An 802.11N router will only communicate at 802.11N speeds if the both the wireless network adapter and the router are based on the same 802.11N protocol.  Your Intel 3945 only supports 802.11b, 802.11G, and 802.11a.  Thus you would need a new wireless adapter that supports the currently non-standard 802.11N protocol.

 

Please keep in mind the following, however.  If your intention is to get faster internet speeds, think again.  Your internet speed is controlled by the type of service you subscribe to.   Currently the fastest speeds provided by cable internet providers is about 20 Mbps.   Since 802.11G, runs at 54 Mbps (perhaps a bit slower due to overhead), it still far exceeds the 20 Mbps that would be provided by these fast cable services.   Adding a router/wireless adapter that runs at 220 Mbps, would still only get 20 Mbps internet speed. 

 

The only advantage of the higher 802.11N speeds would be on your local network.  If you frequently transfer large files between computers on your local network, then you would see increased speeds for that application.  Of course router manufacturers don't both to mentions these things - they just want to sell you a more expensive new router.

 

Steve

That was what I was afraid of.  Thank you very much for the info, I'm glad I asked someone before I spent all my time installing the new router.