Whats a wireless (N) router?
 

Been out shopping and see a new wireless-n broadband router, says its faster than ever. I now have the old wireless G router hooked into my cable modem but now I will have 5 computers and stuff going wireless, is this something that works the same as the g but faster or is it a waste of money?

Good question, I have seen the same new routers that promote greater speed. I'll be watching to se what the experts have to say.

It's all here;

IEEE 802.11 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It only works if both devices support the 'N' standard. If your laptop (or computer) only supports B/G, then the router will connect at those specs, but you lose the benefits of 'N'.

That's the short of it. :)

It will only be faster if the devices that are receiving the signal can receive N. I have a wireless G router, but my laptop only has a B network card so it operates at that speed.

n = faster protocol - or you can wait for "WiMax"

not sure if one lower & slower device drags down others...

I have a Macbook pro and it's capable of using 802.11 (n). My PHY mode is 802.11 (g), will my machine work faster with a new router?

Like RWebb says.

Typically with consumer grade product everything will only run as fast as the slowest device on your network.

Something to check in the spec of the router.

Wireless N properly configured, bonded channels is capable of 300 Mbps. Even not bonded it's no slouch at ~150 Mbps.

But, and here's the big proverbial but.

That's for your internal network. If you think you're gonna be surfin faster you may be in for a let down since most consumer broadband is between 1-5 Mbps on the WAN side. Even if you are paying for 30 Mpbs your pipe to the net is still slower than your internal network.

Thinking of bonding, is there a device which can bond multiple DSL lines together for higher speeds? I can put a second DSL line in, really cheap. I'm maxed out here with 6 mbps unless I go back to Comcast, which I have no plans to do.

You would need something like this:
XINCOM Network Systems

I made a dual WAN router from Linux years ago and was able to run two 56K modems.

I had a similar question some months ago for my home computer use. The old "G" router we had never quite worked right, so I bought the "N" router they had at Costco. Both the 1 year-old iMac and the 6 or 7 year-old Dell laptop work fine on the "N."

I ran a Internet speed test on my iMac

Wired it achieved download speeds of 20.2 mbps
With the N turned on it achieved a download speed of 17.0 mbps (not bad)

The real benefit as Stomachmonkeys states in my internal network. I have an apple TV and stream HD movies from my computer to my living room and it works perfectly. I don't think a G could do the job.

My wireless router is a Apple Time Capsule - it has a 1tb hard drive so my laptop and desktop both back themselves up each hour wirelessly.

The computers are still connecting at the "G" mode unless they are "N". Most of the N wireless AP's are compatible with the older B/G equipment. The standards committee just ratified the final "N" specs as of October. Check to see if there are firmware updates from the manufacturer to get the latest features.

You would notice a difference in your internal network but the internet connection will not be any faster .

Download Speed: 1510 kbps (188.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 368 kbps (46 KB/sec transfer rate)

This is what I got on a speed test a couple minutes ago. I'm concerned that my provider Frontier is a major part of the problem. My speeds were much faster when I was living in CT w/ ATT as my provider.

I just ran two different tests at bandwidthplace.com

First test was thru the wireless router, I got 1.8mbps
Second test was connected direct to my cable modem and got 7.5mbps

So whats causing the bottle neck with the wireless?

Walls, floors, mirrors, distance, router antennae type/configuration/pointing, other wireless devices like cordless phones, crappy wifi card in the computer, crappy wifi antenna in the computer and other "stuff"

Those speeds sound like a DSL plan.

What bandwidth are you paying for?

Neat. I just found a Cisco/Linksys one with VPN for $109 on Amazon. I guess I know what I'm getting the business for christmas.

if you need one, Woot has a D-Link "N" for $24.99 for a few more minutes

Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM)