Linksys Wireless G - fast enough ?

[ScaryBob]

Agreed, but wireless N will work well if a decent speed (signal) can be obtained. Dual band may be better in congested areas since the 5GHz band is lightly used. I've had pretty good luck using Linksys products for media. However, don't expect top results from USB dongles and routers with internal antennas. They are OK at short range but devices with external antennas will do better (or you can mod the E2500 by adding antennas.)

[tandem]

If you have the ability to run cable, I say go for it.

I run a wireless interface on my BSD router for the internal clan but it is only used for cell phone and occasional laptop use. All the other devices run on our wired network which really is set and forget.

[Foxenhimr]

OK, so it sounds like, "technically", the G router is capable of delivering the speed I'll require. I will be streaming HD content, so will definitely hardwire the HTPC, and probably the ARC 2112CI.

I have never heard of "DDWRT" before, but whatever it is, it sounds like my WRT54 will "do it"...will look into this...

[Wayne]

This may not (yet) affect the OP but some older routers cannot handle faster WAN speeds. For many years I used an older Linksys WRT54G as my main router. When I upgraded to Rogers Ultimate internet (then 50 Mbps down, now 75 Mbps down) the maximum speed through my router was only around 20 Mbps. It turns out that these routers can only handle a maximum of 22 Mbps on the WAN side. Something to keep in mind.

Wireless can be flaky for streaming HD signals but your home may be fine - that can depend on many things including how congested your neighbourhood is with wifi networks and other devices on the same frequencies. CAT6/5E/5 wiring is the way to go, next I would try powerline or MOCA devices.

The other reason to use N rather than G is for faster data transfers between PCs or other devices. G may be sufficient for your 18 Mbps internet connection but if you want to speed up transfers of multi-gigabyte files then N is very nice to have.

[JamesK]

^^^^
To get max throughput on N, make sure the access point is configured to use 2 channels, instead of 1.

[TorontoColin]

As continuing with your G router costs you nothing, I'd recommend you see how it works as is, and then experiment with alternate firmwares or new routers if you find your router isn't up to the task.

[Tikker]

Originally Posted by Foxenhimr

OK, so it sounds like, "technically", the G router is capable of delivering the speed I'll require. I will be streaming HD content, so will definitely hardwire the HTPC, and probably the ARC 2112CI.

I have never heard of "DDWRT" before, but whatever it is, it sounds like my WRT54 will "do it"...will look into this...

if you're going to use ethernet, then pretty much any old router will work just fine for you


via the LAN ports, the linksys will push 70-80mbps which is tons for streaming