We just upgraded our home network last month. There is some great advice
here: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless
Some points (many from thatg article, but confirmed through my
experimentation):
(1) Your Intel adapter can handle all protocols/frequencies (including
5ghz), but you might have to enable 5ghz in the device manager to make that
an option.
(2) n does not generally penetrate as far as g (though where it *does*
penetrate the speeds are much faster given the next few points). This is
one reason we kept our g router and made it an access point on the network.
(3) 2.4ghz n uses the same frequencies as g and many cell phones and
microwaves, so if you can go to 5ghz you will get a cleaner signal.
Sometimes it is hard to tell if a router has 5ghz capability. Some quick
indications: 150n does *not*. Anything with 802.11a capability *does*.
(4) If you stick at 2.4ghz and have legacy (g or b) devices using the router
as well, you will take a substantial speed hit.
(5) If you do not use WPA2 security, you will take a substantial speed hit.
(6) If you do not enable QoS/WMM (in both router and adapter, the later
through the device manager), you might take a substantial speed hit (even if
you don't do multimedia).
What I did was buy the cheapest 5ghz router I could find (a refurbished
Cisco e2000, these are often reviled, but after a firmware update ours has
been working great, and it was only $35), set it at 5Ghz and n-only, and
repurposed our old g router to be an access point. On both routers I chose
fixed channels based on information about my neighbors' networks, using some
nice free software called inSSIDer 2.0 to probe the airwaves. Now our b and
g devices get 2.4ghz all to themselves on a pretty clear channel, ditto our
n devices. After the two device manager tweaks I mention above, our two
n-capable ThinkPads are really cooking.
David
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Andrew Webber" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 8:37 AM
To: "ThinkPad List" <[email protected]>
Subject: [Thinkpad] X220 and wireless-N routers
I need to replace my current router and am thinking -N is the way to
go (if nothing else it will help justify the Intel 6205 I upgraded to
when I ordered the X220).
My card is 2X2 so I know I want two antennas (and 300Mbps) on the
router. However what other features should I be looking for? (Asking
not just to justify an off-topic post, but also in case there are
specific features an X220 and 6205 adapter can use).
Fir exanokem Buffalo offers WHR-HP-G300N, WZR-HP-G300NH, and
WZR-HP-AG300H, which are all N300 but the middle one adds Gigabit and
an FTP server (with USB port) and the top one adds N600 (dual-band).
I believe I have Gigabit capability so that might be useful, and the
FTP server is not a function of the notebook (though I wonder how
useful they are). Is there any chance I'd be able to use the N600? I
went with webcam and two antennas so I'm not sure how concurrent
300Mbps would work.
Thanks!
--
Andrew mailto:[email protected]
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