Thats how most laptops works. Thing is he's gonna play online game and u'll hate it when u get interfere or slow down in connection.

 

Go with IEEE 802.11g but if you have phone that run off a 2.3GHz frequency try changing back to the 900MHz as they can, and probably will interfer with your wireless network. Also first thing when you are setting up the router, TURN OFF THE GUEST ACCOUNT! As for companies, I've never been a fan of Linksis, but Netgear, D-Link, 3-Com(kinda like the filet mignion of wireless) make great products; unless ofcourse you have a grand to drop on a Cisco router lol.

 

I've been using the same DI-624 router (D-link) for 3 years now... never had an issue... I set up everyone with D-link... those who can't figure out D-link.. or have problems with 'em... probably shouldn't be allowed near a computer.. as they are so easy and reliable to use.... Linksys is actually made by Cisco (the leading Networking company in the world) so, I can not say they "suck" however... I definitely don't like 'em.

The main advice I have is... make sure you get something that allows MAC address filtering... and setup a 128-bit WEP key (at least)... the worst thing is to have a network available to the public (great way to get attacked)... D-link supports SuperG (108Mb/s Wireless G)... but you have to use the D-link SuperG products all around... 54Mb/s isn't going to be bad... since most i-net connections max out at 6-9Mb/s... Brand of router is like brand of car... you're going to get opinions on EVERY one. D-link - Belkin - Linksys would all be good brands...

P.S. - The comment about the phones is correct... I had to upgrade to 5.8ghz to compensate for my wireless network... Wireless is only "unreliable" if you don't know how to set it up... I run 2 laptops on wireless... my PS2 wired ('cause I don't want to have to pay for an adapter) and my HP 2600n wired.... and my VoIP wired.. I don't have any reliability issues.... whatsoever.

 

thanks for the responses.. whats "MAC address filtering"?? like i said i have a wired net and my router right now is linksys. i have never had a big issue with it in about 3 years of operation, only had to turn it off for 30 sec so you can reset it... well you know what im talkin about. but thats it. now the time i was helping my uncle to set up i wireless net in his house, he bought a small (i guess you can call it portable card) that came with the installation cd and the portable card was usb. i installed the software, set up the wizard on the 2 pc's (took me about 15 min) and the remote pc had signal... but very weak. i was trying to find out why. i remember that the remote pc was asking for a password, wich i think could have been the security pass, im not sure. i found out after a while that the signal was low cuz he was using diff brands to set up the wireless net. now its working fine without issues.

my brother told me that he rather run wires from his room to the OUTSIDE so it'll be faster to the basement plus much less work. yes going wire-wise its better since the speeds are greater, but the use of wireless like printer, share music,files, and all that...

again you guys rule.

 

You can snag a signal booster if needed. With all the monstorus old houses we have around here its not uncommon that a signal has trouble getting through a plaster-filled house.

 

In MAC address filtering, the router will have a list of MAC addresses. If your MAC address matches a MAC address in the list, then you will be allowed to connect to the network. If your MAC address is not on the list, then you cannot access the network. A MAC address is a unique address that every LAN and wireless adapter has. It is like a street address in a network. When your computer sends a request to the router, the MAC address of your computer will also be in the request. This provides good security since you can control exactly which computer you will allow onto your wireless network. However, it is limited b/c it is harder to bring a new computer into the network. Example: Your friend brings his laptop over, to let him use your network you must enter his MAC address into the router. MAC addresses are really long and it would be a pain if your had diff users accessing your network. However, for a small home network it works fine.

 

Exactly... it's VERY secure ... but kind of a PITA to get it set up...