How do I use a wireless N router?
Asked by
monsoon (
2528
)
December 17th, 2008
When I’ve looked at wireless N routers, it says you need attatchments for the computers that are going to use it for connectivity.
Do I have to have extra junk? I have a macbook (the second to most recent one), and the desktop computer that would be hooked up to it via ethernet is a windows XP unit.
right now i have a netgear wireless g rangemax, and it doesn’t cut it to get constant signal in rooms on the other side of my two story house. I want to get an N router, but I don’t know if my laptop will even work with it, given that it has no pci slots or anything.
thanks.
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11 Answers
I believe your macbook’s airport card is N compatible—as long as you get an N card for your XP, you should be all set. If your mac is an intel core duo 2 and it doesn’t list as an N card, you can update the firmware IIRC.
As andrew stated above the Macbook’s airport card should be an N card. Instead of upgrading to N and having to buy all new adapters why not just buy a longer range G router. If you don’t want a longer range G router get a N router that also broadcasts a G signal then you shouldn’t need a new adapter unless you venture out of the G area. This is good for stationary computers like desktops hooked up in the G network range.
As I mentioned in response to another connection, you should be aware that the presence of any non-n device on your network will cause ALL devices to fall back to at least g. This sucks.
If you’re just concerned about range, why not buy a range extender, high-gain antenna, or just another router? 802.11 networks are designed to roam, so if you buy two routers and tell them both to use the same network name, your computer will still be able to pick the strongest signal dynamically.
So my macbook will work with it, but what about my desktop? That isn’t even wireless capable (it’s old). So it would just be hooked up via a wired connection. Would that mess anything up? Those are absolutely the only two computers that would be hooked up to the network.
@monsoon: Since your old desktop will be wired, it won’t affect the speed of your other machines.
Since you’re in the realm for a router, I’d suggest thinking about a time capsule. The automatic backups have already saved me 3 times.
monsoon How old exactly is “old”? Are we talking windows 95 or something here?
@andrew, I’ve already been using time capsule. Thanks though.
@hyperserver, windows XP, but I’d say it’s about 5 or six years old.
A time capsule: he’ll bury the old router, along with some train schedules, a copy of TIme Magazine, and some worthless Ford stock.
monsoon Why is your XP computer not wireless compatible? It should be able to take on the needs of a wireless network just fine.
It’s able to, of course, but doesn’t have the proper hardware. There’s never been a need for it to be wireless, as it’s our only desktop.
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