Wireless Router Buying Guide

Introduction


For some people, buying a wireless router for a home or office is something to dread. If you have a little bit of knowledge, however, finding the best hardware for your needs is not difficult at all. To help you, we have put together this handy guide to wireless routers. We are going to explain about the different types available. By the time you are done reading, you should have a very good idea about the technology and have a lot easier time finding something that best suits your needs.

 

Types

 

Wireless routers have been around for a while now. Over the years, many changes have been made, making the technology even better. From easier to set-up and use to being able to transfer at higher speeds, a lot has changed over the years. Here is a quick rundown of the basic types of wireless routers that are available.

 

  • 802.11b - This is the earliest wireless router technology that was available. You can still find old hardware that uses this, but realize that it is going to be considerably slower than newer technology. The maximum rate is 11Mbits/s.

     

  • 802.11g - While these do not offer the speeds of the new Wireless-N networks, they do offer reliability. The maximum rate is 54 Mbits/s. Having been tested longer, the 802.11g wireless routers are usually more dependable and last longer without having problems.

     

  • 802.11n - The latest and greatest technology for wireless modems, Wireless-N offers quicker speeds that both B and G wireless networks. In addition, wireless routers based on this are generally easier to set-up and keep secure. The maximum rate is 600Mbits/sec, but that depends on the number of antenna on the router and wireless adapter. A single antenna has a maximum rate of 150Mbits/second and each additional antenna adds another 150Mbits/second.

     

Important Features

 

  • Security - Firewalls that are built into the hardware of the wireless modem or router are generally going to offer more protection than software based firewalls. That said, security should be important when you are setting up a wireless network in your home or office. One thing to note is that many new 802.11n routers make it easy to be safe and secure from the get go as they implement the latest security protocols like WPA2 and often have a button for SecureEasySetup.

     

  • Multiple Antennas - Multi-In, Multi-Out (MIMO) antenna technology is relatively new, but it has resulted in tremendous increases in performance for wireless networks. If you had trouble spots with a 802.11g or 802.11b router in the past, you may want to upgrade to 802.11n and make sure it has MIMO technology enabled. MIMO routers have multiple antennae to boost speed. Both the router and the wireless client adapter need to have MIMO to take advantage of the full speed. Having multiple antennas means you are going to broadcast at double, triple, or even quadruple the rate of a single antenna router.

     

  • Set-up & Ease of Use - To be honest, some of the early wireless routers were very difficult to set-up and get working. That said, many new 802.11n wireless routers are very simple to set-up and use. While they may be priced a little bit more, if you don't want to spend hours reading the tiny type of complex router manuals, you might want to go ahead and pay the extra money to get something that is simple to set-up

     

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  • Backward Compatibility - If your laptop has an 802.11b wireless card, you will still be able to connect to an 802.11n wireless network, but you will not get the same speed as if you were using an 802.11n wireless card. So, while most wireless modems are backward compatible, if you can stick with the same network for the modem and the wireless card, you are going to get better performance. Note that the router can be set up for 802.11n only or allow for backwards compatibility.

     

  • Same Brands - While different brands have their own strengths and weaknesses, it is generally a good idea if your wireless card (in your computer) and the wireless router are made by the same company. While you may be able to get two brands working together, you are generally going to get better performance when sticking with the same brands.

     

There are other considerations you should take into account, but these should get you headed in the right direction. Remember, when you are looking for a wireless router, IntelliReview is here to help you make a smarter decision.

 

See our list of top wireless routers for specific recommendations.