802.11 b or g??

I am setting up a home wireless connection. I noticed there is more than one
type of router. There is the cheaper 802.11b and the more expensive 802.11g.
Also, Dell sells a combo one, the 802.11b/g. Does it matter which one I
buy?? I will eventually be using three computers, one will be a laptop. I
called Radio Shack and even Verizon, but they did not know the difference
between b and g. Any information appreciated.
I figure I should buy the router that best fits a home setup rather than
guess. Thanks again. Great help on here.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
snow <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>I am setting up a home wireless connection. I noticed there is more than one
>type of router. There is the cheaper 802.11b and the more expensive 802.11g.
(snip)

Basically, g things will work with b things, but g-only networks are
much faster. They share the same frequency band.

-- Mark (who uses 802.11a at home (-

"snow" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> I am setting up a home wireless connection. I noticed there is more
> than one type of router. There is the cheaper 802.11b and the more
> expensive 802.11g. Also, Dell sells a combo one, the 802.11b/g. Does
> it matter which one I buy?? I will eventually be using three
> computers, one will be a laptop. I called Radio Shack and even
> Verizon, but they did not know the difference between b and g. Any
> information appreciated. I figure I should buy the router that best
> fits a home setup rather than guess. Thanks again. Great help on here.
>
>

It's not surprising that the support department at either of those places
doesn't have a clue.

"snow" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I am setting up a home wireless connection. I noticed there is more than one
>type of router. There is the cheaper 802.11b and the more expensive 802.11g.
>Also, Dell sells a combo one, the 802.11b/g. Does it matter which one I
>buy?? I will eventually be using three computers, one will be a laptop. I
>called Radio Shack and even Verizon, but they did not know the difference
>between b and g. Any information appreciated.
>I figure I should buy the router that best fits a home setup rather than
>guess. Thanks again. Great help on here.

The theoretical answer is that 'g' is better than 'b' because it will do higher
speeds. I've had some empirical evidence that suggests that it also does
slightly better with range/obstructions.

The practical answer is that it probably doesn't matter for most people. 'G'
routers will handle 'b' and 'g' devices. Use of a mixed environment ('b' and 'g'
devices) means that everything will slow down to 'b' speeds anyway.

That said, keep in mind that unless you are doing massive file transfers WITHIN
THE NETWORK, your bottleneck will remain the ISP connection, not the wireless
speeds.

Mark Carroll <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:O3o*(E-Mail Removed):

> Basically, g things will work with b things, but g-only networks are
> much faster. They share the same frequency band.

The speed difference is not apparent with Internet access, even with fast
cable connections. But if you are into large files being shared across the
local network, it will make a difference. I only share Internet access,
and my 8.11b Wireless download speeds are just as fast as my wired download
speeds (at the Road Runner 3MB maximum).

--
Tom McCune
My PGP Page & FAQ: http://www.McCune.cc/PGP.htm

"snow" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> be a laptop. I called Radio Shack and even Verizon, but they did not
> know the difference between b and g. Any information appreciated.

Radio Shack. You've got questions, we've got answers.

Hey, "I don't know" is an answer, right?

--
Minister of All Things Digital & Electronic, and Holder of Past Knowledge
(E-Mail Removed). Cabal# 24601-fnord | Sleep is irrelevant.
I speak for no one but myself, and |Caffeine will be assimilated.
no one else speaks for me. O- | Decaf is futile.

ok, what are the "b" and "g" devices mention by Clark Griswald above (cool
name there.... Griswald fron the Vacation movies). Does he mean stuff like
dsl modems. I am now leaning to the 802.11 b, but maybe I should wait until
Verizon ships the dsl modem to make sure it is 802.11 b complient versus a
g complient one.
I asked the Verizon guy if the dsl modem being sent is b or g...he said he
didnt know and it would not make a difference anyways. Anyways, I may hold
off before I go to Best Buy and get the router until I know if my devices
are either b or g. One thing for sure don't expect much help on the phone
from Verizon or Radio Shack.
"snow" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I am setting up a home wireless connection. I noticed there is more than
one
> type of router. There is the cheaper 802.11b and the more expensive
802.11g.
> Also, Dell sells a combo one, the 802.11b/g. Does it matter which one I
> buy?? I will eventually be using three computers, one will be a laptop. I
> called Radio Shack and even Verizon, but they did not know the difference
> between b and g. Any information appreciated.
> I figure I should buy the router that best fits a home setup rather than
> guess. Thanks again. Great help on here.
>
>

"snow" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> ok, what are the "b" and "g" devices mention by Clark Griswald above (cool
> name there.... Griswald fron the Vacation movies). Does he mean stuff like
> dsl modems. I am now leaning to the 802.11 b, but maybe I should wait
until
> Verizon ships the dsl modem to make sure it is 802.11 b complient versus
a
> g complient one.
> I asked the Verizon guy if the dsl modem being sent is b or g...he said
he
> didnt know and it would not make a difference anyways. Anyways, I may hold
> off before I go to Best Buy and get the router until I know if my devices
> are either b or g. One thing for sure don't expect much help on the phone
> from Verizon or Radio Shack.
> "snow" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > I am setting up a home wireless connection. I noticed there is more than
> one
> > type of router. There is the cheaper 802.11b and the more expensive
> 802.11g.
> > Also, Dell sells a combo one, the 802.11b/g. Does it matter which one I
> > buy?? I will eventually be using three computers, one will be a laptop.
I
> > called Radio Shack and even Verizon, but they did not know the
difference
> > between b and g. Any information appreciated.
> > I figure I should buy the router that best fits a home setup rather than
> > guess. Thanks again. Great help on here.

Neither ADSL nor cable modems know anything about 802.11. They are
Ethernet-connected devices. Of course, you can buy an 802.11 router with a
builtin ADSL or cable modem (Time Warner will lease you one), but the modem
doesn't know or care about 802.11.

By definition, 802.11g is back-compatible with 802..11b. That is, all
802.11g routers are "combo". That means you can have any mix of b and g
client stations associated to an 802.11g router. As someone else pointed
out, mixing types degrades wireless performance.

It's also been pointed out that your Internet performance bottleneck is your
ISP - cable or ADSL. In the US, you usually get 1.5 Mbps or less for ADSL,
and 3 Mbps for cable. That means that 11 Mbps 802.11b is already vast
overkill if all you do is surf the net. If you move huge files between local
wireless hosts, than "g" will get you much higher throughput than "b".

Another consideration is upgradeability. 802.11g equipment uses newer
chipsets, fully supports WPA security/authentication, and will probably be
better supported by vendors. When feature upgrades occur, they will be
available for 802.11g first, and maybe not at all for 802.11b. And, if I
were you, I wonldn't buy a combo modem/router. If you switch from cable to
ADSL, or vice/versa, the integrated modem becomes a boat anchor.

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