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General discussion

More speed a waste?

Jan 26, 2006 2:03PM PST

Do I really need these 108 Mbps or 240Mbps MIMO or not wireless routers? If I was to have a laptop with a 54Mbps a/g card and a 4Mbps cable connection does it really make a difference between the 54 or the 240 Mbps? And what if I had a print server set up built in the router? would there be a difference then?

Discussion is locked

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maybe you don't need it
Jan 26, 2006 3:48PM PST

But, Yes, you will have faster download/upload..

Look at it as a fire hydrant connected to smaller hose (like your garden hose).. and your home water tap, and see the time it takes to fill your bathtub... I'm sure that you fill the bathtub faster by using the fire hydrant connection.

and yes, possibly faster printing too... (with faster connection, you will empty the printer spooler/memory faster, translate to faster output.)

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alright...
Jan 26, 2006 10:31PM PST

Yeah, I've heard the adage you're only as fast as your weakest link, but I would get a faster download anyways? would it be because I would be able to take full advantage of the 54Mbps while interference or something else takes a part of the full 108Mbps? And would MIMO ensure taking advantage of the fullest speed or just more range coverage.

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What r u using it for.
Jan 26, 2006 11:37PM PST

When it comes to networking people are mixing up their internal speed with that of the Internet. Having a 108-240Mbps or gigabit network is not going to increase your connection to the internet only your internet provider can do that and they are no where close to providing connections at 25 Mbps so a 54Mbps a/g card is good enough.
What the different equipment speeds are for is how much data can the moved around within the networks i.e. sending/getting data from computers inside of your house. So you can send music or data files from your laptop to your kids PC at 108-240 Mbps and vice-a-versa and if you are thinking about getting a 54Mbps wireless router, 54 is the wireless speed but wired connections run at 100 Mbps.

So you can run Fire Hoses inside the house but you will still be getting water from a yard hose. And yes get wireless because why have a laptop to the tied to a wall.

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Cable is limiter
Jan 27, 2006 4:19AM PST

If you only get 4Mbps from your cable ISP, changing wireless networking in your home won't speed anything up. You'll still only get 4Mbps.