Re: What speed is the wireless on my laptop?

[Dan <dan27649@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 12:25 PM, Lukas Beeler <
lukas.beeler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 18:00, Dan <dan27649@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > I'm using a Lenovo ThinkPad T61, which has an Intel 4965AG adapter.
>
> That's a 4965AGN, stripped of 802.11n functionality.

Kind of figured that, but there's no clear documentation on that.  If you
search for 4965AG on Intel's website, you get the specs for 4965AGN.

> Due to some new flakyness on my current router (affecting both wireless
> and
> > wired), I am shopping for a new wireless router.  Will an 'N' router
> perform
> > better / faster for me, given the adapter I have, than a 'G' router?
>
> No. But a router that is capable of 802.11a (basically, 5Ghz 802.11g)
> will perform better, because fewer people use the 5Ghz band.

O.k., this is where I got messed up.  I made the bad presumption that the a,
b, g, n amendments each represented an upgrade on the data transfer rate.


>  > How
> > can I tell from a given wireless adapter what the maximum speed it will
> > support, so I can know whether to just stick with 'G' and avoid wasting
> > money on 'N' which has features I can't take advantage of?
>
> Look up the spec sheet.

As described above, it doesn't exist.  However, what I've been able to glean
so far is that I would be wasting money on an 802.11n router because 4965AG
doesn't support it.


> Be aware that there's a mutltitude of 802.11n classes - 802.11n is
> available in 150 Megabit, 300 Megabit, 450 Megabit. 600 Megabit is
> currently planned, but as far as i know, no products have hit retail
> yet.
>
> 802.11n is also available in 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz modes. 5 Ghz has worse
> wall penetration, but the 5 Ghz band is used by fewer devices, thus
> often offering advanced performance.

Thanks Lukas!

- Dan