Which wireless technology is the best?

rgrebby

rgrebby

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Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) European [Included in Price]

Dell Wireless 1510 Half Mini Card (802.11n) European add £0.00

Intel Pro Wireless WI-FI 5100 (802.11a/g/Draft-n) MiniCard European add £0.00

Intel WiFi Link 5300 Half Mini Card (802.11 a/g/n) European [add £20.00]


As you can see only the last is more expensive I would have thought the 1510 would be the best but I dont understand why they are the same price.
Can anyone help?
 
rgrebby said:
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) European [Included in Price]

Dell Wireless 1510 Half Mini Card (802.11n) European add £0.00

Intel Pro Wireless WI-FI 5100 (802.11a/g/Draft-n) MiniCard European add £0.00

Intel WiFi Link 5300 Half Mini Card (802.11 a/g/n) European [add £20.00]


As you can see only the last is more expensive I would have thought the 1510 would be the best but I dont understand why they are the same price.
Can anyone help?
Click to expand...
I don't believe the N wireless technology is a European standard yet, therefore the last one, which is switchable between A, G and N is the most expensive as you can use it with whatever router you have (most likely to be G).

If you can afford it, I would get the last one as it lets you use the tried and tested G standard and future proofs by allowing N connections.
 
MattF said:
I don't believe the N wireless technology is a European standard yet, therefore the last one, which is switchable between A, G and N is the most expensive as you can use it with whatever router you have (most likely to be G).

If you can afford it, I would get the last one as it lets you use the tried and tested G standard and future proofs by allowing N connections.
Click to expand...

So if I only got the n one it wouldnt work with most routers?
I was hoping not to spend more money and choose a free version so maybe I should pick the 3rd one with a/g/draft n
 
rgrebby said:
So if I only got the n one it wouldnt work with most routers?
I was hoping not to spend more money and choose a free version so maybe I should pick the 3rd one with a/g/draft n
Click to expand...
I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think a purely N one would connect with a G router.

Personally, I would go for the "Intel Pro Wireless WI-FI 5100 (802.11a/g/Draft-n)" one, but I am unsure if the "Draft-N" is the current development of the N standard, so if it changes, the N on that card wouldn't work with new N routers.

All of what I am saying are educated guesses; I am pretty sure what I am saying is right, but I would wait for someone that knows more about wireless standards to come a long and confirm/answer your questions before you make a final decision.
 
There are a few Nrouters available, but as it's new technology it's not very widespread, most routers are b/g compatable. I wouldn't have thought that any manufacturer would make a wifi card not backwards compatable with existing tech though so I would assume the second one should be b/g compatable too?
 
Linksys, and Belkin as well as Apple do Wireless N gateway/ routers. As far as I know they also support a/b/g protocols as well. The Linksys model alsi has 4 Gigabit Ethernet connections, so fairly versatile.

here's a link to the Linksys product.

http://www.linksysbycisco.com/UK/en/products/WAG160N

Good prices at the moment from the usual suppliers
 
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