Need help on wireless routers

[P Mack]

I have heard that 802.11a is the fastest way to connect. How much is it? Which brand is it? What would you recommend?

[DeadOneWalking]

Well, it's really expensive, I would use 802.11G. It's cheaper and you will get all the speed needed.

[JAdlon85]

Their are 3 standards 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g most devices support all three so you could use any of them but 802.11g is the best so I would go with that one at least until 802.11n comes out but that won't be until mid-2006 but at some places you can buy a pre-n router and wireless card which is way faster than 802.11g and has greater coverage, so if you want next gen wireless networking I would go with pre-n. (You can recognize a pre-n router because it will have three antennas instead of one.)

IEEE 802.11a
Speed: 54 Mbps
Range: 150 feet
Frequency: 5 GHz

IEEE 802.11b
Speed: 11 Mbps
Range: 300 feet
Frequency: 2.4 GHz

IEEE 802.11g
Speed: 54 Mbps
Range: 300 feet
Frequency: 2.4 GHz

IEEE 802.11n
Speed: 100-200+ Mbps
Range: 800% greater coverage than 802.11g
Frequency: 2.4 GHz

You can buy pre-n equipment here:
http://www.accessorytown.com/detail.asp?Product_id=F5D8230-4&id=43

You can buy normal a/b/g equipment here:
http://games.dlink.com/products/category.asp

[cmalton]

As you can see from the above post there is no speed difference between 802.11a and 802.11g. The real difference is that 802.11a runs in a different band spectrum (5Ghz) so it less susceptable to interference from things like wireless phones and microwaves. Any 802.11g router from Linksys or Dlink would be great. Also you don't need to buy the wireless adapter that MS is selling with the 360. According to what I've read, any USB wireless adapter will work (the 360 one can snap onto the 360, that might be the difference).

I also saw your post about Media Center PCs. MS recommends that if you want to watch TV through your Media Center on your 360 that you should have 802.11a because of the interference problems with 802.11g. Watching TV needs a clear wireless signal to avoid pixelation and lag.

[XTREK]

The main reason for 802.11a is for the 360 to better support HD video streaming from a Media Center PC. Like cmalton said, 802.11a supports 5Ghz which is in a quieter spectrum.

DLink makes a 802.11a compatible router. The DI-784 is around $60. It supports WPA security and is xbox-live certified.

[MostWanted]

Why the fish do you need a wireless router? Microsoft should have one exclusively for Xbox 360.

[TurkeyRap]

yea but its slow and has a bad connection. I have a Linksys G gaming adapter. Its pretty sweet works and im down in the basement and the router is upstairs.