My m8's gonna buy and N+ router....

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It's an N1 vision router for around £120 from belkin and he's gonna hard wire his desktop pc and xbox 360 to it.
He's not planning on using the wireless features at all.

His old router is knackered and he's planning to connect the new one he's going to buy with his virgin broadband connection.

I reckon he's wasting his money as if he's not using it wirelessly then wouldn't he just be better going for a cheaper 'G' model?

What do you guys think? Do you get the same speeds outta a 'G' speed router as an 'N' speed router if they are hard wired?

What would you advise him to do? Thanks in advance for any input.

 

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First off, I'd advise that he get something other than Belkin. I'd trust Belkin for cables and KVMs... not so much for UPSs and routers. I'd recommend a Netgear or Linksys.

N is fine, but the standard hasn't been... er... standardized yet. Thus, N performance is all over the map, particularly when using different brands of wireless NICs and routers.

All that said... why is he getting a wireless router if he's not using (or planning on using) wireless anyway?

 

Would he not be better with a mini-switch, such as this one?

It will save him a bundle, and the one linked to supports Gigabit ethernet, so much faster for file transfers.

If later down the line, he wants to use wireless, he could always buy a wireless access point, and connect it to the switch.

Maria

 

I second that. Also if he's not going to use wireless, all N and G talk is pointless as it applies only to wireless networks.
If the devices are hard wired to the router he will be getting 100Mbps or 1Gbps depending on the router and cables. Wireless capabilities have nothing to do with wired speed.

 

A mini switch will be of no use, he needs a Cable / DSL router (depending on his internet type) with a mini switch built into it. Unless of course he's planning on using some other form of router to share his broadband.

 

^^ What Modey said. There are loads of cheap routers out there.. just have a look on some websites.
www.aria.co.uk
www.microdirect.co.uk
www.misco.co.uk
www.ebuyer.com
www.overclockers.co.uk
..they should all sell some

 

...unless his Cable/DSL router has a single port, like many have. In that case, all you need is a switch.

 

Sparky, that was what i was thinking he should get.

Currently the only thing has has is a wee black broadband cable modem that is supplied by virgin. This is plugged into his knackered router. Then his pc and xbox is plugged into this.

He's a stubborn sod who's always asking me for advice but at the same point in time i don't think he's really listening to me lol. Sometimes i think he thinks he knows better than everyone else when he doesn't.

Still, i can only give my opinion and i'll pass on all yours too. It's his cash so if he wants to waste it on something he doesn't really need then so be it.

Thanks for the info, it's been a big help. Please let me know if you have anymore suggestions.

 

Sorry, misread the OP. Yep, you need a router, rather than a mini switch, unless, like BM mentioned, the existing router has a single port, to connect the switch to.

 

Well based on the original post, doesn't sound like that.

 

...so all he needs is a multiport router. The original question was, why does he need wireless???

 

He doesn't, but it sounds like he wants to pay for an expensive one even though he's not going to use it. His choice I guess. I was just pointing out what he didn't need was a switch as it would have done sweet FA when plugged into his cable modem.

 

...unless his cable modem has a routed port.

 

UPDATE.......

Well my m8 went ahead and bought the expensive router despite me trying to convince him not to. I also pointed him to your link sparky but he just looked at it as if he realy wasn't interested in what i was showing him.

His set up is now:

ISP Virgin.
Cable coming into house which screws into black modem.
Ethernet cable from modem plugs into router.
Ethernet cables run from router to pc and xbox 360.

He's quite happy with it, said it looks nice and has loads of features built in LOL.
He isn't using it wirelessly at all.

I have some strange friends i guess.....

Thanks for the comments tho guys.

 

Not strange at all, its more common than you think. At least he has the option for wireless.

 

Given that he bought it soley to run at the wireless N+ speeds and probs won't ever use it wirelessly i thought it was strange.

Like others said, he could have went for a much cheaper option considering it's hard wired.

I have a netgear router/modem with wireless capability and given that if some pc's in my network weren't so far apart i wouldn't use the wireless fuction as i prefered my devices to be wired. It's handy to have the wireless capability tho so i see your point.