11n Router Newbie

[jsgdmbnhl]

First time poster. Don't shoot me
I am looking to buy my first 11n router. I've looked at the latest reviews (DIR655, DIR825, WRT610N, and WRT400) but am not sure if most of those are overkill for my needs.
Here is my current setup. WRT54G router located in basement. 2 PC wired connections to the router. New Gateway laptop P-7805u with Intel® WiFi Link 5100AGN 802.11a/g/Draft-N Wireless LAN. The laptop will be two floors away from the router. The old D600 Latitude laptop is being put out to pasture.
Future uses would be to connect the laptop to an eventual HDTV to stream movies, and maybe an XBox360, Wii, or PS3 connection for games.
All this being said, i still can't figure out which new router to buy. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

[thiggins]

How well is the WRT54G working for you? What are your typical wireless speeds?

Any draft 11n router will probably provide more speed at the same locations as the WRT54G if you stay in the 2.4 GHz band. But you won't get reliable HD streaming or gaming with any draft 11n router, especially at the distance / environment you describe.

Read How To Choose the Right Wireless LAN for You if you already haven't.

 

[jsgdmbnhl]

The WRT45G dropped the laptop connection on a fairly consistent basis. I did not get a good judge of speeds while I was connected. In this case a more reliable and faster connection are the best I can hope for.
I don't have a mixed g/n network at the moment, but I am not sure if I should leave that possibility available.

I did read through the "how to choose the right wireless LAN" but noticed that most of the reviewed products are newer than the "how to" guide. Although most of the tech should be the same I am not sure how comparable they are to the guide.

From what I was reading I thought being in the 5 GHz would be the most beneficial, but I could be wrong if I misunderstood.

I'm hoping this helps all of us out in trying to figure out the proper router for my environment.

Thanks.

 

[thiggins]

You were probably getting connection drops because you are getting a marginal signal. Draft 11n probably won't help that. Draft 11n can provide more speed than 802.11b/g at a location that gets a decent signal. But it probably won't provide a better signal at a currently weak location.

You would be better off attaching a higher gain antenna to the WRT54G. See
How To Fix Your Wireless Network - Part 4: Antennas.

Switching to 5 GHz will provide a weaker signal. Not the way to go.

 

[jsgdmbnhl]

In this environment, would it be wise at all to use a 11n router? The 5 GHz is already negated since it is a weaker signal. I would like to use the 11n for speed but a reliable signal would remain an issue with either g/n router. If I continue to use the WRT54G, then I lose the benefits of the built-in 11n adapter. A dual-band 11n router would almost be pointless because of the difficulties in finding those antennas.
All this being said, I am having a difficult time accepting that my environment doesn't allow me to have optimal signal and speed. Is there any router on the market that would allow me to obtain the desired signal and speed, or do I just need to stick with the WRT54G because it really wont matter?
Thanks for your feedback and advice on my issue.

 

[thiggins]

Getting a reliable Wi-Fi signal through two floors is a stretch. It comes down to physics and signal attenuation.

A draft 11n router might provide a more reliable signal, since there have been improvements in receiver sensitivity. I'm just saying don't bank on it.

What I'd do is try an inexpensive 2.4GHz draft 11n router and see if it helps. If it doesn't, you can return it.

 

[jsgdmbnhl]

I'll scour the reviews to see what's recommended and take it from that point. Inexpensive 2.4 GHz draft 11n router. I can do that

Thanks for all the help on this. Much appreciated.