Time To Move Up To A Wireless N Router?

Linksys Wireless N Router

If you just aren't very happy with the general performance of your Wireless G Router it is time for you to move up to a Wireless N Router There are several benefits of Wireless N over Wireless G. Let's consider several of the exciting new benefits Wireless N offers you and leaves Wireless G in it's dust.

Click Here To Get The Best Deals On Wireless N Routers!

Two Biggees - Range And Speed

The 2 distinct advantages over Wireless G really are speed and range. 54Mbps is around all your able to get on a typical Wireless G router. While this is a giant improvement over Wireless B it's nowhere near Wireless N speeds. 300 Mbps is normally where most Wireless N routers top out. This is a 600 percent boost above Wireless G speeds. Another benefit of Wireless N is it's range. Wireless G's range is only about 150 feet. Wireless N's range is right around 300 feet.



You could possibly be wondering if you even need this increased performance. The answer ıs dependent upon you and the way use your home network. If all you do is surf and print then your answer is probably not. Games and downloading will use up alot more bandwidth. This would slow a G network down. Your Wireless G routers can become a frustrating bottleneck any time you start streaming any High-Def video to other pc systems on your network.

Network Usage

Something else take into account is the number of people you anticipate make use of your wireless home network at one time. Most Wireless G routers can handle two people at at one time with little effort. This changes quickly when you've got 3 or 4 people on line at the same time.

Wireless N routers enhance thier range and signal strength with a system of multiple antennas. This Multiple Input Multiple Output system is referred to as MIMO. Combine MIMO with a Wireless N routers speed and you have more than plenty of bandwidth for 3 or 4 folks.

It doesn't stop there. Various high end Wireless N routers are made for video games and streaming High-Def video. Routers manufactured for High-Def video and playing games have high speed processors and extra memory. These routers can be hooked up directly to your Playstation, Xbox or Blueray player.

More Benefits of Wireless N

Yet another important feature of Wireless N is it can run on a much less congested frequency band than wireless G. Wireless G's 2. 4GHZ band is crowed. It happens to be shared with baby monitors, microwave ovens and wireless phones. As a result interference problems caused on this frequency band are generally hard to isolate. Luckily Wireless N also runs on the much less busy 5GHZ frequency band.than the 2. 4GHZ band. This feature is taken a step further by dual-band wireless routers which will let you operate on the two frequencies at one time. One 5GHZ network and the other on the 2.4GHZ band. This keeps your avid gamers from annoying the web surfers inside your home.

Built in USB ports are yet another nice feature of Wireless N Routers. The data on most memory sticks and external harddisks will be able to be shared throughout your network with this USB port. This function is improved on some routers with a internal media server which lets streaming of music and video.


What Could be the Disadvantages?

Now that you are aware all the potential benefits to buying Wireless N router the one concern you could have might be price. The good thing is prices have come way down and this trend almost certainly keep going. As with virtually all technology products any time a product is improved the prices on it's forerunner fall. Frequently this price drop is sizeable. So in case you are the sort of person who does not need to own "latest and greatest" version to hit the shelves this is a very good to get the biggest value for your money. Some pretty decent N routers can be purchased for around the same as Wireless G routers. Another possible downside of Wireless N is compatibilty. You lose the speed and range advantages of Wireless N if all of your adapters and gadgets only work with Wireless G.

You should now be ready to make a more informed purchase when contemplating whether to up grade to a Wireless N Router.

Linksys E2000 Wireless N Router

Fast and easy setup with Gigabit wired ports and extended range.

