Moderators Kindness Posted July 27, 2007 Moderators Share Posted July 27, 2007 I have a cable modem installed from the local cable company, but I need to install a wireless router for my laptop. I am good with setting up the network and all that, but I haven't looked into the actual hardware itself in years. It looks like I am getting a 100 Mbps connection on my hard line, so I assume I'd want a router capable of at least that speed. Any brands or models that are particularly reliable or unreliable? I'm heading out this evening after work to pick one up, so hopefully there is someone around this afternoon that has a good sense of the current products/brands on the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mytola Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 I personally like the Apple AirPort extreme. Fast, reliable and very easy to set up and maintain. It's not amongst the cheapest of the routers/access points, but it is worth the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thelurker Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 Just so you know, your connection speed is not relevant to your internet speed. A T1 connection is 1/10th of a 10BaseT connection. It will affect the speed at which you can share data between computers, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 i've tried a bunch of wireless routers and have settled on a linksys wrt54g. i've got it running hypertofu and it's rock solid. stay far away from the d-link stuff if there's any chance you could have ANY interference in the 2.4 ghz range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 Most wireless routers are all capable of being at least that fast...especially when coupled with their counterpart wireless card. The like the Netgear stuff personally, it's easy to set up and reliable. They make one that is capable of 108 mbps with their card. I have a linksys at home and it does the job plenty fine though. The thing is with 100 mbps, is that the internet isn't nearly that fast, so it really doesn't matter all that much. Unless you're paying for the premium cable modem it's probably only like 3 mbps. Even the premium is only like 6 mbps. If you're doing actual networking from computer to computer, then the speed matters...but gigabit is the way to go these days with that stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 27, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 i've tried a bunch of wireless routers and have settled on a linksys wrt54g. i've got it running hypertofu and it's rock solid.stay far away from the d-link stuff if there's any chance you could have ANY interference in the 2.4 ghz range. +1 on the Linksys wrt54g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike fitzwell Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 stay far away from the d-link stuff if there's any chance you could have ANY interference in the 2.4 ghz range. Why do you say that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WillPlay4food Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 +1 on the Linksys wrt54g. +2 on the Linksys. Still running stock firmware and that's all I seem to need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted July 27, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted July 27, 2007 Perfect! Thanks. That's what I like, fast and consistent answers. Any reason to spend the extra few bucks on the WRT54GS over the WRT54G? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 Perfect! Thanks. That's what I like, fast and consistent answers. Any reason to spend the extra few bucks on the WRT54GS over the WRT54G? The GS has what linksys calls a "speed booster" which kicks up the speed from 54 to 108. It only works if you have the linksys speed booster card, so if you don't or don't plan on it...don't bother with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neonfacelift Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 I've had the best luck with the Netgear and Apple stuff. I had the previously mentioned Linksys router and it would drop after a day or two and need a reboot. May have just been the particular one I had, though. I've got an Apple Airport Extreme right now and have been loving it. I got it about a week after it came out and have had to reboot once. It's a little pricey, but the ease of use and reliability make it well worth it. Plug in a USB hub, a printer and a few hard drives and everything is gravy. The only gripe I have about it is the 100mbps switch. Everything else Apple makes is gigE. Not sure why they went that route, but it's not that big of a deal, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 Why do you say that? i had a d-link for about 3 days while waiting on my linksys and it just sucked. our phones are 2.4 ghz and even with them on separate channels if you took a phone into a room where there was wireless the router would freak out. i gave it to a buddy who has all wired phones and his neighbors phone would freak it out. that's if the connection wasn't dropped already. i've had 3 d-links at different times and they've all been horrid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SteveyDevey Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 +2 on the Linksys. Still running stock firmware and that's all I seem to need. +3 Linksys makes good stuff. I picked up a Belkin G+ MIMO router the other day and it's also been pretty decent. Airport though? Um, no. I've never had anything but problems with airport equipment, including the fact that one we used to own could only be administrated by a mac. We only had one in the house, and it was a laptop that was often away from home. So if we had any trouble, we were screwed until that laptop came back home for a while. Good job, apple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted July 27, 2007 Author Moderators Share Posted July 27, 2007 Just so you know, your connection speed is not relevant to your internet speed. An important distinction I've never taken the opportunity to learn. