Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

RichAustin · 2011-09-10 14:54:27

Hi All

I have been thinking for some time about getting a new router. My current one is a Huawei EchoLife HG520b. I get pretty decent speeds out of it but would obviously like it to be faster. If I upgraded, for a modest price say around £50 or so, what sort of performance boost could I expect to see?

Thanks
Rich

.:B:. · 2011-09-10 15:46:24

Makes a world of difference, but it all depends on signal, reception, and interference with other networks - that is, if you go with a 2,4 GHz router. 5 GHz isn't as crowded.

I went from 2,4 MBps (802.11g) to 10-14 MBps (802.11n 5 GHz).

Don't forget your WLAN client is a key factor as well. You can get a three-stream 802.11n 5 GHz router, but if your client only does single-stream 2,4 GHz, you're pretty much f***ed.

Last edited by .:B:. (2011-09-10 15:47:54)

litemotiv · 2011-09-10 15:49:46

I have a dualband (2.4ghz + 5ghz) router here, on the G band i pull about 1.6MB/s, on the N band about 4 - 4.5MB/s, so the difference is noticeable. Beware though that N on 5Ghz has a pretty high attenuation, so your throughput will drop considerably if you have to go through walls, ceilings etc.

Last edited by litemotiv (2011-09-10 15:50:37)

the sad clown · 2011-09-10 15:51:08

You'd probably like to get rid of the chinese porn too? Anyway, here is a comparison: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.1 … Comparison

For speed improvements, that is going to depend on where your current bottleneck is. If your router really is the slowest element of your network, then you will see improvements, but for someone like me, my service provider is the real bottleneck, as I don't even max out my g router, so I wouldn't see any improvement with an n router.

But even if you don't see a speed improvement, 802.11n is supposed to have improved range, both indoors and outdoors, so if you have bad spots in your house, this very well might mean a significant improvement, even if the maximum speed doesn't change.

Another improvement is in its greater versatility for frequency use. So again, if you are experiencing problems with interference with your g device, an n routher would probably improve your situation.

It all depends on your particular circumstances as to whether you will notice any improvement with the purchase of an n router.

RichAustin · 2011-09-10 19:48:24

Where my router is situated is in the living room window, behind a curtain. I've a shrouded (not sure of that's the right term but it's sheathed like co-ax cable) digital cable connected to the router. This is in turn connected to a short extension cable from the main telephone point - I want to get rid of the extension and connect direct to the main point but haven't got round to it yet.

I've got TalkTalk as the provider, and I get about 6256 kbps down, and 755 kbps upload. I think that's pretty good but of course it would be better if it was quicker. The improvement in range would be great as I write a lot in the garden, weather permitting. I think I will get one if only for the improvement in range - and to get rid of the Chinese porn :-)

Any suggestions as to what to get in the upto £50 range? Preferably with Linux support on the box - it's not that I can't set it up, it's the principle. It's not essential that it be porn free.

Thanks
Rich

.:B:. · 2011-09-10 20:15:10

TP-Link WR1043ND is a popular and cheap option, and it runs Linux. Only 2,4 GHz though.

litemotiv · 2011-09-10 21:22:57

RichAustin wrote:

The improvement in range would be great as I write a lot in the garden

That's a little more complicated. Theoretically N offers more range since it uses a multi-antenna technique, but this only applies to the 2.4Ghz band. Throughput however is lower on 2.4Ghz, because of the slower carrier but also because of the so-called 'good neighbour' policy to not interfere with other networks (2.4Ghz N-routers basically clock down all the time to facilitate neighbouring access points). On 5Ghz the initial throughput is much higher but the range is much less because of the higher attenuation (higher frequencies carry less far).

the sad clown · 2011-09-10 21:25:27

After having a look, it seems most of the cheaper ones will not have the 5GHz bandwidth available. However, if you are looking for a linuxy option, pehraps something with OpenWrt or DD-Wrt? I've heard Linksys routers commonly use this. Apparently they're not the only one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6833320039

You'll have to do some research, though, as I am not certain how reliable these are.

lifeafter2am · 2011-09-10 21:27:29

the sad clown wrote:

After having a look, it seems most of the cheaper ones will not have the 5GHz bandwidth available. However, if you are looking for a linuxy option, pehraps something with OpenWrt or DD-Wrt? I've heard Linksys routers commonly use this. Apparently they're not the only one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6833320039
You'll have to do some research, though, as I am not certain how reliable these are.

If you are going to do something like this I would highly recommend you take a look at pfsense. I think pfsense is much more mature than OpenWRT, DDWRT, and Tomato.

I actually run a pfsense embedded router with a wireless N access point plugged into it. Not an all in one solution, but never had a single issue with it.

.:B:. · 2011-09-10 22:05:02

I have seen few routers, especially wireless ones, that support Pfsense, except for some embedded or regular x86 solutions. Can you point out any consumer models that can run pfsense?

lifeafter2am · 2011-09-10 22:57:08

.:B:. wrote:

I have seen few routers, especially wireless ones, that support Pfsense, except for some embedded or regular x86 solutions. Can you point out any consumer models that can run pfsense?

Yeah, this is probably not what you would call consumer grade, as it is an embedded solution, but its the most solid router I have ever owned hands down. Well worth the money both in terms of reliability and security; though may be overkill for others.

http://store.netgate.com/Netgate-m1n1wa … -P219.aspx

You can buy a Atheros Wireless card to install into this and make it "all-in-one", but I opted for the crypto acceleration chip instead and use an external access point.

davidgurvich · 2011-09-10 23:12:33

Good 802.11n routers should provide a more robust connection when paired with good adapters. If you have a local media server that will work much better. For accessing remote content on the Internet there is no real difference unless you have an ISP providing more than a 20MB connections.

Keep in mind that a fast connection to the Internet is about 3MB(most providers advertise in megaBITS so an advertised rate of 24Mb=3MB). That compares with speeds of 11Mb max on an 802.11b connection. So a good 802.11g router should be able to provide more bandwidth than your ISP is giving you.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-09-10 14:54:27

Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#2 2011-09-10 15:46:24

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#3 2011-09-10 15:49:46

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#4 2011-09-10 15:51:08

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#5 2011-09-10 19:48:24

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#6 2011-09-10 20:15:10

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#7 2011-09-10 21:22:57

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#8 2011-09-10 21:25:27

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#9 2011-09-10 21:27:29

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#10 2011-09-10 22:05:02

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#11 2011-09-10 22:57:08

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

#12 2011-09-10 23:12:33

Re: Wireless N Router - how much difference would it make?

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