Wireless G Desktop Card To Linksys Wireless B Router Help?

Question

I currently have a Linksys 802.11B Wireless B router and I was wondering if I could connect a Wireless G Desktop Card or USB Wireless G Adapter to it? I was also wondering if it will work good with an xbox 360 as I am connecting the wireless to my computer and my xbox 360 to the computer. Will there be a good connection or do I need to buy a Wireless G Router for good connection? Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks, Scott

Answer 1

You're fine - G is backward compatible to B.

If you need to share anything more than internet I'd recommend getting a new router that supports wireless-G and newer security (WPA-PSK).  802.11b is plenty fast for internet sharing though...

802.11b is 11Mbps

802.11g is 54Mbps (backward-compatible at 11Mbps)

I like the Belkin 54G router because it's the cheapest name-brand one I've found ($39 at most office stores) and I know it works (I've installed 3 of them) but the brand is really up to you.  Only one of those Belkins has gone bad, and Belkin replaced it for free.  I don't know if all routers include this but the Belkin one comes with a setup CD that guides you through plugging everything in correctly and automatically programs the router to work as well as guiding you through enabling security.

If you only care about internet, 802.11b (11Mbps) is plenty fast. They don't really sell these anymore but what they do sell is 802.11g (54Mbps) which replaces and is backwards compatible with 802.11b.  This is also what most built-in WiFi laptops and handhelds sold today use. I wouldn't get anything else because it's just a waste of money. Residential broadband internet is usually only 1-5Mbps so even WiFi-b is plenty fast.

If you plan to do file-sharing, you care about the wireless speed more so go with 802.11g (54Mbps) or the new 802.11n (108Mbps up to 300/600Mbps).  I should say I've never actually seen 802.11n in action but from what I understand it's compatible with all 4 standards (a/b/g/n) and claims to be wider-range.

Put your wireless router as high up as you can and as far from electrical and metal things as you can, that'll give you the best coverage.  Try to put it in the middle of where you expect to be (usually the middle of the house).  If you have 2.4GHz cordless phones you may want to replace them with 5.8GHz, 900MHz, or the new DECT6.0 phones that won't cause interference.  Also, wireless video senders, or wireless cameras that run on 2.4GHz should be set to the farthest channel from your router (e.g. set video sender to 1 or A and put the router on channel 11).  Channels 1, 6, and 11 are preferable because they don't "overlap" with each other.

Answer 2

Wireless B =  11 Mbs

Wireless G =   54 Mbs

I would upgrade the router for the faster speed.  Get another Linksys.