is 108mb wireless *really* 108mb? anyone use it?

[joelmold]

hi all,

for aesthetic (i know, i know) reasons i'd like to be able to stream media from my network file server to my htpc. none of my files are high-bandwidth (i've read full-quality dvd is only around 12mb/s, and i won't even be doing that high).

i've tried using my sbc/att dsl modem with 54mb wireless built in to stream media, but the result is a little choppy and slow-- not unwatchable, but definitely distracting-- even though the connection gets 4/5 bars. local files on my htpc don't have any problems, so i know it's the network and not the cpu.

my questions:

1) if i buy an independent 108mb router, is it likely to work better? i'm looking at the D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Gaming Router, which has received rave reviews on Newegg.

2) can i connect my sbc dsl modem/router to the new wireless router via ethernet cable, and use the new router as my primary router for home network and internet? (ie, not connect directly to the sbc dsl modem, just kind of use it as a pass-through) i will connect my file server to the new wireless router also.

3) i don't really know how 108mb works-- i have a 54mb network now and it seems to work great, except for the streaming issue. if i buy a 108mb pci card will i automatically get 108mb? what pci card word you recommend?

thanks very much!

 

[joelmold]

anyone?

 

[zephyrprime]

As I understand it, with DSSS (direct sequence spread spectrum), which it seems like most ap's use, every data bit is sent twice so you can really only get half of the state bandwidth at best. Add in overhead and I've noticed that you can only get about 21mbps tops. With 108mbps equipment, you should be able to get twice that which is still only 42mbps but that should be adequate. Wireless gear varies greatly in terms of real world performance and there are many routers out there that are genuine turds.

You can definitely get a new router and connect it to your equipment but you will want to disable your exisiting router's wifi if possible.

Be sure to read reviews so you don't get a dud machine.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2013307,00.asp
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126852-page,1/article.html

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I use a Dlink 108mb router (DI-624?) and it is smoking fast, I've never tested the throughput but it feels easily 2x faster than my old router.

Yes you can just pass through your DSL modem and use the wireless router as the hub for you LAN.

The only downside (at least on mine) is that your entire network runs at the lowest connected speed. In other words, to get 108mbs all connected adapters have to support 108mb, the second you connect with an older 54mb wireless adapter the whole LAN drops to 54mb.

I believe that a 108mb is basically just a dual channel 54mb, so your in effect daisy-chaining two 54mb connections

 

[joelmold]

thanks for the great information, especially the bit about disabling the wireless in my current router for pass-through (not sure how to do this, but i'll take a look when i get home), and that the wireless network is limited by the speed of the slowest device connected. most of the time the only device connected will be my htpc, so i don't think this will be an issue.

i'm undecided between the DI-624 and the DGL-4300 (the "gaming" router). the 624 is much cheaper, but then the 4300 has a near unanimous 5 star rating. i won't be doing much gaming (if any) wirelessly, but could the packet prioritization help in streaming too?

it seems either one would work with the DWL-G520 pci wireless adapter to get 108mb rates, is this correct?

 

[joelmold]

actually, i just noticed in the product descriptions of the DI-624 and the DWL-G520: "Up to 108 Mbps with AirPlus Xtreme G products". but it doesn't say this in the specs of the DGL-4300. does this matter?? it seems the first two would work well together, but i'm not sure if i mixed the pci adapter with the gaming router.

thanks.

 

[Rubycon]

About 40Mbps MAX generally. These gimmicks bond a PAIR of 2.4GHz channels (theoretically) doubling the bandwidth of standard 54G which is about 20Mbps.

Most of the time 54G "feels" about the same as standard 10Mbps Ethernet, sometimes faster. Definitely a far cry from wired fast Ethernet.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: joelmold
thanks for the great information, especially the bit about disabling the wireless in my current router for pass-through (not sure how to do this, but i'll take a look when i get home), and that the wireless network is limited by the speed of the slowest device connected. most of the time the only device connected will be my htpc, so i don't think this will be an issue.

i'm undecided between the DI-624 and the DGL-4300 (the "gaming" router). the 624 is much cheaper, but then the 4300 has a near unanimous 5 star rating. i won't be doing much gaming (if any) wirelessly, but could the packet prioritization help in streaming too?

it seems either one would work with the DWL-G520 pci wireless adapter to get 108mb rates, is this correct?

I'm sure they will both work with the adapter you've listed. I looks to me like the major difference between the two routers is the wired ports on the DI-624 are 10/100 while the 4300 wired ports are gigabit. The gigabit ports will do you no good if your DSL router is
10/100

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
The gigabit ports will do you no good if your DSL router is
10/100

Those gig-e ports are there for the benefit of pc's that have 10/100/1000 Mbps adapters - for faster file sharing throughput, locally.

 

[joelmold]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

I'm sure they will both work with the adapter you've listed. I looks to me like the major difference between the two routers is the wired ports on the DI-624 are 10/100 while the 4300 wired ports are gigabit. The gigabit ports will do you no good if your DSL router is
10/100

and they won't do me any good since all my computers have only 10/100 ports.

they only benefit 1000mb ports would have for me is getting media files from my pc onto my file server. but this will happen so infrequently i don't mind 100mb speed.

THANKS for all the input.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: MS Dawn

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
The gigabit ports will do you no good if your DSL router is
10/100

Those gig-e ports are there for the benefit of pc's that have 10/100/1000 Mbps adapters - for faster file sharing throughput, locally.

True dat!

If you will have more than one wired PC and will do file sharing thats definately something to consider.

I overlooked that as my setup has 1 wired and 2 wireless

 

[joelmold]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
I overlooked that as my setup has 1 wired and 2 wireless

this is pretty much my setup too, though one of the wireless is a laptop that probably won't be used too frequently...