Tom Adams Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I'm thinking about doing a WiFi and would like to pick y'alls brains......... Currently I've got your basic garden variety desktop PC with a DSL connection. My plan is to buy a laptop with a wireless card and to buy a wireless card for my desktop. So, with that in mind...... Should I go for the newer 802.11n or stick with the current (and much cheaper) 802.11g hardware?? Also, any opinions about brands like Linksys or Netgear?? Any other comments would be welcome too. TIA. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Stick with an effective MIMO based 802.11g solution such as the RangeMax 802.11g unit. All of the current draft N solutions have not only been rejected, Airgo is the only chipset who has gotten MIMO to even work half-way up to the promised performance hype. Not to mention the lack of inter-operable formats and the lack of assurance of future compatibility. Bottomline, there is no assurance of compatibility with other manufacturers products (critical if you operate remotely!), and the current performance of the "made up N non standard' stinks. For the time being stick with 802.11g and enjoy the assurance of compatibility and the advantages of enhanced throughput and range offered by MIMO. The other critical aspect that overshadows the throughput issue, in my opinion, is security. Both WEP and WPA are broken. ONLY 802.11i-AES offers a truly secure connection. This is often now seen as labelled as WPA2, but I would avoid the PSK (pre-shared key) version so common presently as it offers only limited advantages. You have to shop around, and DO NOT expect any salesperson to have any clue what this securty standard is. In fact, everyone I have encountered thinks it is another 'channel'! Many manufacturers are waiting to fully impliment this in the new N devices, for which the rumor is now that the standard will be ratified in the first half of 2008!... So for truly secure connection look for those supporing WPA2 AES (802.11i-AES) or go with the 802.11g and make sure that the card and router supports at least an IPSEC VPN connection (and SSL VPN is even better). So, if you aren't totally confused, here ae the current choices... 802.11g with MIMO supporting WPA2 and IPSEC VPNs - (the Netgear RangeMax WPN824 versions perform the best) In the future: 802.11n supporting 802.11i-AES (WPA2 with AES, not just PSK) (802.11n will automatically incorporate MIMO in the standard) Note: WEP and WPA are broken. Do not rely on them! Use WPA2-PSK at the VERY LEAST! WPA2-AES is optimal. 802.11i-AES is WPA2-AES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 It's spelled "Wifey" and if you get one you may find she is full of opinions and may have you yelling "Help". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WS65711 Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I agree with Mark. I also like the Netgear stuff better than Linksys. It always seems to me to be easier to configure. Be sure to get the WPN311 card for your desktop (if you connect the desktop wireless). Or, you can simply connect the desktop directly to the router and save money. Get a WPN511 card for the notebook. Use WPA security with a passphrase of at least 28 characters. If you configure your system with fixed IP addresses, that will also add another level of security. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I still run on 802.b and run fine.... no one really needs 802.g unless they like to move big files..... I have no lag on the wireless cards on videogames, regular internet browsing, etc..... heck the slowest thing really is the internet connection (verizon 14.99 dsl here 650 kbps down, 128 up) Again unless you are moving massive files its useless to get those new faster promising wireless signal system. If you like wasting your hard earned money i can give you my paypal address to send me some [] but anyways if you do everything correct it should be okay. As for wep wpa being broken yes but not on the normal drive by hackers.... Most likely your neigh's kid that will see the signal, since it takes about 1-2 days of consistent packets that the computer needs to see to decode the wep key. And if you want to be more sure just mac address your computers so its basically locked out to all but the best hackers. Also instead of getting a wireless card for the desktop it might just be easier to hook the modem and router right next to the desktop and run a cat5 to the router, its the best connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Thanks guys for the reponses. As I suspected, some of what you guys posted just went zing [:S] over my head. Anyhow - I do appreciate the help and will start looking for the wireless alphabet soup of cards & routers. Anyone else care to chime in??? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I'd go with N. Why buy old technology? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I'd go with N. Why buy old technology? because it works fine and it is certified to work? N is still not officially certified and hence it can or cannot work depending on which system you go etc........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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