Airport Extreme (802.11n) the best choice?

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So this will sound very naive to many of you mac pros out there as I'm still pretty new to the whole Macintosh system, but I will be setting up a small network of 4 or 5 computers in an apartment, at least 3 being macs. I've read a lot about the amazing increases in speeds of the 802.11n, but will it have the same effect if my MacBook Pro does not have the n capability?

I've heard good things about the Linksys WRT54G, or maybe even a D-Link.

So my question is what's the best wireless router for what I need, and should I even bother with the 802.11n if my MacBook Pro Airport can't handle it?

Thanks,
Sholdzy
 
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802.11n does nothing to help your Internet speeds, it's only benefit is range and network speed. In layman's terms, it'll let you use your Mac from farther away and it'll let you transfer files between computers faster.

Now here's the problem. To be able to get those benefits, you will need 802.11n network adapters in your computers. From what I've seen, the best results are when ALL the computers have the capability. If you try to transfer a file from a 802.11n machine to one with 802.11g, it'll throttle down to the "slower" 802.11g speed. So there goes the network speed benefit you bought the router for.

Plus, to be honest, sending large files over a wireless network is kind of stupid as it'll take forever. Small files it's fine, but if you plan on several hundred megabytes or even gigabytes, you're better off connecting the two computers via Ethernet, unless of course you enjoy waiting hours or even days for some files to be transferred.

I also find that if you don't plan on using nearly every feature offered by Apple's Airport Extreme, it's a total waste of money. You can get MUCH cheaper 802.11n routers, not to mention the price drop you'll see when looking at 802.11g routers.

I suggest you get yourself a nice 802.11g router and wait for the 802.11n specification to be totally ratified. Oh right, I forgot to mention that little part. Once it's ratified, there's no guarantee the official stuff will work on your unofficial hardware. You know what will work? You're right, the good ol' 802.11g router.

Linksys and Dlink both make great products. I have a Linksys WRT-54GL at home and a Dlink DI-524 at my dad's business and my Macbook works great on both of them. Though if you plan on going with Dlink, I would suggest something a bit more robust than the DI-524 :D
 
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sholdzy
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exactly what i was looking for, thank you very much
 

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