Worth getting N connectivity?

How popular is/will be "N"?
Is it worth paying the extra ~$50 to get N connectivity on laptops right now? (that's the dollar difference on the T61)

 

I have the N. When You have the Draft N router and the N in your laptop or on a pc card, only together can you get up to 300 Mbs. Compared to 54 Mbs. It is a great improvement, and through the wire you can get 1Gps. N is definetly better and you can notice the speed. If you are willing to buy both things, it is a great thing to have!!!

 

1) very few places have N routers

2) it is so fickle right now, dropouts, can't connect, etc...

not worth for the now imo

but will be worth it in next 2+ years

depends on how long you plan to use the notebook

 

Are you going to use it? Internet is sooo slow in the US, to the point that almost everybody would be fine with B, and the few with the really fast connections are fine with G. So unless you simply *must* transfer some big file wirelessly from computer to computer (I'd prefer wired gigabit for that), it's not worth the 125+ you'll need to spend to use it now (router too ya know). As for using later, maybe it is worth $50, I'd get it just in case even though I'm not planning to use it (it's not gonna get much cheaper in the future).

 

Few places have N's but at home you can set up one. Its much faster of a connection

 

Isn't your connection speed limited by your ISP? I only ask because most the speeds people see is a common misconception isn't it? From what I understand they do not increase your internet or gaming speed at all. Your internet will be the same speed on a 10 Mbs B, 54 Mbs G, or whatever the hell N is now. The only time you see those speeds is through file transfers within the routers network. For example, you have a file server or you want to share music with your roommate. You will get those posted speeds when you transfer files from your computer to his and vice versa.

But, your speed from your house to the outside world is capped by your ISP which ranges from 3-15 Mbs (I'm throwing out an average) so even if you have a 54 Mbs G speed, you still will be browsing the internet at 3-15 if that makes sense...

 

True, but with 11n, the transfer speeds are MUCH better. They (or any product for that matter) can't improve your internet (ie downloading files from apple.com) speeds

 

Your ISP doesn't matter, i just have regular Comcast cable, nothing special and it connects at 300MBs. a significant differece to the G routers. It connects much faster. It is worth it, I dont have drop-outs, mine stays conected for as long as I want. Hope I could help!

 

Your ISP does matter. It all depends on what connection speeds they offer you. So what do you mean by it connects at 300Mb per second? Because I've had comcast cable before and I just don't see where you're getting those numbers from...Try this link and post your results... www.speedtest.net

 

300mb/s????? uh no

standard comcast cable is either 3 or 5mb/s i believe.

 

i think hes misunderstood how it works and has a Draft N network and connects to it and since that shows 300MBs he has mistankely thought that that is his internet speed

 

dont forget you have much better range with N!

 

I would do like most here suggest, and stick with wireless G unless it's vital you've the extra speed. Then switch when N becomes the norm and is cheaper. JMO

 

I have just regular cable and I hooked up my N router to it. A G connects at 54 but N's connect at 300, MLBs that is. I have nothing special hokkup for my N and It works so much faster

 

its cause the router is no longer extremely bottlenecking (there is still a little bottlenecking because it is wireless.) your regular wired internet. So by having the N router you are basically getting closer to getting a wired internet connection not that the router is physically making it go faster just allowing to use more of the speed you would have if you were wired.

 

well I got my N-router about a month ago and I didn't have any cards that make good use of it yet, but it does sound promising according to the ads. However, with the problem of debates over specifications, it is not very stable to have a N-draft router at this point. But for me, I don't really care, I'm happy with N-draft and I know my Dell M1330 is definately going to make good use of it.

 

54 is what speed your connected to your router I do believe.

So it is a faster connection to the router, which could possibly increase performance.

and if your looking for what card to get into your laptop, don't they have wireless card options for A/G/N?

So you could have both G and N just in case.

Worth 50$? Maybe not since G is the most popular.

But it may pay off one day.

 

those speeds are how fast you are connecting to the router, not to the actual internet

 

11g is good gor 99% of the users. If you are constantly moving large files between computer, 11n may be of benefit. GigE is best choice for moving large files.

 

Do N cards and routers from different manufacturers play nice with each other or do you have to have the same manufacturer card and router to benefit from N?

I remember early on that was the case, haven't followed the most recent draft.

And has the N standard progressed far along enough that current draft N routers and cards will be able to be upgraded to the final standard?

 

I'm pretty sure Wireless N wouldn't help you at all on the Internet unless you had a connection that was faster than Wireless G - which is extremely rare in the U.S. It might help if you're transferring lots of files between laptops via Wireless, but I'm going to have to say No right now - a nice feature but not really helpful for most.

 

I agree, a wireless "N" would benefit only if your transfering files from 1 pc to another. But if your just surfing the internet, there will likely be no improvement.
GL

 

Soooooooooooo i'm not very "network card" knowledgeable so this question may come off as retarded, lol..

buttttttttttttttttttt

Can you have the 11n internal card on your computer at the same time as having the external g network card on your compter as well?/ or would there be complications?

thanks!

 

Isn't N new???

Me = NooB!!!

 

Yes, though why? N is backwards-compatible.

 

Got an old (5 years old) Lynksys router connected to my cable modem provided by the local cable company; got a a three-year old Linksys wireless access point wired into the router.

I have two laptops . . . an HP dv4000 with built-in Intel 802.11b/g and an HP dv9500t with built-in 802.11agn we are using in the house.

So, what do I need to purchase and connect to take advantage of N connectivity in my new machine?

If I add wireless capable of N connectivity, will I be able to use the old G connectivity of my HP dv4000 and the N connectivity of the new HP dv9500t at the same time? Or, in wireless mode, will using the old lap top at the same time as the new one require the N capable wireless router to just work at G speed?

Thanks for your insights!

 

@rhetor

You'd need a N access point to get N functionality

But, last I checked using an older wireless standard disables almost all the new features. Meaning just one wireless B being connected to an N router would set it back to 11Mbps for everyone.

 

Which router you have?

 

So . . . that means I need to leave my dv4000 off while using my dv9500t if I want N connectivity?

 

Great questions . . . I just physically looked.

I have the Linksys Etherfast Cable/Broadband Router (Model: BEFSR41) and

I have the DLink Wireless Access Point (Model DWL 7100AP).

So what do I need to clean all this up for N connectivity with my new HP dv9500t which has a wireless N card built in?

Thanks for help!

 

Yes.

What are you using this for? If you're transferring stuff to your desktop you might need to make sure the connection from the wireless ap to your desktop is all gigabit, assuming your desktop even has gigabit ethernet. If you're not transferring stuff then you have to ask yourself whether you actually need N or not.