wireless router capable of 11n

[Polremy]

I have been advised to buy a wireless router BO2 capable of 11n. Can anyone direct me to one here in France? Tried Darty but they say they do not sell them.

It may be that they call them something else here. Is super g perhaps the French way of classifying n.

I would add that I havent a clue what I am writing! Just following orders from an expert in England. Please give any help in laypersons language if possible.

[Eslier]

You have been given very good advice. "n" is the new high speed specification which, although it hasn't been officialy endoresed yet is already being distributed by a number of top manufacturers as "pre n". One of the best routers is the Netgear DG834N and you can buy online at:

http://www.materiel.net/ctl/ModemRouteurs_ADSL/23142-DG834N_MIMO_270_.html

The big advantage of Netgear products is that the software supplied, even with the French versions, comes with an English language option and if you need to you can download the user guide instructions in English from the Netgear US website.  They are very easy to install and very reliable.  The new 802.11n versions will give you much greater signal coverage.

If you need to get the maximum benefit of wider coverage and faster speeds then you can also buy 802.11n wifi cards for your computer / laptop. You will still see a benefit however even if you are still using a 802.11g wifi card in your computer.

If you are buying a new computer then some manufacturers have already started to ship units with wifi-n. Toshiba, for example, have laptops with this already onboard.

[Ecossais]

PC Pro (UK) magazine did a review of Draft-n (Pre-n) wireless routers in the August edition of the magazine.

You can read the article here:  http://www.pcpro.co.uk – click on “Labs” under “Products” down the left side of the screen.

Note you can buy routers with or without built-in ADSL (broadband) modems and you will need to make sure all the devices you buy, for example a wi-fi card for a laptop, are Draft-n compliant otherwise you will not get the benefit of Draft-n.

You could also have a look at the pcworld.co.uk website to get an idea of what’s available.

 

[AnOther]

If you do indeed need maximum range and speed, say for PC to PC file transfer or perhaps media streaming, then by all means go for an "n" product. Don't forget however that even 54mb wireless-g routers will perform considerably faster than all but the fastest ADSL connection so in real life don't be surprised to see little, if any, tangible benefit between the two.

I'm not trying to put you off in the slightest, just to make you aware of potentially unrealistic expectations [;-)]

[Eslier]

Ernie is right of course, if you are sitting in the same room as your wifi router then there is little benefit to "n" over the current "g" speed. If you have a large property or thick walls however then this is where "n" should come into its own. Speed is diminished as the signal becomes weeker so where you might only be getting a 1mB or less connection at the range limit of a wifi "g" router, the signal and therefore the speed should be significantly better with a "n" router.

If you are working with a "g" laptop and a "n" router you will still see some benefit over using a g+g. To get the maximum benefit as has already been pointed out, then n+n is better.

At this time, I wouldn't rush out and buy a new pre-n router to replace my existing super-g router (just as I wouldn't bother to upgrade from XP to Vista just yet) but if I were buying new anyway then it's always best to buy the highest specification you can afford.

[John L]

To the Original Poster. Before you go buying WiFi equipment for use in France, that they dont sell in France. Be sure that it supports the WiFi channels that are legal in France.

[Polremy]

Thanks, everyone.

All sorted and ordered.

Of course, when it arrives, I might need help getting it to work !