Wireless N vs G

[elijahRW]

I am currently un-educated with this new wireless N technology and I'm not to smart with entire wireless setup.
Right now I have a Netgear B/G router in my house that is perfect.
We get 54 MBPS with great range throughout the entire house.

Now wireless N is supposed to be 300MBPS. What's the difference how fast it is? If it's faster does that mean it'll send packets faster from the modem to me?

Please explain this to me?

Thanks IA

[dtd00d]

There is probably a guide somewhere but I will try to explain it in my own words.

N is faster than G.
An N notebook on a G network will run at G speed.
The only perk to N if you already have G is perhaps stronger reception from the added antennas.
You need an N router to operate at N speeds.
However if you don't have a superfast internet connection, you might not see speed improvement by getting an N router. 54Mbps (not MBps*) is faster than some internet connections even when coupled with slightly degraded signal and medium level encryption.
There are other versions of G that go a few times the transmission rate (108Mbps+) of basic G known as G-MIMO or SuperG etc., depending on the company. An N card should be able to automatically work at these enhanced G speeds.
Get N if you have the money-- it will future-proof your laptop by a few months at least.

Hope that helps!!

*Mbps vs MBps
Mbps = mega BITS (binary digits) per second
MBps = mega BYTES per second
There are 8 bits to every byte, so 8 Mbps to every MBps. Thus, a basic wireless G connection @ 54Mbps = 6.75MB/s, minus some technical overhead and the like.
I think that's how it works...

[millermagic]

It has a higher data transfer rate than wireless B and G. However, if you are just browsing the internet or gaming over the internet, you will not notice a difference by upgrading to wireless N.

It would send frames from the modem to you faster, but you would have a slower internet (small pipe) than your wireless (big pipe).

[dtd00d]

Originally Posted by millermagic

It would send frames from the modem to you faster, but you would have a slower internet (small pipe) than your wireless (big pipe).

Being annoyingly techincal: an N card would operate at G speeds, so things would be sent at the speed of G. The only difference might be a stronger signal, so the frames would have fewer errors in them. :P

[elijahRW]

I see
Thanks. I'll rep ya both

[Wirelessman]

Hey wait, I have also something to say, am I still in time?

[StormEffect]

I don't recommend getting N unless you are unhappy with your G speeds. G is already MUCH faster than the vast majority of people's internet connection. Therefore, upgrading your wireless connection from G to N wont make your internet faster.

If you are transferring files and video wirelessly, THEN maybe you should consider N.

[midgetdiablo]

Wow, very useful information. But could someone explain to me how 3G and WiMax fits into all this? I'm getting an aspire one which has a 3G and WiMax module for upgrade. What does this do?

[Wirelessman]

N & G is for the micro cell, 3G is for the WWAN and WiMAX is for macro cell. In other words N/G is for smaller cell scenario, and 3G/WWAN/WiMAX/LTE, etc is for bigger mobility or cells. However 3G will never match the 300Mbps of N, WiMAX promise up to 130Mbps and LTE 172Mbps.

However, 130Mbps and 172Mbps is the speed between the user and the AP, what is the speed to the ISP? I don't know. In the case of N for WiFi the speed is 300Mbps but the speed to the ISP is limited by your service provider which could be as little as 1Mbps and as much as 50Mbps using fiber.

[INEEDMONEY]

Doesn't N offer better range/signal strength?