Dual band n wifi

[Gary T]

I'm new to wireless and looking at the Dell in the Best Buy Blue Label series--- the one with the WIDI. I go to Best Buy and ask for a router-- I see single band and dual band n--------- and yet the salesman says I need an adapter for the laptop to run dualband? Is that true? Don't they make laptops with the dualband already installed on the laptop so you don't have to buy another add-on?

 

[spidey07]

Welcome to the forums. Dual band uses both the 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz frequencies. So you'll need an appropriate router and client card to take advantage of the extra frequencies. If such a card is included in a laptop totally depends on the laptop and what card is in it.

Also make sure you look for 802.11n, not Draft-N or Draft N 2.0 stuff.

 

[JackMDS]

If the Router's Wireless is a dual band and you want to use the 5GHZ band, you do need an adapter in the laptop to run dual band.

However, if it happened to be that your laptop Wireless is already Dual, then you are lucky.

If the Router is single band 2.4GHz then it can not be connected to with the 5GHz of a dual band.

 

[Gary T]

Thanks------- I asked the salesperson at Best Buy and he said there is no laptop on the market today that has built-in n dualband--- that every single laptop out there today needs that 5.0 Ghz n-band adaptor. Seems strange...... wouldn't it be easier to just have it in the laptop already?

 

[JackMDS]

Unless for some specific reason you must have Dual band, it is not that important.

Good Laptops are not Cheap, the price of replacing, or adding a Wireless card is not a major variable in deciding upon a Laptop.

 

[spidey07]

Thanks------- I asked the salesperson at Best Buy and he said there is no laptop on the market today that has built-in n dualband--- that every single laptop out there today needs that 5.0 Ghz n-band adaptor. Seems strange...... wouldn't it be easier to just have it in the laptop already?

He's very wrong and was trying to sell you a card. Dual-band cards have been built into laptops for some 4 years now. Just depends on the card and the laptop.

 

[Lean L]

Thanks------- I asked the salesperson at Best Buy and he said there is no laptop on the market today that has built-in n dualband--- that every single laptop out there today needs that 5.0 Ghz n-band adaptor. Seems strange...... wouldn't it be easier to just have it in the laptop already?

I would say little white lie but this is just lying on a new level... I believe most laptops have dual band capabilities by default now. Certainly the last 2 I bought had it.

 

[Emulex]

but can they bond all the channels as one?

does your wifi card show max speed of 450 or 600mbps?

 

[spidey07]

They just use a single channel band in each spectrum for max data rate of 600 Mbs.

 

[Emulex]

you'd need to use every channel in both bands to do 600mbps

 

[spidey07]

I'll have to read more about it then because I thought it only needed 4 streams/bands to do 600. Two on 2.4 and two on 5.0 ghz.