Wireless Connection 802.11b/g

I currently have a 802.11b wireless router while my laptop is compatible w/ either 802.11b or 802.11g. Would there be any benefit at all in upgrading to a 802.11g? Range is not an issue since the router is only one room away. I currently have the standard Road Runner for a residential customer.

Does the 802.11b already max out the data transfer rate/speed for my RR connection?

[Brain]

I'm guessing RoadRunner is a high-speed connection. I've heard of it, but don't remember if it's cable or not.

Anyway, 802.11b has a max rate of 11Mbit/s and 802.11g has a max rate of 54Mbit/s. I would imagine the g router would be able to help you out.

I have a g router and am happy with the speed, but have never used a b version so I can't comment on a comparison.

(info from wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11) )

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]

Does the 802.11b already max out the data transfer rate/speed for my RR connection?

[/ QUOTE ]

Good question. Most likely your cable mode is providing a real transfer rate that is less than what you are getting from the 802.11b. So unless you are doing a lot of file transfers within your network (for instance, playing MP3s on your laptop that are stored on a network drive) then there is not much gain from going to 802.11g.

However, the 802.11g is probably better from a security standpoint. Your 802.11b probably uses WEP only for encryption, whereas the 802.11g will offer WPA, a stronger encryption standard.