802.11b/g router range

[saimike]

i'm looking into buying either a 802.11b or .11g router, and was wondering what sort of ranges and throughputs i should expect from the various manufacturers, esp netgear and dlink since amazon seems to be selling them cheap.

google didnt turn up any articles that compared the ranges/datarates, so i thought perhaps someone here might know, or might be able to share some personal experiences. any comments will be appreciated, thanks.

 

[ktwebb]

Unfortunately, unless your wireless environment has no obstructions at all, posted tests, lab or anecdotal, don't really help you all that much. Might give you an idea on some level but just about every situation is different when it comes to wireless LAN gear as it related to range and throughput. You can get a best case scenario, which is about half the advertised bandwidth with .11b, and perhaps a little more with native .11g gear, 4-6 Mb for b and 25-30+ for g. There are some "turbo" .11g AP's and client devices that push 50 Mb. Jack will probably be along and post some links that could help you. Just don't take any numbers you see online at face value because they may not apply to you at all. Won't know until you test with your gear.

 

[AFB]

Netgear=D-link for range, there is not much difference in the consumer class with wireless. I would expect about 50-ft indoors and about 100ft outside.

 

[saimike]

ktwebb, thanks for the heads up. so thats why i couldnt find any reviews with such info at all. i'm still deciding betw b and g ... i hv a 802.11b pcmcia card, but since the g router is just a bit more i might end up getting that in case i end up upgrading my pcmcia card in the future.

amdfanboy ... do u know how does belkin perform compared to dlink/netgear? i only know them to make UPS and other office accessories, and it seems that now they make cheap wireless routers. i really like the linksys dual ant design -- cos theoretically give me some diversity gains. but they cost quite a bit more than dlink/netgear.

 

[AFB]

I would go dual antenna design. I have a Dllink with that and it is in an " |_ " shape and works quite well. Have you looked at 108Mbs routers ? They are not much more,