How much real world difference between 802.11B vs. 802.11G?

[RussianSensation]

Hi I am looking to purchase a laptop and the premium for G over B is $99 cdn on dell.

Now here is what dell says:

Data Rates Supported
802.11b
1, 2, 5.5, 11 Mbps
802.11g
6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Range1 at 1Mbps (typical)
802.11b
- 11 Mbps up to 250 meters (open environment)
55 meters (indoors)
- 6 Mbps up to 300 meters (open environment)
70 meters (indoors)

802.11g
- 54 Mbps up to 150 meters (open environment)
30 meters (indoors)
- 24 Mbps up to 300 meters (open environment)
70 meters (indoors)

here is my understanding of this:

1 Mbps = 1,000 Kbps (where M = Mega = 10^6, K = Kilo = 10^3)
If 1 Byte = 8 bits
1,000 kbps = 1000/8 = 125 KBps

Then 11Mbps = 11,000 Kbpr = 11,000/8 = 1,375 KBps or 1.375 MB/sec?

Please tell me i am calculating this wrong or my logic is flawed because i've never seen internet reach 1.3mb/sec in the real world not home/office/school use. I doubt if this is the theoretical rate of the card, that it will ever reach those speeds since the workplace won't have it this fast. So how much of a real world difference will it make having wireless B11Mbps vs. G 54Mbps

If i am calculating it wrong, my bad....can you please show me the proper values then. I'd appreciate it if someone told me if the investment is worth the extra $100 cdn.

 

[Goosemaster]

1Mbps vs 20Mb/s actual Transfer rate.

ExtremeG and SuperG with get you about 40Mb/s

 

[RussianSensation]

Extreme G, Super G?

I am just asking if i brought it to university what difference would it make for surfing the internet and downloading music or school files?

Even if my school's wireless internet is 1mb/sec which I highly doubt since my university's top speed never exceeds 1mb/sec with non-wireless, then it will download a song in 6 seconds you are saying....well i dont care if its 6 seconds or 1 sec i am not gonna download 1gig files.

I was just wondering if it affects the real world transfer rates, because i dont know where you can get 1mb/20mb speeds...........

 

[JackMDS]

On Wireless:

802.11b vs. 802.11g.

For Internet surfing it does mot matter since Internet broadband connection is slower than 802.11b

For traffic across Internal LAN, 802.11g is significantly faster.

General Wireless info.

As a frame of reference. The transfer ?Speed? of a Good Windows based 100Mb/sec. Network is 70 to 80Mb/sec. (b=bits 8bits=1Byte)

These are the most common used Wireless standard and their official rating.

802.11b = 11Mb/sec. Network "Speed" (Carrier transmission 2.4GHz)
802.11g = 54Mb/sec. Network "Speed? (Carrier transmission 2.4GHz)

Wireless Ethernet needs additional protocol over head for the transfer. In addition, it is not as stable as Wired so it needs extra processing procedures.

As a result the 11Mb/sec. of the Network chipset is translated to a much lower actual performance. Usually 4-6Mb/sec.

Few 802.11b hardware units are also capable to work at 22Mb/sec. (usually referred to as b+) it is nice if it works, in real term will yield 20%-40% more than 11Mb/sec. systems.

The 802.11g line that is rated 54Mb/sec. in the real world it yields 18-22Mb/sec.

Log the following page. The differences between the first set of graphs to the second represent the performance differences between 802.11b to 802.11g

Link to: 802.11a/b/g SOHO Routers & Access Points: Performance

Notice how the D-Link and Netgear Super G Stick above the rest of the Crowd.

Note. If you go with Super G all Wireless units should be of the same Brand.

At the moment the best performance for the price is: D-Link Extreme G Bundle Kit ($89 after rebate)

On Distance.

2.4Ghz. is the microwave band; it looses energy on Water molecules.

Indoor, No obstructions (no walls, or Baroque type furniture), it will go up to 100' -120'

Once walls get in to the equation it is a fast decline.

One or two "flimsy" (i.e. not concrete full of metal) walls will yield 40-70'.

Three walls or more? You never know until you try.

If you are almost there, a good external Antenna can save you.

Outdoor with Entry Level Equipment as is out of the box. You can get above 100?

With Direct line of sight using High towers and very good directional Antennae it can work for few miles.

Link: Wireless - Basic Configuration.

Link: Wireless Security for the Home User.

Link to: Extending the Distance of Entry Level Wireless Network.

 

[Goosemaster]

Basically, faster is aways better. For your university, forget about super G and extreme g. THey are proprietary technologies of Dlink and Netgear geared at home network. THey only work with their own products and cause massive interferance to any neighborhood netowrks.


Honestly, I would get the 802.11g option just so you do not hav to upgrade in the future. 802.11g is also bacjwards compatible ith 802.11b.


As for speeds, both offer reasonable speeds that allow for even my 3Mbits cable interent to traverse it full speed.

802.11g just offers speed that will be handy in downloading larger files.

Basically, you only need to get 802.11b, but I recommend 802.11g because it will be integrated into your laptop.

integrated = good sometimes

 

[RussianSensation]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, all this information (JackMDS) and clarification of some of my concerns.

 

[Dogma420]

essentially, the only bottleneck is going to be transfers (files, etc) between PCs on your network.

B is just fine, no need for G, but for $99 you might as well get it. You'll never bottleneck if doing websurfing with B.

 

[ktwebb]

Not exactly true. Under most conditions you won't fill the pipe, but 802.11b will back down it's signalling rate as the association degrades. You can associate at 1, 2 or 5.5 Mbps, as well as the 11 Mb rate. Even on a 2 Mb link, minus the hit you take anyway, you can easily abuse that link with a fast broadband connection. As a general rule .11b is fine for most any high speed internet connection however there are situations where it's simply not enough.