The Smorgasbord

We move computers around quite a bit in our house, and we sure have the gamut here. I have been using a Ubuntu Linux workstation in my office for about 5 years now. Downstairs in the living room we’ve had Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows Vista, some NetTop PC’s, a Macbook, an iPad or two floating around, and a dual boot laptop. For some reason, we always seen to have problems with our wireless adapters for wifi in the house – we that is, we seem to go through a lot of them. Probably because they’re usually USB and often go between PC’s.

So I put together a new PC today with Ubuntu – and having gone through the whole drawer of wifi adapters, I found a broken Wireless G and 2 broken Wireless N, and one broken laptop wifi card. If I want to get this box online without an ethernet cable I have to use an adapter. Most of the bookmarks I had on file for supported Ubuntu hardware were outdated. One thing I should say is that if you use Ubuntu Linux – always make the official Ubuntu Forums your first stop for tech support. One trip there, and in about 30 seconds I found that there’s an Official Supported Wireless Network section of Ubuntu Help.

There’s a complete list of supported wireless cards for Ubuntu there (both new and old). I’m not a networking expert by any means, but I do know that for best use you don’t want to get a wifi adapter that uses ndiswrapper if you can help it (because it actually uses a Windows wrapper). What you want is a wireless adapter that has native support IN UBUNTU for the wireless chipset.

So, having perused the list myself, here is my recommendation. You’d be surprised how cheap you can get some of this stuff on eBay used, secondhand, and refurb.

My #1 choice for best wireless N adapter for Ubuntu Linux is the D-Link DWA-160 Dual Band “extreme N” wifi adapter. It’s USB, with native chipset support, and should work out of the box! Guess what – if you search hard enough you should be able to get one for around $30 used!

Dlink DWA-160 Xtreme N Dual Band USB Adapter - Brand New
	USD 33.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 01:26:39
D-LINK XTREME DUO 802.11N DWA-160 (Lot of 10)
	USD 100.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 00:58:24
D-Link Xtreme N DUO Dualband Draft 802.11n USB Adapter DWA160
	USD 25.85 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-11 00:47:35
DWA-160 Xtreme N Dual Band USB Adapter
	USD 29.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 06:15:23
DLink DWA-160 Xtreme N Duo USB Adapter
	USD 78.31 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-06 03:13:53
D-LINK XTREME N DUAL BAND ADAPTER (MODEL #DWA 160)
	USD 14.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 05:24:13
D-LINK DWA-160, RangeBooster N DualBand USB 2.0/1.1 adapter is 802.11n
	USD 45.66 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 21:08:52
NEW D-LINK DWA-160 XTREME N DUO USB ADAPTER XP/VISTA
	USD / 55.26 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 15:08:47
DLINK DWA-160 XTREME N USB CONVERTER OMNIDIRECTIONAL
	USD / 56.26 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 05:58:06
D-LINK DWA-160 XTREME N DUAL BAND USB ADAPTER WIFI 11N
	USD 53.81 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-11 13:48:27

The new price for the DWA-160 used is about $47:

Are there other supported cards? Yes, plenty – but I wanted one that had been listed as working in 2011 with native chipset support (for a reasonable price), and this was the best one. Also, for my needs on this project I wanted a wifi N USB adapter for Linux because if I dump this box I don’t want to open it to get the PCI card out, and I want an adapter that will work on a desktop, laptop, whatever we have. I’m glad we found this – it works well for us on this system.

If you’re shopping for a “Dual Band Wireless Router”, I hope my review will help you. I decided that it was time for our family to break down and finally get a Wireless N router for the same of speed, but I had some questions to research first. Before putting out the bucks – I really wanted to make sure we got not only the most reliable product, but the fastest router we could find (our house is stacked from floor to rafters with wireless gadgets, lol!).

Can you get Dual Band Wireless N, both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz at the same time from one router? Is a dual band router twice as fast? Let’s find out!

Just about everyone who has multiple computers in their home have a wireless router. Most of those people bought theirs on a recommendation from [insert big box store here]. For most people these routers do their job and don’t give there “operator” any problems until it clunks out and you buy a new one. Well why not get educated on the new guy in the router game, IEEE 802.11n-2009, also known by its common name, “Wireless N”. The best way to take advantage of this technology are dual band routers as two is always better than one, right?

First off, if you go by CNET reviews (and I always do), no dual band wireless N router currently has above a 3 out of 5 rating, which if you’re not familiar with their system is only ‘good’. Okay, now that is out of the way, I rarely go with new technology or recommend it to others until it is completely fool-proof. I think that it just may be getting there now. Here are my recommendations of the best Dual-Band Wireless N routers.

Airport Extreme Review

Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station 802.11n ($175, although you could get it cheaper) – Don’t call me crazy until you have read all the features this little Apple that could offers. It has all the features of comparable features of routers of this type, but offer the ease that apple offers with all their products. If you run a mixed mac and pc network this router is perfect, if you however run all windows machines then you can find something a little cheaper with all the same features (it just may not be as fast). Believe it or not, you can use this Apple product as a router – even if you have no Apple computers in your house (it works just fine with Windows). This is a “true dual band” wireless N router, meaning it won’t make you choose between 2.5 and 5 GHz – you can actually use both. It will support printers and network storage, but it’s pick about USB external hard drives. It only supports 50 clients, which is more than enough for most households, just be forewarned there is a limit. Bottom line, I think most Windows users (advanced ones) will want more features).