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 I've got a Netgear router. It works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwalmz Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 Netgear user here. No problems to report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teleken Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 i've tried a bunch of wireless routers and have settled on a linksys wrt54g. i've got it running hypertofu and it's rock solid. stay far away from the d-link stuff if there's any chance you could have ANY interference in the 2.4 ghz range. Same one I use, FWIW - been in service for 3 years now, no problems, EASY to update the firmware when it needs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members picker13 Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 The "N" wireless format's been out awhile, and most are backward compatible with G. I'd like to upgrade to N as my house is too big to get reception everywhere with my current G system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike fitzwell Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 i had a d-link for about 3 days while waiting on my linksys and it just sucked. our phones are 2.4 ghz and even with them on separate channels if you took a phone into a room where there was wireless the router would freak out. i gave it to a buddy who has all wired phones and his neighbors phone would freak it out. that's if the connection wasn't dropped already. i've had 3 d-links at different times and they've all been horrid. My experience with Linksys has been terrible, especially their wireless PC cards. I've got all dlink stuff at home--WAP, router, 4 wireless cards--and am very happy with it all. My Uniden 2.4ghz seven handset cordless phone system has never had an issue with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neonfacelift Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 +3 Linksys makes good stuff. I picked up a Belkin G+ MIMO router the other day and it's also been pretty decent. Airport though? Um, no. I've never had anything but problems with airport equipment, including the fact that one we used to own could only be administrated by a mac. We only had one in the house, and it was a laptop that was often away from home. So if we had any trouble, we were screwed until that laptop came back home for a while. Good job, apple. I don't know what the case was in the past, but with all the new Airport gear you can administer from a Windows box, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SteveyDevey Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 My experience with Linksys has been terrible, especially their wireless PC cards. I've got all dlink stuff at home--WAP, router, 4 wireless cards--and am very happy with it all. My Uniden 2.4ghz seven handset cordless phone system has never had an issue with it. I'm the other way. I've had nothing but horrible trouble with dlink stuff. I'll never use their equipment again if I have a choice. Neonfacelift: I assumed they would have changed that at one point, but the finicky, weak signal was also a big reason I didn't want to use it. I was 2 rooms away and could often times get no signal at all. When we replaced it with the linksys I had a good signal always. Kindness: Technically, they're the same thing. The important distinction is that you internet connection is going to be a lot slower than your local area speed, so all of your choices are going to be sufficient. The speed/range of the router for internal network communication is where the differences come out. If you're the only one, you don't need much. If you have multiple computers talking to each other, that's where higher speed helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neonfacelift Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 So I think we all agree that wireless networking will always suck no matter who makes it. Let's just run some cables and be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SteveyDevey Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 So I think we all agree that wireless networking will always suck no matter who makes it. Let's just run some cables and be happy. Here here! I'm really not a big fan of it to begin with. I much prefer wired connections, but it's not always practical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mytola Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 So I think we all agree that wireless networking will always suck no matter who makes it. Let's just run some cables and be happy. I disagree. I've not had any problems whatsoever with the wireless here since I got the Airport Extreme half a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bten Posted July 27, 2007 Members Share Posted July 27, 2007 Didn't see anyone else mention it, but whatever equipment you use make sure you set up a secure network. Last thing you want is the pervert next door connecting to your network for illegal downloads that get you dragged into civil or criminal court. Lack of security on a network isn't a good excuse if that happens. If your network was involved, you can be held liable or criminally charged depending on the nature of the material that goes over your network. Judges and juries don't always understand technical stuff like this, they just see that the internet company traced the download to your cable modem. IMHO from professional experience it is well worth the half hour it takes to secure your network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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