What's my best option here?

[Teshadael]

I have been trying to debug some lagging I'm experiencing (mostly noticeable while gaming) on my wireless network. I've come to the conclusion that there are too many other wireless networks in the area that are creating interference.
I was thinking of adding a wireless N router to my current G setup and using the 5Ghz band. Would this be a reasonable solution? Being in the same room as the router, I'm not worried about 5Ghz's shorter range. It was also suggested that I stay away from N and use 802.11a using the 5Ghz band. Which would be a better solution, a or n?

 

[thiggins]

It's not a matter of 802.11a or 802.11n, but 2.4GHz vs. 5 GHz. 802.11n can operate in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, but not all 802.11n gear covers both bands.

802.11a operates in 5 GHz only. But if you want 5GHz coverage for 802.11n, you need to purchase dual-band 11n products.

That said, wireless isn't the best solution for gaming because it has inherent causes of latency and throughput variation. If you are in the same room as the router, I would use an Ethernet connection.

 

[Teshadael]

Thanks Tim.
Unfortunately, the connection is on the other side of the room.
I guess my best bet would be to try and get a really long ethernet cable and hide it the best that I can (WAF, or GAF in this case).

 

[thiggins]

You could try dual-band draft 11n (or dual-band a/g if you can find it) and use the 5 GHz band if you want. But the cable is much cheaper!

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Heavy into online gaming myself.....I have a closet full of various routers, access points, etc.....I've gone through many of them, gone through 3rd party firmware such as DD-WRT and Tomato..but I'll tell ya...nothing beats copper! Smooth, lag free online gaming counts!

One time I couldn't run cable (3x floors)...couldn't stand wireless, I picked up a pair of ethernet over powerline adapters...my online gaming ran smooth as if I was running over CAT6. Just..once or twice a week or so I had to unplug them to "reboot" them. Maybe things have improved with firmware fixes since then.