802.11 n routers

[justinbaily]

If you inspect almost any 802.11 n router it says (draft) but the router i bought is the dgl-4500
gaming router and rather than saying (draft) it's actuially (draft 2.0) personally if you're thinking of getting n make sure it's draft 2.0 as simply draft is already out of date.

I've heard that n should become a standard this year however if it does well then 2.0 is closer to the final product than basic draft models...if i'm lucky 2.0 is the draft form of the final standard.

What do you guys think?!

[H2O Snake]

Do not buy N unless you are willing to buy a new router later. The n spec has not even been approved yet and its been said it would be approved by IEEE for quite awhile now.

[PHiNiX]

wait for n to be a ratified standred i think its supposed to be sometime in march

[justinbaily]

The only reason i bought the router is because it's the sucessor to d-link's wireless g series
gaming router and i'm sticking with that line of router as it has special gamer functions.

Yes i was told n is going to become a standard but already had it and sience i haven't seen another draft 2.0 n router it's quite likely that haveing just come out is the final standard just called draft 2.0 rather than draft. I'm sure to find out pretty soon if indeed it becomes a standard in march.


Google dgl-4500 if you want because that's what i'm using.

[PHiNiX]

the "gaming"routers have no special features that other routers cannot do

[fRaGtAsTiC]

The "gaming" series is just fancy marketing! It's really frustrating to see a similar caliber router in the store RIGHT next to the "gaming" series for about 40-80 dollars cheaper.. The manufacturers and store representatives will try to convince you that the "gaming" routers use a technology called QoS (quality of service) for packet prioritization but actually, you won't notice a difference...

QoS: Quality of Service. In networking, QoS refers to various schemes to insure a certain quality, such as limiting or eliminating packet loss and promising low latency.

Just ignore the hype and wait until the final 802.11n standard gets released by the IEEE

/end geekery

[H2O Snake]

QoS is actually extremely important and is employed in various ways in networks. But it really is only needed for a highly saturated network. Unless you are hitting your bandwidth limits the difference is negligible. As previously stated it is a marketing scheme for home routers and not really needed in a home network capacity.

[Megasoft Office 2001]

Whether the device is N-compatible, or isn't, or whether the N draft has been approved, it's all utterly irrelevant. I use a D-Link DIR-655 (Xtreme N Router). I hardly use wireless connectivity at all, but the router itself is fantastic. Wireless signal strength from this router is several times stronger across all channels than almost every other domestic wireless hub on the market; it clearly penetrates three floors. There are also gigabit ethernet ports, traffic shaping, and all the usual features (and more) expected of a router in the $150+ range.

In case it wasn't clear, I didn't buy the router for 802.11n. I couldn't care less about it, in fact. I bought it because of its gigabit networking and especially the incredible signal strength across all wireless standards, which is a 'you get what you pay for' experience. Essentially, nobody who is in the market for wi-fi home networking is going to be influenced by 802.11n, nor by whether it is an approved standard.