What's A Good 802.11g MIMO Router/Card Combo These Days?

[ViRGE]

Update: Switching to 802.11g MIMO

I have a family friend for whom I've been tasked with specing out a list of wireless equipment for them. Due to the distance that needs covered (they have a workshop on their property) it's looking like I'll need to go with 802.11g w/MIMO for the extra range, but I have no clue what equipment is good these days. Is Linksys any good these days (I generally like their stuff for the UI) and do the MIMO routers have problems working with non-MIMO G equipment (i.e. a chatty Wii)?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

The D-Link DI-655 Xtreme N Gaming Router has flagship performance as well as one of the First Draft N 2.0 routers to implement a "do-no-harm" approach established in Draft 2.0 that ensures older B and G network hardware work without any complications. At around $125 online it's a pretty good deal for a solid N router.

 

[JackMDS]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...181218&Tpk=zyxel%2b550

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Umm jack... He said he was looking into an N router. Though I do agree with you that the ZyXEL should have the same range capabilities as the D-Link for half the price.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Umm jack... He said he was looking into an N router. Though I do agree with you that the ZyXEL should have the same range capabilities as the D-Link for half the price.

I said N because MIMO is part of the standard but I'm willing to consider G too, especially since it's cheaper. My concern is that since MIMO isn't part of the base standard that it won't work as well. Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Umm jack... He said he was looking into an N router. Though I do agree with you that the ZyXEL should have the same range capabilities as the D-Link for half the price.

I said N because MIMO is part of the standard but I'm willing to consider G too, especially since it's cheaper. My concern is that since MIMO isn't part of the base standard that it won't work as well. Any thoughts on the matter?

MIMO isn't a standard of G but it IS a standard. As long as the network adapters being used support MIMO it will work. Finding good quality adapters that support MIMO will be the more limiting factor.

 

[Thor86]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
The D-Link DI-655 Xtreme N Gaming Router has flagship performance as well as one of the First Draft N 2.0 routers to implement a "do-no-harm" approach established in Draft 2.0 that ensures older B and G network hardware work without any complications. At around $125 online it's a pretty good deal for a solid N router.

+1. Excellent range and signal quality and little to no interference with neighboring APs (once you find a good channel). Only using G now, but seems to keep 54mbps signal rates better and fastest transfer rates of any G/N APs I've used.

 

[MadAd]

It seems the D-Link DIR-655 is the top of the pile when reading http://www.smallnetbuilder.com.../Itemid,189/chart,124/

However I don't know what routers they havn't reviewed so they may not represent all the range.

 

[narzy]

Really depends on the budget, I tend to stay the hell away from D-Link, I've had nothing but issues with them for years, if they've gotten better, that's great, I still avoid them like the plague. I've been very impressed with the Linksys offerings as of late and the ability to add after market antenna is a plus so range shouldn't be an issue. I've moved my entire house over to the Apple Airport series (Express / Extreme) The nice thing about them is they are stupid easy to install (plug them in and they go) and the AirPort Express easily act as a repeater so put an extreme in the house and an Express in the workshop and you shouldn't have any issues.

If budget is a concern, Go with the linksys but the Apple hardware has been extremely reliable for me.

if you want to go all out http://www.proxim.com/

GL Ryan.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Umm jack... He said he was looking into an N router. Though I do agree with you that the ZyXEL should have the same range capabilities as the D-Link for half the price.

Well there is No 802.11n. There is a Draft-N.

The Routers are well above $100.

No point to buy Draft-N ,to work with G cards. A good Draft-N card is around $80 to $100.

As a result the initial investment for one computer is $200 or more, and every additional N card is $80-$100.

That by itself is Not so Bad. But then the 802.11n Standard would come out, some (or may be many) would Not be compatible with the standard, some would work Quirky after firmware upgrade, and the Jumpers that could Not wait would feel very sorry for themselves.

I am just trying to help in case that one made the decision to by Draft-N while drinking a lot of "Draft". Otherwise, by all means buy, it would help to stimulate the economy. May be if we buy a lot of them it would help to block the coming Recession.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Umm jack... He said he was looking into an N router. Though I do agree with you that the ZyXEL should have the same range capabilities as the D-Link for half the price.

I said N because MIMO is part of the standard but I'm willing to consider G too, especially since it's cheaper. My concern is that since MIMO isn't part of the base standard that it won't work as well. Any thoughts on the matter?

MIMO isn't a standard of G but it IS a standard. As long as the network adapters being used support MIMO it will work. Finding good quality adapters that support MIMO will be the more limiting factor.

2 things then:

1) Do non-MIMO devices cause any problems for the MIMO devices?

2) And what would be a good cardbus 802.11g adapter that properly supports MIMO?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

1. No, not at all.

2. Maybe Jack could help you. I only know of one made by D-link, and it only supports WPA-PSK encryption, which is only a step above WEP. I dont really know of any good MIMO adapters.. Maybe Jack or another member would.

 

[JackMDS]

Zyxel sell MIMO card that does WPA-AES (WPA2).

I never tried this card I use a regular 802.11g card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...t.aspx?Item=N82E168333

 

[Griffinhart]

What wireless router to get really depends on your needs. If you have dead spots in your home with a standard G router there is a strong chance that switching to a MIMO or Draft N router won't solve your problem. It is really dependant on distance and what is in your walls.

If you want to be able to transfer files between PC's on your network I recommend a Draft N router. The speed difference is that significant.

