Macbookpro & linksys wrt300n router

Question

Hello, can you tell me if I can use a linksys wrt300n wireless router with a macbookpro & G4 Imac ?
thanks

Answer 1

Hi Danielh,
I sure hope that I can help you. Sorry for the somewhat slow response time, I have been playing XBOX all afternoon.
First off, I would totally disagree with the Office Depot guy. The thing is "n" isn't actually a "real" thing yet, it has yet to be approved by the WiFi alliance who oversees everything wireless. Right now "g" is still the standard, which is what is built into the AirPort Etreme cards in all current Apple computers.
On the topic of why you would want a "faster than 6MBps connection" from the router, it is because of how the router transmitts "stuff." While yes, Comcast has a top speed tier of 6MBps for standard service, the faster your connection to the router the faster files will transfer, and generally the better the connection you have. Lets say you have a 11MBps connection with a router, and you use your comcast. You will not get the full 450-600KBps download speed that you would get while directly connected to the router. With a router such as the WRT54G/GS, your connection speed will generally be 54MBps, which will achieve download speeds on the internet much closer to the wired speed of 450-600KBps. And now with Comcats new PowerBoost, us comcast people can now get speeds of up to 12MBps with our standard 6MBps service. So the faster the router, the faster the internet will go, although downloads will never go over the standard 6MBps (with bursts up to 12MBps.)
If you frequently move/transfer files from computer to computer, than the faster your wireless connection the faster your files will transfer. So in fact, 108MBps is NOT overkill, although no current Apple computer will support 802.11n at this time.
I actually have the WRT54GS, but have worked with many WRT54G's for customers. Both are very good routers and some of the cheapest, although the WRT54GS is more around mid-range price. Some people do have problems with the WRT54G but many times this is because they have not set it up properly, or updated the firmware, or in worst case they could have a "dud" router which happens quite a lot in the world of WiFi. But overall I have been EXTREMELY happy with the WRT54GS, and most Linksys routers that I have worked with. (As a side note I HATE D-LINK ROUTERS!)
While I do not use my iBook, or my Dell laptop, with a WRT54G router much, the times that I have I can't really tell a difference in speeds between the WRT54G and my WRT54GS. So I would save your money and just get the WRT54G. Yes any Linksys router, other than the Compact series routers, will work just fine in your apartment. Linksys are somewhat superior to other routers such as D-Links, and Netgears because of the second antenna that most all of them sport, such as the WRT54G.
I really hope that this helps!
-MRCUR