Router Q's :: MBP and Wii/DS's (N range)

[::Lisa::]

Hi all,

I saw a thread on N routers and my MBP having a N wireless card inside. Anyway, I wanted to ask some router questions...

I have the following router which sends out a G/B signal. It is a Linksys WAG54GS. I am on 8GB internet, although because I live a little away from the exchange and line noise/quality etc I currently get about 6.7MB and not the full 8MB. We currently have the following items in my household that access the net..

1. My MBP
2. Husbands PC laptop
3. Children's PC desktop
4. Wii
5. My DS
6. Husbands DS
7. Child #1 DS
8. Child #2 DS

Now onto the Q. I want to buy a Linksys N router. I'm on DSL (through the telephone line broadband). I know my MBP has a N wireless card but will the N router work with the above items, or should I just leave everything as it is as everything works fine really.

I obviously don't want to buy the new router if nothing works on it. I don't know much about them. Do they send out a G signal too for the things that run on G?

Thanks in advance.

 

[dolphin842]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Wii and DS can only accept G/B signals. While these will work with an N router, the router must fall back to a G/B range and speed in order to accomplish this, which negates the point of getting an N router in the first place. At least, this is how the Apple AirPort Extreme works... perhaps there are N routers that send out multiple signals to avoid this?

On the other hand, if the N router has wired ports, perhaps you can just plug your current router in there, set it to a channel that doesn't conflict with the N signal, and use that for all the devices that can only use the B/G spec. I haven't tried this myself, but plan on doing so to accommodate the Wii once an N router arrives in the house.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Yeah, the N router will work fine with a DS, but a DS only supports 802.11b so it will only run at 802.11b speeds.

The Wii is G/B, so it will run at G speeds. You'll see no speed increase.

 

[::Lisa::]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Wii and DS can only accept G/B signals. While these will work with an N router, the router must fall back to a G/B range and speed in order to accomplish this, which negates the point of getting an N router in the first place. At least, this is how the Apple AirPort Extreme works... perhaps there are N routers that send out multiple signals to avoid this?

On the other hand, if the N router has wired ports, perhaps you can just plug your current router in there, set it to a channel that doesn't conflict with the N signal, and use that for all the devices that can only use the B/G spec. I haven't tried this myself, but plan on doing so to accommodate the Wii once an N router arrives in the house.

Thanks for replying. Yes your right about the Wii and DS only accepting the B/G frequency. I knew that which is my concern for the worries in posting this thread as I don't want to upgrade to the N to make my MBP go much faster then spite everything else kwim? That's a good idea you have there about the routers although I was hoping to just buy the N router and see if the other items with G/B ran off it. I will have to look into the tech specs of the other routers. Does the Apple AirPort Extreme send out both signals then? If so, I guess I might have to get saving

Yeah, the N router will work fine with a DS, but a DS only supports 802.11b so it will only run at 802.11b speeds.

The Wii is G/B, so it will run at G speeds. You'll see no speed increase.

Yeh, that's what I feared. Just out of curiosity, is there that much of a speed increase on the N compared to running G? I mean I've read that it's up to 9 times faster than basic G. I'm running the G with SpeedBooster apparently.

 

[::Lisa::]

OK this is the one I'm looking out. I hope the link works as it's got a session ID that probably won't work and time-out. (If it dos it's the UK WAG325N
Wireless-N ADSL2+ Gateway) It's the only N ADSL router they have in the UK

Anyway, it states the following...

With Wireless-N, the farther away you are, the more speed advantage you get. It works great with standard Wireless-G and -B equipment, but when both ends of the wireless link are Wireless-N, the Gateway can increase the throughput even more by using twice as much radio band, yielding speeds up to 12 times as fast as standard Wireless-G.

So I guess it does work with G/B then? *shrug*

 

[dolphin842]

Again, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt you will see any faster internet speeds with an N router. You would see faster local networking speeds between N-compatible devices (which would be useful if you, say, had an AppleTV or move a lot of big files between home machines). But the standard operation of an N router (Apple's router included) is to devolve to the range and speed of a B or G router if a B or G-only device connects. It seems that the ADSL router you mentioned is subject to this limitation as well. So unless you accommodate the Wii, DS, etc. with a separate router, you'd never see N speeds from an N router in the first place (in order to do that, 100% of your connected gear have to be N-compliant).

Of course, as the old adage goes: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It sounds like you have a working solution at the moment. I've always had troubles getting wireless to work properly; if all is well, I'd say don't mess with it!