I would sugest you get a MMIO router bit the is risk in buying MIMO gear, since there is no such thing as a "MIMO" standard and the 802.11n high speed wireless standard that it is emulating is at least a year away from ratification. Since none of the current MIMO technologies are 802.11n, or can even be considered "pre-802.11n", forget any possibility of an upgrade to 802.11n compatibility when that standard is finally released.
The good news, however, is that Airgo and Atheros-based MIMO products are interoperable with existing 802.11b and g gear, although both will experience a throughput drop when non-MIMO gear is mixed into their wireless LANs. I previously examined mixed WLAN behavior for NETGEAR's RangeMax and a Linksys Airgo-based product in detail. And while I didn't verify the interoperability of any of the Atheros VLocity-based products, since Super-G is an important core VLocity technology, I don't think it's a big leap to assume that those products will handle mixed WLANs similarly to RangeMax.
But I didn't test the RaLink products for mixed WLAN behavior,so can't vouch for what happens. However, I'd expect behavior similar to the other technologies, with the only question being the extent of throughput drop.
Second, if wireless bridging and repeating or ability to attach higher-gain antennas is important, you generally will get neither from MIMO products. The one exception in this round-up is the Airlink101 router, which has its antennas attached via RP-SMA connectors (but no WDS bridging / repeating).
So as far as risk is concerned, my conclusion is that there is no more obsolescence or interoperability risk from buying "MIMO" products than any other WLAN products using non-standard throughput and range-enhancement technologies.
Next, let's consider price. More competition has lead to lower prices, with ZyXEL being the most notable exception among the products reviewed. But now that you know that you can get the same performance and features from the much more reasonably priced TRENDnet pair, perhaps we'll see ZyXEL come down in price.
Tip Tip: Like parent Cisco, Linksys would like you to believe that their name on the box justifies higher prices for products that are essentially copies of Airgo's reference designs. But Belkin's Pre-N and G Plus are also Airgo reference clones and cost up to 30% less.
But most manufacturers are slugging it out and slashing prices with the result being that as I write this you can pick up a "MIMO" router for under $60 (the Airlink101). But given the Airlink101's inability to connect in either of my difficult test locations 4 and 5, you'll probably should expect to spend more like $80 - $90 for one of the better-ranked products.
You should note that finding a deal on MIMO client cards is more difficult, since that's where manufacturers are trying to squeeze out some margin so that they can live to fight another day. As noted previously, I suspect that NETGEAR may be doing the best at this game, given the single chip design of its WPN511 RangeMax client and its comparatively high price.
If high throughput is what matters most to you, then choose any of the products using Atheros VLocity technology, i.e. the D-Link, ZyXEL or TRENDnet gear. Since all three also include routing sections with Ubicom's StreamEngine Internet upstream optimization technology, you can buy again on price, with TRENDnet getting the nod as low-price leader.
But keep in mind that you'll achieve this highest throughput only if your WLAN contains only Super-G clients and more likely only if the clients are from the same manufacturer and product family. You'll also need to make sure your hopefully speed WLAN isn't within range of any neighboring non Super-G wireless networks, since Super G products must shift down out of channel-bonding "turbo" mode if any are detected - even if you force "Static Turbo" mode.
So what about the other products? The Ruckus Wireless products command the highest price and may end up being mainly sourced via IPTV service providers (although the company says you can purchase them directly by emailing them). They don't provide the highest peak throughput, but earn the distinction of having both the highest total up and down throughput and WQS numbers in my most difficult test locations 4 and 5.
The non-MIMO Buffalo Turbo G Hi Power pair actually held its own among the sexier MIMO gear and managed to maintain 2-3Mbps of usable (although not with low variation) in the location 4 and 5 tests. Wireless bridging / repeating, upgradable antennas on both router and client, and pricing below all but the Airlink101 could make it an attractive alternative if you're willing to accept higher throughput variation for a lower price.
And what about the NETGEAR RangeMax, which ranked next-to-last for up and down WQS and behind both the Atheros and Airgo-based products for total up and down throughput? Actually, that about sums it up for this pair that seems to suffer from its earlier-generation Atheros technology and client that doesn't use the multi-element BeamFlex antenna. While it may be a top-selling MIMO product now, its technology and features are getting long in the tooth and the VLocity and TrueMIMO based products provide better value.
This brings me to the Airlink101, which bears the distinction of being the only product that I can't recommend because of its bottom total throughput ranking, low WQS and especially its inability to establish a connection in both difficult test locations 4 and 5.
http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2005/11/28/m...ace/page15.html
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