Apple Airport Extreme Base Station A1143 Wireless Router
	USD 66.00 (11 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 00:30:37
Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station 10/100 USB Wireless G Router A1034 & Modem
	USD 29.95 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-06 06:00:43
Apple A1143 AirPort Extreme WI-Fi Wireless base station pc router
	USD 70.00 (10 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 01:00:54
Apple AirPort Extreme Base 4-Port 10/100 Wireless N Router (MA073LL/A)
	USD 49.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 01:34:05
Apple Airport Extreme Wi-Fi 802.11N 3-Port Router A1408 For Parts Not Working A
	USD 39.99 (1 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 04:06:03
Apple AirPort Extreme 3-Port Gigabit Wireless N Router MC340LL/A
	USD 75.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 04:06:59
Apple Airport Base Station Extreme WIFI Router A1034 w/ AC adapters (Lot of 2)
	USD / 20.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 20:23:29
New Apple Airport Extreme.802.11n Wi-Fi MD031LL - 3-Port Wireless N Router
	USD 108.50 (16 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 06:49:32
Apple Airport Extreme N Router A1301 SIM Dualband
	USD 15.50 (2 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 18:15:50
Apple AirPort Extreme 3-Port Gigabit Wireless N Router (A1143)
	USD 7.38 (4 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 20:34:06

Linksys WRT400N Review

Linksys WRT400N ($120-149.99 just look around) – In our home we have almost exclusively used Linksys routers since we got our first high speed internet connection many years ago. They have always been easy to use and maintain and have that weird little purple-blue look to them. Well the WRT400N sports a new design but works as well as you would a expect a Linksys should. This router has true dual band support, but no Gigabit or USB support. The 5 GHz speed is a bit lacking.

Cisco-Linksys WRT400N 300 Mbps 4-Port 10/100 Wireless N Router WRT-400
	USD 14.99 (1 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 00:20:41
LINKSYS WRT400N DUAL BAND WIFI N 300Mbps ROUTER & REPEATER W/ DD-WRT
	USD 69.98 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 01:16:38
Cisco-Linksys Simultaneous Dual-band Wireless-N Router
	USD 20.51 (9 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 17:22:09
Linksys WRT400N 4-Port 10/100 Wireless N Router
	USD 39.95 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-08 13:58:22
LINKSYS WRT400N SIMULTANEOUS DUALBAND WIRELESS-N ROUTER
	USD / 4.14 (4 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 01:21:18
Cisco-Linksys WRT400N Simultaneous Dual-Band Wireless Router w/ DD-WRT installed
	USD 69.95 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 02:57:08
Linksys WRT400N Dual-Band Wireless N (g,b,a) Router
	USD 56.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 17:28:14
Linksys WRT400N 300 Mbps 4-Port 10/100 Wireless N Router - Used, all accessories
	USD 1.25 (2 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-08 01:17:52
Used Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Router WRT400N
	USD 59.98 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-09 02:00:10
Linksys WRT400N 300 Mbps 4-Port 10/100 Wireless N Router
	USD 1.50 (2 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-09 17:21:39

Linksys WRT610N Review

Linksys WRT610N ($160.99-199.99 again look around) – This one is the next model up from the previous Linksys. The routers only major complaint is that the warranty is too short. Sounds like a good problem to have, meaning at least the complaints were performance related. The router offers a single mode, mix mode and simultaneous mode for sending the signal out. It support both 2.5 GHz and 5.0 GHz at the same time. You can attach storage devices to it, and on this one the mixed-mode throughput could be better. Other than that, it may be the best of the bunch, especially if you have external storage you want to make wireless.

Linksys WRT610N gigabit router - needs to be unbricked
	USD 30.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 01:34:31
NEW Linksys Cisco WRT610N Wireless N Router with DD-WRT - Version 2
	USD 98.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-09 08:58:38
Linksys WRT610N 270 Mbps 4-Port Gigabit Wireless N Router
	USD 48.88 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 03:36:57
*New* Linksys - WRT610N Simultaneous Dual-N Band Router
	USD 99.95 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 00:01:24
Linksys WRT610N V2 4-Port Gigabit Wireless N Router (WRT610N)
	USD 10.50 (4 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 17:06:05
Linksys WRT610N 270 Mbps 4-Port Gigabit Wireless N Router
	USD / 18.89 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-06 21:05:35
Cisco-Linksys WRT610N Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router
	USD 49.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-11 17:56:33
WRT610N Ver.2 Linksys Simultaneous Dual-Band Wireless N 4-Port Gigabit Router
	USD 5.00 (3 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 01:30:42
LINKSYS WRT610N DUAL BAND WIFI N ROUTER & REPEATER W/ DD-WRT MEGA WRT600N
	USD 78.97 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 01:41:41
Linksys WRT610N 270 Mbps 4-Port Gigabit Wireless N Router
	USD 40.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 19:48:06

I know most of these routers are more expensive than most routers you will find at Wal-Mart but as they say, you gotta pay for quality. One final note if your computer, laptop or wireless capable device is only wireless G compliant you have a few choices. First you could just stick with what you have as your new wireless N router does accept all incoming signals. Next you could buy wireless n adapters which are usb enabled, work as they should and are relatively expensive. The final choice is yours, the consumer.