NETGEAR WNR854T; Worth the buy for me?

I came across this draft N router as the only consumer router to have gigabit switch. most of the reviews say this router is currently the fastest one out there, at close range, but when you travel further than 160ft, the speed drops significantly. however, I dont ever plan to take my notebook 160ft away as I live in an apt. My desktop would hardwired to this router and it has gigabit port, my notebook has the intel pro 1394abg internal card. would I see any difference in speed at all when still using a 802.11 g card for this router? or would I only notice the difference when I purchase a draft N adapter? I'm assuming I would notice an increase when hardwired into it, but anyone have any clue how it will perform when going wireless with the intel pro card 802.11g card? Found the cheapest price at pagecomputer.com for 136 including shipping which is decent. but don't want to buy it if its not gonna make a difference. btw I'm using a linksys 54g router right now.

 

well, in my opinion i would have to say that it would be faster then your current router just because the router is better. But you will not take full benefit from the gigabyte connection because your wireless card can't support it.. So yes you will see an increase but it will be slight to hardly noticeable.. your computer on the other hand should see a drastic increase in speed if it has a gigabyte port as you have stated...

 

When you say my computer I assume you mean my desktop right? in that case, yes I do have gigabit port on the mobo. I figured I wouldn't see too much of a difference with my notebook because its using 802.11g, too bad its not something you can change once 11n becomes official, but then again, I don't download too much onto my laptop anyways, mostly my desktop. Anyone else have any opinions on this router?

 

At this time I would suggest staying with the Linksys since the "N" standard has yet to be ratified. Also these current "N" routers may not be firmware upgradeable when the standard is ratified.

The issue with your wireless card is the you will only be able to get the theoretial speed of 54mps. The router will have to run in a "mixed" mode and from what I've read this is no better than the current MIMO "G" routers currently available.

 

I understand what you're saying about my wireless card for my notebook, but I'm actually more interested in the benefits from my desktop which has a gigabit lan port. I'd like to get it if I will notice an increase in download/upload speeds. it'll be hardwired of course.

 

Remember that your ISP, depending on the plan you choose, only downloads at a set speed...in this case lets say its 1.5mps. You will not see any difference in download/upload speeds by using the gigabit adapter.

 

well i'm on a plan thats 5mbp down and 384kbps up.

 

then your downloads will still be limited by your internet connection. the only real benefit you would notice is if you hardwire your notebook to the router and then transfer files between the two computers.

 

even when hardwired directly from my desktop to the router I won't see any difference? I don't feel I'm getting all that fast connection as of right now.

 

I decided to get the dlink 108G wireless gaming router based on tom's hardware recommendation. just got it today, will set it up tonight when I get home and post any updates.