Get Up To 30% Off On The Linksys E2000 On Amazon! Performance Ease Of Use Price Customer Satisfaction Linksys E2000 Wireless N Router The Linksys E2000 is a high performance Wireless N Router which offers the advantage of "selectable" dual bands. Many households are congested with wireless traffic from microwave ovens, portable phones, baby monitors and neighbors who use Wi-fi on the 2.5GHZ frequency. This can make a strong signal weak and a weak signal useless. Luckily Wireless N travels on both the 2.5 and 5GHZ frequency bands. Simply select the 5GHZ frequency band for your wi-fi devices and say goodbye to your wireless interference problems for good! Gigabit Switch Not only do you have the option to switch bands you also have a gigabit 4 point switch built right in. This allows your wired connection to reach Gigabit speeds. Ten times as fast as most other G or N wireless routers. Extended Range and Security The internal antenna technology provides extended range which will easily reach most areas of larger homes. WPA/WPA encryption combined with SPI firewall protection allow you to keep the bad guys out while special guest access allow you to provide password protected access to the Internet only for your guests. Quick and Easy Setup Even if you are a Wi-Fi novice you should have no difficulties getting the E2000 up and running. Simply pop in the CD and run through the setup screens to get all the computer in your home sharing the 300MBPS internet connection. Get It Cheapest On Amazon Through This Link Great For: Anyone who wants to upgrade from Wireless G speeds. Those who are adding computers or other devices to their wireless network and need more bandwidth and range. Pros Flexibility provided by selectable dual bands Four lightning fast gigabit ports. Ease of set up and parental controls Cons Wireless-N does not pass through obstacles as well as wireless-G. No USB media sharing port like the comparable Netgear WNR3500L . However the E2100L does for just a few dollars more. Get Up To 30% Off On The Linksys E2000 Through This Link

Netgear Wireless-N 300 WNR3500L Router

The Mother of all single-band Wireless-N routers.

Click Here To Get It On Amazon! Performance Ease Of Use Price Customer Satisfaction The Netgear RangeMax Wireless-N300 WNR3500L is a high performance wireless N router built with gamers and multimedia streamers in mind. You can expect flawless performance from this perfect balance between functionality, performance and price. Four wired Gigabit ports and a built-in Readyshare USB port set this router apart from other run of the mill wireless N routers. The QOS feature automatically prioritizes your video and multimedia traffic for the smoothest performance possible. Performance A powerful 480MHZ processor and 64MB of RAM combine with the 8 internal antennas to produce 15 times the speed and 10 times the range of the average wireless G router. Downloading large files, streaming music and HD video are what this router does best. Sharing The built-in USB Readyshare port is perfect for sharing out all your media and data files wirelessly to all the other computers on your network. Just plug in any USB memory stick or portable USB HD and you're ready to go. Ease Of Use The convenient Push N Connect button uses WPS (Wireless Protected Access) to automatically configure your routers and wireless devices with the proper SSID and encryption key. No more fiddling around with large hard-to-remember and easy-to-mistype encryption keys. Get Up To 30% Off On The Netgear WNR3500 Through This Link Great For: Gamers looking for the best possible performance at the best possible price. Streamers looking to stream jitter free HD video throughout the household Anyone looking for a fast and reliable Internet connection. Pros Powerful perfomance from the 480MHZ processor. Lightning fast Gigabit ethernet ports Easy to use USB media sharing port. Open source design for enthusiasts and developers. Cons VPN issues Not the cheapest wireless N router out there but possibly the best. Get It Cheapest On Amazon Through This Link

Linksys E3000 - Review

Linksys E3000 Dual Band Wireless Router allows simultaneous dual bands to run on your network and provides a built-in UPnP media server port to share out your music, video and data files.

Click Here To Get Up To 30% Off On The Linksys E3000! Performance Ease Of Use Price Customer Satisfaction By now you already recognize the advantages of a wireless N router and you understand that Linksys designs their routers for ease of use. The two major things that distinguish the Linksys E3000 from other wireless N routers are: Simultaneous Dual Bands USB port for media sharing. Dual Bands Unlike other so called dual band wireless N routers which allow you to choose between either the 2.5GHZ or 5GHZ frequency bands the E3000 allows you to run both simultaneously. This allow you to run gaming and video streaming sessions on one band while not interfering with surfing printing and file sharing sessions on the other. In a crowded household with many network users this is almost a must. Media Sharing The USB port is your connection to the built in media server which allows your to stream video, music and data from external devices such as USB HDs and memory sticks. This usually works best with a dedicated media server with the storage already built in but it’s a very nice convenience feature. If you already have a media server simply plug it’s Ethernet cable into one of the for Gigabit switch ports and easily stream your multimedia content out to all the PC and devices in your home at wireless N speeds.  Like it’s E2000 counterpart the Linksys E3000 has been optimized for faster gaming and smoother HD video. The UPnP AV media server lets you share files over your network, as well as stream music, video, and photos to an Xbox 360, PS3, or other compatible device. Ease Of Use This depends on whether you prefer to do your network settings manually or by using “EZ Setup” methods such as wizards or Cisco’s Connect software. The software receives mixed reviews. It’s fine for those who want easy access to basic settings but if you’re the type who likes to get in an do more advanced configurations through the web interface you may find the Cisco Connect software does not properly sync up with the changes your make manually. This can leave you with confusing and unresolved conflicts between the software and web interface. Get It Cheapest On Amazon Through This Link The Linksys E3000 dual band wireless router is great for: Gamers and multimedia streamers Anyone in a crowded household with many network users. Pros Simultaneous dual bands Gigabit wired connections. USB port for media sharing. Easy setup for beginners. Cons Cisco Connect software can be a hindrance if you’re an advanced user. Guest network issues Not everyone wants to plunk down over a hundred bucks for a wireless router Get Up To 30% Off On The Netgear WNDR3700 Through This Link

