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Why purchase a new router....???

Hey all. So just a general question. I currently have an Actiontec m1424wr Rev E. I have been looking at the New Actiontec Gig E router. I see the differences between the two. I am just wondering why I would want to upgrade? My current set up is like this. 3 PC's, 3 smartphones, 1 Xbox and 1 PS3. Never all on at the same time except maybe the phones connected to the router.

Usually my wife and kids smartphone and either one of the consoles I am playing on at the time. Dont really see a problem with it so far. I currently have the 50/25 plan. So it seems to work out OK. Why would I want to purchase this router? Would I see a difference in anything? We dont download movies, Its mostly for maybe the occasional download of music from I-tunes or the Android store or watching YT videos. Games dont use alot of bandwidth, yet! Maybe these new generation consoles will.

So any reason? Thx

Comments

walt178

If what you have is working to suit your needs, there is no reason to upgrade your router. In my opinion, paying to improve capability makes no sense unless you need that improved capability.

Anti-Phish1

The rev. E is 802.11g only. The best speeds you're going to get wirelessly are about 20/20, so you can't achieve full utilization of the 50/25 WAN speeds that you have. The Gig-E router (rev. I) is 802.11n and will support higher wireless speeds than the rev. E.

Only you can make the determination of whether you need those higher wireless speeds.

beetlejuice2

@Anti-Phish wrote:
The rev. E is 802.11g only. The best speeds you're going to get wirelessly are about 20/20, so you can't achieve full utilization of the 50/25 WAN speeds that you have. The Gig-E router (rev. I) is 802.11n and will support higher wireless speeds than the rev. E.
Only you can make the determination of whether you need those higher wireless speeds.

That is not true. I have the older Westell g router and can easily get higher speeds. If you are taking wirelessly it depends on your network card in your computer.

For the OP I would say if you want speeds faster then 50 mbps then I would get the new router otherwise stick with what you have. Just make sure if you upgrade your wireless network card can handle the higher speeds on a wireless connection. The new routers are really meant for those who want those faster speeds such as 75 mbps and up. If you are happy with the 50 mbps download speeds then there really is no need to upgrade the router.

Anti-Phish1

@beetlejuice wrote:
That is not true. I have the older Westell g router and can easily get higher speeds. If you are taking wirelessly it depends on your network card in your computer.
I was quoting actual wireless throughput speed, not PHY rate. The Westell can connect at a PHY rate of 54Mbps, but you will get less that half that in actual throughput from a speedtest site. 20/20 is typical maximum speedtest throughput for any 802.11g connection. That's an approximate limit. YMMV depending on local conditions.

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