Your Internet speed is a consideration too. I have a 20/5 FiOS connection from Verizon and while G theoretically is fast enough practical throughput is lower than my connection speed. For me Draft N is the only way I'll see my full internet connection speed.

Originally posted by: narzy
Really depends on the budget, I tend to stay the hell away from D-Link, I've had nothing but issues with them for years, if they've gotten better, that's great, I still avoid them like the plague. I've been very impressed with the Linksys offerings as of late and the ability to add after market antenna is a plus so range shouldn't be an issue. I've moved my entire house over to the Apple Airport series (Express / Extreme) The nice thing about them is they are stupid easy to install (plug them in and they go) and the AirPort Express easily act as a repeater so put an extreme in the house and an Express in the workshop and you shouldn't have any issues.

It's funny, I used to have the same feelings but that has since changed. I never liked D-Link for the longest time and usually opted for Linksys. Then I went through a patch of bad linksys routers failing after about 6 months of use. Both WRT54G's and WRT54AG routers. I finally decided to give dlink a try and got the, then new, DIR-655. I haven't regretted it at all. In fact, signal strength has been better than any linksys router w/ or w/o 3rd party firmware or high gain antennas.

Originally posted by: JackMDS
That by itself is Not so Bad. But then the 802.11n Standard would come out, some (or may be many) would Not be compatible with the standard, some would work Quirky after firmware upgrade, and the Jumpers that could Not wait would feel very sorry for themselves

We're still a year and a half away from Draft N becoming a final standard. It's not due to be published as a standard until July 2009. It's also becoming more and more likely that Draft N 2.0 (the current Draft N) is here to stay. While there is a chance that it could change, it doesn't look like it will and given the amount of devices now coming out with Draft N connectivity standard like Mac Book Air, Media Center Extenders, and many notebooks, It's really starting to look like it's not going to be a problem. It's possible, yes, but I don't think it's going to be too much of a risk. We're still going to have Draft N for another year and a half and in the event of a change we will probably still have draft n compatible cards available for a while after and 11g boards will always work with draft N routers. Besides, it's not like any draft N hardware someone buys will suddently stop working in July 2009.

For me, the extra speed of Draft N is well worth the risk. I consistantly get over 100Mb transfers over my wireless network. That's pretty good considering the router and PC are on different floors of the house.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: GriffinhartFor me, the extra speed of Draft N is well worth the risk. I consistantly get over 100Mb transfers over my wireless network. That's pretty good considering the router and PC are on different floors of the house.

This is a free country based on a Capitalist Economy and each one is entitled to purchase what is best for himself.:thumbsup:

Whenever I post, I take into consideration that beside the OP there are many other people that read the answers. Some of them are not even subscribers and others shy too shy to post on issue that are new or unknown to them.

So short answers Like Brand X rulez or Draft-N is the Best etc. are deceiving answers unless it is clear what are the specific circumstances and the considerations leading to the answer.

As an example in your statement above the word local before transfer is missing.

Many people that are inexperience in Networking might think that Daft-N means better faster Internet.

The fact is the vast majority of people are using the Network for Internet surfing and casual LAN transfer and they owed to know that under this circumstances spending extra hundred of $$ on Draft-N is useless.

P.S. I did not say that Draft-N would stop working I said: "Jumpers that could Not wait would feel very sorry for themselves".

LOL. Speaking about Capitalist economy, as far as the pharmaceutical companies go, feel very sorry for themselves, i s good for sale of Antidepressants.

 

[Griffinhart]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
Whenever I post, I take into consideration that beside the OP there are many other people that read the answers. Some of them are not even subscribers and others shy too shy to post on issue that are new or unknown to them.

So short answers Like Brand X rulez or Draft-N is the Best etc. are deceiving answers unless it is clear what are the specific circumstances and the considerations leading to the answer.

As an example in your statement above the word local before transfer is missing.

Many people that are inexperience in Networking might think that Daft-N means better faster Internet.

Yes, I meant local transfers. I was assuming a basic understanding that routers will never increase your max internet speed.

The fact is the vast majority of people are using the Network for Internet surfing and casual LAN transfer and they owed to know that under this circumstances spending extra hundred of $$ on Draft-N is useless.

Which is why I said that it depends on your needs. If one has a 6Mb cable connection with one PC or never copies more than the odd word doc or photo then G is fine.

That said, G is not fine for my use and those silent readers may find the information just as useful. If you have a fast Verizon FiOS connection G simply will not allow you get the full use out of that connection. Add a second or third PC to the wireless network (very common these days) it gets worse. Not using something faster than G is a waste of money as well under these circumstances.

P.S. I did not say that Draft-N would stop working I said: "Jumpers that could Not wait would feel very sorry for themselves".

While I can't speak to how others will feel, I definately won't be feeling sorry for myself. I would of had 2 and a half years of use before the first final N standard is even published and I will still be able to take full advantage of my internet connection and have saved countless hours transfering Recorded TV shows from my media center to my desktop where I edit out the commercials.

Like I said, it's all about needs. I lived with 11g for several years. It suited some of my needs just fine for a while. But since then I have gotten a faster internet connection and started using Windows Media Center. I have not regretted going Draft N yet, nor is it likely to happen for me.

Actually, if anyone is considering using Windows Media Center with a Wireless extender such as an xbox 360 or one of the new extenders from linksys or dlink .11g isn't the recommended wireless network. .11a and Draft N are. Yes, that's a side track from the original post, but it is an other example of where 11g is not a good choice.