Netgear WNDR3700 Vs Linksys E3000 - High Performance Showdown!

Here is a direct feature-by-feature comparison between these two behemoths of the wireless networking world. We also have the actual numbers produced by extensive testing done by Smallnetbuilder.com in the price/performance ratio row. As you can see they are very close in almost every area. In the price/performance category you have to give the edge to the Netgear WNDR3700. I personally chose the Netgear because of it’s processor power, sleek looks and customer satisfaction ratings. You be the judge.

	Netgear WNDR3700 Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router Lowest price: $ 135	Linksys E3000 High Performance Wireless-N Gigabit Router Lowest price: $ 112
Dual-band	Yes	Yes
*Price/Performance Ratio	$135/*41.5Mbps	$112/*33.8Mbps
Bridging/Repeating (WDS)	Yes	No
Wi-Fi Protected Setup	Yes	Yes
WAN	10/100/1000 (1)	10/100/1000 (1)
LAN	10/100/1000 (4)	10/100/1000 (4)
Processor	680 MH	480 MHz
RAM	32 MB	64 MB
Flash	8 MB	8 MB
Switch	4 port Gigabit	4 port Gigabit
WLAN	Atheros XSPAN	Dual-band, dual radio 802.11n
QoS	Yes	Yes
VPN Endpoint	No	No
Other Features	~ Wireless Guest Networks ~ Internet bandwidth metering ~ USB port for NAS or flash drives	~ USB port for NAS or flash drives ~ Cisco Connect software on CD ~ Guest WLAN and parental controls (Only with Cisco Connect)
*Statistics provided by Smallnetbuilder.com	*Average of six different locations in a two story home ranging from 6 to 65 feet away.

The Linksys WNDR3700 is still one of the best gaming routers on the market. It was one of the first wireless routers to be designed specifically for multimedia streaming and gaming. It has since been replaced with the WNDR37AV. Actually the AV is the same hardware with a new name and marketing campaign. Of interest to those in the gaming community is the new WNDR4500 which truly takes gaming performance to the next level. When shopping for the best router for gaming you want to consider gigabit switch ports, QOS or Quality Of Service, Additional RAM and processor power and dual bands. These are all important considerations when looking for the best router for gaming.

