mbps transmit
6300 is 3x3 450mbps receive 450mbps transmit

the 1000 has 1 antenna the 6200 has 2 and the 6300 has 3. So it would make sense the more antenna = more stable connection but is it really necessary? My problem is i have the option of upgrading to the 6200 for 35 dollars and the 6300 for 65 dollars. I'm just trying to figure out if this is complete money in the trash. I have a sneaking suspicion that the 1000 is going to connect just fine and the 6200 and 6300 have increased speeds for transferring files within your network but when on a fios connection 30mbps down 5 mbps up, which is what I am on most of the time the 1000 falls well within the 30/5 bandwidth ill be using and i rarely if ever transfer files within my network, also I only have a wireless G router anyways so 54 mbps is my speed limit.

My apartment is not that big. Just 1 floor and my router is in the center of the apartment. The farthest I am ever away from the router is probably 20 feet and when im doing the bulk of my work im probably only 7-8 feet away from the router so the signal will be very strong will I even need more then 1 antenna to keep a stable connection when im so close to the router? Is spending the money to upgrade just a waste of money when the 1000 will do the exact same thing for me? Or is 1 antenna really bad and will my connection drop a lot even if im only 7 feet from my router

 

The 1000 has two antennas. Wireless N has maximum throughput of 150mbps per antenna.

I think you are right though. Chances are the 1000 will be more than sufficient so you should just go with that. However if it now or ever turns out to not be enough, you can always upgrade it. For example, the Intel 6300 is a lot cheaper buying new and installing yourself anyway: Newegg.com - Intel Ultimate N 633ANHMW Mini PCI Express Ultimate N 633ANHMW Wireless Adapter Up to 450Mbps Wireless Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, WPA, WPA2

 

yea i just wonder if mainly being 7 feet away from my router if im really going to need more antennas to get a high signal when im freakin right on top of the router already. I dont wanna spend extra money for no reason ya know

 

Also I can't tell any difference running my 6300 with 2 or 3 antennas.

 

That's because your router doesn't support speeds ion excess of 300mbps so your third antenna is useless at this point.

 

No, that is not it. My router does not support speeds in excess of 108Mbps. By your assumption running with 1 antenna would be fine, but it is not. The 6300 needs two antennas to function well.

 

When you're trying to correct me stick to correcting what I said will you?
Two antennas are more or less required since 802.11g and I haven't claimed otherwise however third antenna is available mainly on cards that support 450mbps like Intel 6300 or Intel 5300 and that's because it's only used when speeds exceed 300mbps.

So I stand by what I said-you won't see any difference with or without your third antenna until you try one of two 450mbps routers available on the market.
The only other use of the third antenna is MIMO that doesn't really work- at least not in a way that allows it to be objectively verified.

 

Ok, sorry. 450Mbps routers are very few and far between, but tons of people always act like adding a third antenna is beneficial for better range, signal quality, and strength, but it really doesn't do anything.

 

Yes I agree- third antenna is pretty much useless at this point. 450mbps routers are equally useless at this point- not faster than 300mbps ones and pricey.

 

Intels MIMO technology has some sort of 'smart' antenna feature, which uses the 3rd antenna even if there are only 2 streams available.

Intel Wireless Networking — What is Multiple-Input/Multiple-Output (MIMO)?

So if you only have a 300mbps router, you might get a bit more but who knows. Check smallnetbuilder, maybe someones done a benchmark.

 

Ah, ok. That explains it, thank you. I have looked hard for some documentation on that, but most of the info Intel has on their site about it is pretty useless if you want to know how it works. The four "home" routers I connect to are all SISO, and all the networks I connect to on the go are probably the same as well. I need to ask my girlfriend for a MIMO router for Christmas.

 

I just realized my DSL modem had 300mbps wifi on it so i did some quick tests:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/networking-wireless/539029-intel-6300-2-vs-3-antenna-test.html