Dual band worth it?

[Bullfrog2099]

Ok, so I have a dlink dgl-4500 unopened because I'm now wondering if I should've gotten a dual band router like the D-Link DIR-855. Networking is not really my specialty, so in short I'm wondering if a dual band router would help say if my brother is running a ps3 connected wireless doing- online gaming, and I'm on my desktop wired 100baset- streaming movies, gaming, browsing and last my other brother using htc thunderbolt connected wireless streaming or browsing. Would I better better suited getting the DIR-855 or dgl-4500?

2nd scenario, Im trying to Game on my desktop wired 100baset, and my brother is trying to game connected wireless on ps3- Would I better better suited getting the DIR-855 or dgl-4500?

Is dual band worth it or should I just relax and open my dgl-4500?

 

[InvisiBill]

Dual-band only affects the RF properties of the wireless connection (2.4GHz or 5GHz). If you have lots of 2.4GHz devices (other WiFi devices, cordless phones, microwaves) around, switching to 5GHz can help avoid interference. Different frequencies have different characteristics as far as passing through walls, range, etc. The actual presence of dual-band on a router has absolutely nothing to do with how well it handles multiple devices or the wired part of the router.

However, dual-band routers tend to be the higher-end models, so you may find that they have faster CPUs, more memory, etc. This can make them perform better than a cheaper single-band router, but it doesn't have anything to do with the dual-band wireless.

Also, if your devices don't have 5GHz 802.11n, then dual-band would be completely wasted. Everything would be connected on 2.4GHz, the same as it would with a single-band router.