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Do you have an 802.11b wireless router in the house to allow you to work from anywhere on your laptop? I’d be willing to bet that if you’ve gone looking for a new wireless router, or were just talking with the local computer geek that he claimed that moving to 802.11g or 802.11n would make things *SO* much faster for you. But if you’ve got the option to pick up an 802.11b router, save your money (if it’s cheaper) because the extra bucks you’d spend for a ‘G’ router are probably just being wasted.
Unless you’re one of those very lucky people who have an extremely fast internet connection, here’s what’s going to happen. You’ll send your data from your laptop wirlessly to your router, and then the data will hit your cable or DSL modem, and slow right down to the usual 768Kbps or 1.5Mbps that you’re paying for from your ISP. So you got a blindingly fast 54Mbps for the first 30 feet of your transmission, and then your data slams right into the bottleneck that is your internet connection.
Don’t believe me? Try this: go to http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest and select the server closest to you to run a throughput test. If the resulting download test shows more than 2000 Kbps, then you’ve got a very fast connection for a residential customer. Now, if you’re paying for a 5Mbps connection, I’d be willing to bet that it’s nowhere near that fast. And it definitely won’t be showing 54000 Kbps. So you paid good money for something that you aren’t getting any benefit from.
Check that. The only time a 54Mbps wireless connection provides an advantage is if you’re moving files wirelessly around the house from computer to computer. As long as data never leaves your local wireless network, it’s very fast. But the second it hits the outside world, it hits the brakes. Hard. Bet your computer guy didn’t tell you that, did he?
Here’s what you’re supposed to get: 802.11b - 11Mbps. 802.11g - 54Mbps. 802.11n - 248Mbps. Note that these are theoretical only. Your mileage WILL vary. Here’s what’s more typical: 802.11b - 4.3Mbps. 802.11g - 19Mbps. 802.11n - 74Mbps. (Source: Wikipedia)