Thread: faster wireless speed?

I have an older Dlink 802.11b set-up that has served its purpose, but I think that it is limiting my connection speed. At the modem the speed is 3500 kb/s. Checking the speed on the computer it drops to about 1500. I am wondering if a newer "super G" will increase my connection speed much? The router is only about six feet away, so distance isn't a factor for upgrading only speed.

Thanks Glen

IIRC 802.11b setups will give you a 10Mbit/s or so connection, which is perfectly fine. Upgrading to a new standard won't do much for your speed but it will help keep your network a bit more secure.

Max theoretical throughput for 802.11b is 10Mbps (= 1.250MB/s). 802.11g has a max theoretical throughput of 54Mbps (= 6.75MB/s).

If the router is only six feet away, I highly recommend using cable instead. It's quite common that wireless routers come with a few ports for cat5 anyway. Whenever I have the chance, I prefer to go cabled as well. It's faster, provides more bandwidth and much more stable. Most cat5 ports on a router are 100Mbps, almost twice the bandwidth of 802.11g.

There isn't any outlets on the wall by the PC so that is why I needed to go wireless. So would I gain a little by using the G band?

Well, you will have a greater maximum bandwidth avaiable with wireless G. However, the connection speed will be throttled depending on the signal strength between the two devices. If you have a good strong signal between devices, then yes, wireless G should afford you some faster speeds.

I am using a "Draft N" Linksys set up that is indicating between 27 and 108mbs while I am currently sitting on a couch where, previously, we could not even get a reliable connection with our old 802.11B stuff. At this range the speed is noticable better, although this conclusion is totally subjective and non-techy. At close range the speed seems as good as it is on Cat 5, but probably is not as reliable (although we have not had any problems in about 3 weeks of use).