MIMO G router - worth upgrading?

[chuckerants]

I have an older Airlink101 MIMO G (AR525W) router. It's been a few years since I bought this and though it works fine, I was wondering with all the "N" routers, is it worth upgrading to a new router?

Are the new wireless routers fast enough over this router to warrant an upgrade?

TIA

BTW, I don't game and my main PC is wired.

 

[Bill in Utah]

If it works why play with anything new? You are not going to get a major speed difference that you will use or range increase.

I've got a very fast broadband and "G" is still faster than it wireless.

Take care. Bill

 

[JustinH]

Are you transferring data from a local server over the wireless network to a wireless pc?

For instance are you trying to stream movies etc?

If you are just surfing the web, your G router is just fine...

 

[OVERKILL]

If you don't do any inter-LAN transferring of data, as long as the speed provided by your current router exceeds that of your Internet connection, you will see no benefit at all.

 

[chuckerants]

I was mainly thinking about range, but it sounds like the newest routers aren't much faster than what I have now.

Thanks all.

 

[PandaBear]

Not all MIMO G or N routers are created equal. True, N spec allow more antenna and it could improve range, but it is more important to get a good quality router that uses the right chipset and beefier components.

Example: Ralink based N routers (WRT160N ver 2.0) sucks, but Broadcom based N routers (WRT160N ver 1.0, 1.1) are excellent, because the transmission power is much greater.

Example: My friend used to have a Linksys SRX400 MIMO G router that has significantly more power and range than the newer Belkin N router that replaces it.

 

[chuckerants]

I keep looking around on Newegg among other places as I do everyday to keep current on tech prices and products and it really doesn't seem like there's a new router that can be called, "Wow, that's cool, fast, far, etc., I gotta have that".

That seems to be the bottom line.

My POS Airlink101 MIMO is good enough to allow decent speeds on the laptop my wife uses for general surfing and for my new iPod Touch to get wi-fi. I only download on my main desktop which has an OCed i7 920 @ 3.8 Ghz which is wired using a Cat 6 cable. So, I guess I keep waiting for that new gotta have wireless router.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: chuckerants
I keep looking around on Newegg among other places as I do everyday to keep current on tech prices and products and it really doesn't seem like there's a new router that can be called, "Wow, that's cool, fast, far, etc., I gotta have that".

That seems to be the bottom line.

My POS Airlink101 MIMO is good enough to allow decent speeds on the laptop my wife uses for general surfing and for my new iPod Touch to get wi-fi. I only download on my main desktop which has an OCed i7 920 @ 3.8 Ghz which is wired using a Cat 6 cable. So, I guess I keep waiting for that new gotta have wireless router.


We had a topology thread here going a while ago. Check it out to see what others are running for equipment!

 

[chuckerants]

I bookmarked it so I can read it later. Thanks.
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: chuckerants
I keep looking around on Newegg among other places as I do everyday to keep current on tech prices and products and it really doesn't seem like there's a new router that can be called, "Wow, that's cool, fast, far, etc., I gotta have that".

That seems to be the bottom line.

My POS Airlink101 MIMO is good enough to allow decent speeds on the laptop my wife uses for general surfing and for my new iPod Touch to get wi-fi. I only download on my main desktop which has an OCed i7 920 @ 3.8 Ghz which is wired using a Cat 6 cable. So, I guess I keep waiting for that new gotta have wireless router.


We had a topology thread here going a while ago. Check it out to see what others are running for equipment!

 

[tmorris1]

A G router will have throughput of about 20-25mbps, so unless your internet connection is faster than that you will not see a speed increase. N will increase LAN transfer speeds as others have said, but it sounds like you are mainly interested in the internet side.