Netgear WNDR3700 Dual Band Wireless Router

Click Here To Get Up To 30% Off On The Netgear WNDR3700! Performance Ease Of Use Price Customer Satisfaction Looking For The Ultimate Networking Machine? In terms of sheer performance the NETGEAR WNDR3700 leaves other wireless-N routers in its dust. Both the WNDR3700 and WNDR37AV were designed for those who demand far more performance than what is available from your average Wireless-G or Wireless-N wireless router. If you've been struggling to find a router that offers jitter-free HD video streaming and lag-free gaming this router was designed for you. Large file transfers are a snap with the 300Gbps per band and gigabit wire Ethernet ports. Oh and let’s not forget the convenient USB port which allow you to effortlessly share media files on most memory sticks to all the computers on your wireless network! I found the ReadySHARE USB port works flawlessly on both wired and wireless connections and is faster and easier then the same implementation on other routers. This port works best with memory sticks. Portable USB hard drives will work but not quite as fast. Get It Cheapest On Amazon Through This Link Why Dual Bands? Use the 5GHZ band as dedicated video network for gaming and streaming high-quality HD video. Use the 2.4GHZ band for uninterrupted surfing, printing and file sharing Now you can max out both high speed Wireless-N networks simultaneously without interfering with each other! The Netgear WNDR3700 is great for: Serious gamers Small businesses Anyone who requires the highest level performance from their wireless network. Pros Fast wired and wireless connection speeds. Dual bands for ultimate in flexibility. USB port for media sharing. Easy setup. Cons No VPN pass through support Minor guest network issues Pricey but worth it. Why They Call It The “Ultimate Networking Machine” Power - The most powerful processor (680 MHZ) of any consumer router on the market enables you to run just about any game or application you want on your home network with ease. Speed – Wireless-N (300Mbps) speed for streaming HD videos, simultaneous downloads, and online gaming. Dual Bands - Run games and video on one band while simultaneously surfing and printing on the other without interference. Storage - Use the built USB port to share out music, video and other files to all computers on your wireless network. Gigabit – Four ultra fast gigabit ports for your wired connections. Security – Enterprise level security and a guest network Easy Setup - WPS “push button” setup can have you up and running in minutes. Get Up To 30% Off On The Netgear WNDR3700 Through This Link

Shopping For A New Wireless Router?

When looking for a new wireless router forget the latest trends, buzzwords or whiz bang features in all the advertisements. Otherwise you may end up paying for features you'll never need. Your focus should to be on how you expect to use your wireless home network. Start by recognizing which type of wireless network user you are.

Network users generally fall into one of three categories:

1. Surfers
2. Streamers
3. Gamers

Surfers

Surfers generally do not put a big demand on a wireless network. They simply want to sit comfortably in a remote location on the couch or by the pool, surf the web, send emails and print out a document or two every once in a while. A basic Wireless G router is more than sufficient for this type of network user. Wireless-G (Max 108 MB per second) routers and adapters are inexpensive and backward-compatible with wireless N. 

Streamers

While streamers do their fair share of surfing they are mostly into sharing files from computer to computer. They spend a lot of time searching for and downloading large movie, music and video files to a central computer and streaming out to multiple PCs on the network. Video and multimedia files put a heavy load on a wireless network and should not be interfered with by other activities.

The best type of wireless router for Streamers is a wireless n router (Max 320MB per second) which uses MIMO (Multiple antennas) to fill the room with a signal that seemingly comes in from all directions. Many wireless N routers also have a features called QOS which allows you to optimize your network for video.

Gamers

Many Gamers feel the only useful purpose for a computer is running the latest games and hanging out in chat rooms with their friends. Games are timing sensitive applications which need the fastest, strongest signal possible to run without lag or hanging.

Gamers can typically be found in close proximity to other Surfers and Streamers who can easily become frustrated about the lack of bandwidth left over by Gamers. The type of wireless router needed in a household filled with Gamers, Surfers and Streamers far exceeds the capabilities of your typical wireless G or even N router.

The best type of wireless router for this household is a dual band wireless router which allows you to run two totally different networks from the same router. Dual band routers allow you to run your networks on totally different frequency bands to keep them from interfering with or "stepping on" each other.

Dual Bands

You can set up your dual band wireless router as follows:

SSID #1 2.47 GHZ Band. (Wireless G, N) Surfing, printing and file sharing.

SSID #2 5 GHZ Band. (Wireless N, A) Gaming and video, music streaming.

Of course a dual band router is much more expensive than a wireless-G or wireless-N router but they are coming down in price. If you,your friends and family are serious about getting the most you can from a wireless network a dual band wireless router is the way to go.

Wireless Security

Another consideration when purchasing a wireless router is wireless network security. The types of wireless security do not vary from router to router but the way you set it up does. Most routers come with the traditional setup CD which you can pop in and follow and hopefully end up with a secure wireless connection. A new feature called WPS or Wireless Protected Setup is designed to make setting up security even easier for consumers. It involves simply typing in an 8 digit pin or pressing a button to activate. Your wireless security parameters are then automatically generated for you. There are minor caveats involved with WPS and the way it works on networks that have been set up in more traditional methods. So a good understanding of setting up wireless security is still helpful but not always necessary.

Hopefully after reading this article you should know what to look for in a wireless router, what to avoid and what is best for you.