Buying advice for home wireless network

[yadmonkey]

Hi - I'm getting the new 15" Apple Powerbook with built-in airport extreme and have a couple of questions:

1) Should I definitely go with the 802.11g router to split my DSL connection? Is it worth the extra beans?

2) Netgear sells two 802.11g routers. They call lone "fast" and one "super fast" but there's no techinical info to explain why its faster than the "fast" one. Can anyone explain this?

Thanks!

 

[ftaok]

Re: Buying advice for home wireless network

Originally posted by yadmonkey
Hi - I'm getting the new 15" Apple Powerbook with built-in airport extreme and have a couple of questions:

1) Should I definitely go with the 802.11g router to split my DSL connection? Is it worth the extra beans?

2) Netgear sells two 802.11g routers. They call lone "fast" and one "super fast" but there's no techinical info to explain why its faster than the "fast" one. Can anyone explain this?

Thanks!

You should definately get a router (wired or wireless) since they all come with Firewalls these days. If you hooked up the DSL modem directly to your PB, you'd be a little less secure.

In regards to the Netgear 614 and 624, I don't think Macs can take advantage of the 108Mbps rates. Besides, you'd have to use their card to obtain these speeds, and who knows if there are drivers for the Mac. Get the 614 and you'll be happy.

As to why they can get 108 speeds, it because they are not using the standard 11g protocol and some special protocol. Unless you have a bunch of PC's that could take advantage of the 108 system, it's not worth the money.

 

[yadmonkey]

ftaok, thanks for your reply. It seems obvioius, but it hadn't occurred to me that the Airport Extreme side wouldn't support the extra protocols.

One thought though... I know that 802.11g networks slow down to accomodate 802.11b users. Netgear claims that the 624 doesn't slow down because of their special technology. Would that hold true still?

 

[sonofslim]

do you have other computers you'll be networking with in your house, or will the PB be the only machine?

if you're not doing networking, you may want to consider the wireless B router. it's still faster than your DSL connection, so if you're only going to use it to surf, then B is good enough.

if you're going to be sharing files between computers over a wireless network, or if you want to use wireless printing, that's where 802.11g has benefits.

 

[yadmonkey]

I want to be as forward looking as possible. Is the range of 802.11g greater than 802.11b?

 

[numediaman]

I use the Netgear router with both Macs and PCs -- both hard wired and wireless with very little difficulty (although my Powerbook died right after installing an Airport Card -- but I can't blame Netgear for that).

My only complaint with Netgear is that their customer support is shoddy. They use phone rooms abroad and the wait times are outrageously long. (I'm about as liberal as they come, but I'm getting a little irritated with US companies outsourcing all their work overseas. When I called Apple yesterday I asked the guy where he was and he said Austin. I was a little disturbed by this until someone reminded me that Texas was still part of the Union. )