My Dad has a Linksys wireless router "B" series. I am working off his base. If he upgrades to a "G" series would I have to get a "G" series card to install or can I still use the factory installed card? What I am trying to do is get quicker downloads and try to stop the lagging my son gets when he is gaming and I am trying to download something at the same time. I forgot to mention my son also is working off my Dads wireless base station. Is this the way to go by upgrading the wireless router?
2006-12-24 17:05:14 · 5 answers · asked by James D 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
It depends, but likely not.
Most 802.11G (max data rate of 54mbit/sec) wireless routers will also support 802.11B(max data rate of 11mbit/sec) . You could run both, however some routers degrade the signal to support the slowest card. Your 11 mbit B card could degrade your dads G card. In any case, the router must support both.
The question of speed may be pointless with respect to the router anyway. Check your DSL or cable router speed first. Comcast is typically less than 8 mbit/sec and only 700K upload. DSL is usually half of that. It is the connection to your router and even if your wireless speed is faster, that is only useful between you and your home network devices, such as between PCs. Otherwise the signal is delayed to match the speed of the cable network. In other words, don;t bother upgrading...your 11 mbit 802.11B is good enough to support an 8mbit internet connection. A 54 mbit G connection will get you no better response to the 8 mbit bottleneck to the Internet.
As an anaolgy, consider that putting in bigger pipes in your house to increase water pressure is a useless exercise if the water enters the house through a garden hose. You need a bigger "pipe"
Yeah, it sucks...cable providers and DSL need to do better. Europe has systems that are twice as fast.
2006-12-24 17:13:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can continue to use your "B" card but it won't benefit from the "G" speeds. Some wireless routers and WAPs will throttle ALL connections to "B" speeds if there are ANY "B" cards on the network. If you get one of those, you'll need to upgrade all of them to "G" cards.
Unless you have an internet connection that's faster than about 5 mbps you probably won't see any benefit on internet bandwidth. Local network performance will improve though so if you're gaming head-to-head on your LAN that will improve and leave more LAN bandwidth available for anyone who is on the Internet.
2006-12-25 01:13:15 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
ditto to what Bostonian said...also
depending on how many users are on the wireless link there will always be some lag. 802.11x is not a true bidirectional protocol (doesn't send and receive simultaneously).
if multiple users are using the wireless link try to position the router in a centralized location...
2006-12-25 01:25:05 · answer #3 · answered by lv_consultant 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would go with wireless N it broadcasts in B, G54, G108, and N. teverything is downward compatible these days. The card would be too.
2006-12-25 02:24:52 · answer #4 · answered by isoar4jc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's ok but if u want to have a faster connection, u need to upgrade your internet connection or subscribe a separate broadband connection.
2006-12-25 01:22:20 · answer #5 · answered by by_ng 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