does anyone know of a good brand of routers to buy. i heard netgear isnt worth a damn. anybody got an extra one laying around for free or for sale.

2/23/2008 9:18:29 PM

shame buffalo has an injunction against selling theirs...ten times better than linksys routers and at half the cost

that said, if you want basic functionality, i (personally) have never really seen a "bad" router, just bad circumstances (interference from devices like microwaves and phones, or crowded bands from other wireless routers)...my parents are currently using a trendnet i got from newegg for $5 AR, but it actually works very well

everyone else will (rightfully) tell you to go with linksys if you want something solid and don't mind dropping more than $50 on one

2/23/2008 9:21:15 PM

I have a Netgear WPN824 that I have never had a problem with (almost a year).

My surfboard modem, on the other hand, blows monkey nuts.

2/23/2008 9:21:46 PM

^ hah, yeah...quite honestly, you'll PROBABLY experience more issues with a surfboard modem than you will with a wireless router these days

2/23/2008 9:23:35 PM

Wireless home routers are like cell phone providers. You'll have just as many people that absolutely love a given brand as hate the same brand, and at the end of the day, there's very little difference between them to the average consumer.

2/24/2008 8:38:47 AM

Bobby is right. While I'm a huge proponent of Linksys, my only reason is that was the first kind of router we ever bought, it worked great, and I've just been using them since. I really love my wrt54gv2.

However I bought a cheap Netgear wireless-g router (was like $40-50, but on sale for $10) for my girlfriend's condo, and it hasn't given us any problems at all.

My parents use a D-Link at one of their houses, and aside from a slight hiccup in the configuration (could have been my fault), it hasn't given them any problems either.

So you're going to find lovers and haters of all brands, but in the end you'll probably be fine with whatever you get.

2/24/2008 9:40:47 AM

i use a cheapo TrendNet router at my desktop, and an even cheaper TrendNet wireless card in my gf's laptop.

the router/card was easy as hell to set up. comes with software that diagnoses problems when they do arise. the software also makes setting up your network security (so no one can leech off your shit) a breeze. you can even set up file sharing and printer sharing easily. and i know like 0 about networking.

2/24/2008 10:39:17 AM

just use the one in your downstairs neighbor's apartment.

2/24/2008 10:01:39 PM

^FTW

2/24/2008 10:20:32 PM

ive owned a linksys, it was nice

now I have a Belkin, and I have better range with it here at the parents house,

but yea, BobbyDigital got it right

2/24/2008 11:54:43 PM

wireless routers maybe, wireless NIC's now that's a WHOLE different ballgame as NETGEAR has the WORST drivers for their wireless cards and sense i believe in keeping the NIC's and the routers of the same brand... it's just better off to stay away from Netgear.

Go Linksys, Buffalo, or a high-end D-Link like the DGL-4300 or 802.11n MIMO routers

2/25/2008 1:15:26 AM

I've used some older wireless B versions of D-Link and Belkin with no issues. In fact, my old Belkin still works like a charm. I got a newer G version for $10 AR and again, no issues. I had a Linksys before, but it was the crappy version that you could not upgrade the firmware. Got it for free AR, and now I know why. Definitely the wrt54g's that allow you to install 3rd party firmware are nice.

2/25/2008 1:30:25 AM

my belkin seems like it needs a reset every 5 days.... which can be annoying

2/25/2008 6:42:39 AM

only brand i've consistently had problems with is d-link

i've never had problems with anything linksys, it just seems to *work* - it's great for non-technologically-oriented people (i.e. my family) who want something that won't break. runs even better with DD-WRT. make sure you get a version below 5, and, if you can find it, get the GS model, it has more ram.

i currently run a box with pfSense - it's on an old dell p3 1ghz with 256mb of ram and a 4gb CF-based hard drive. it's fast as balls (routed throughput of wirespeed on a 100mbps connection, pretty damn close on gigabit) and you can pretty much do anything on it. i'm even running a wifi hotspot with a captive portal and junk on it right now. any x86 pc will run it, so you can essentially have an enterprise-grade firewall/router for free (old computer everyone inevitably has laying around) or next to nothing (cost of a couple of NICs and a switch).

2/25/2008 7:22:44 AM

Quote :

"routed throughput of wirespeed on a 100mbps connection"

How did you measure that performance?

2/25/2008 9:52:23 AM

transferred a file between two subnets of my network, had to get routed

p.s. when i say "wirespeed" i'm not referring to the actual theoretical wirespeed, but wirespeed as in 100mbps

2/25/2008 12:14:28 PM

Yeah i'm stoked i just wired my entire place up with cat6 and i can actually tell a difference vs my 60' mangled cat 5 cable which wasn't any faster than wireless but i didn't have to worry about dropped signal during game play (xbox 360).

2/25/2008 1:00:11 PM

Quote :

"only brand i've consistently had problems with is d-link "

I've had the same experience. their wireless strength sucks, and it felt the need to reboot constantly.

2/25/2008 2:08:18 PM

So why does buffalo have an injunction against theirs ?

2/25/2008 2:38:51 PM

Quote :

"transferred a file between two subnets of my network, had to get routed p.s. when i say "wirespeed" i'm not referring to the actual theoretical wirespeed, but wirespeed as in 100mbps"

The problem is that you can't have a file transfer at 100mbps on a 100mb link, even if it wasn't routed. There's packet overhead as well as TCP flow control that limits your actual throughput.

Aside from all that I'm not quite sure I believe that a soft router could handle 100mbps of traffic. The CPU has to perform a NAT translation or route lookup, and then a subsequent MAC rewrite for each packet, which requires a CPU interrupt for each packet. This will introduce some delay.

2/25/2008 3:28:23 PM

^^ http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/20/csiro-injunction-halts-buffalo-sales/

that's why, if you go to circuit city's website, you'll see all buffalo wireless gear in the "outlet" area

[Edited on February 25, 2008 at 4:09 PM. Reason : .]

2/25/2008 4:07:28 PM

Apple Air Port Extreme, ftw, imo

2/25/2008 4:17:46 PM

I'm looking for a gigabit router with pre-n capabilities... any suggestions ?

2/26/2008 9:22:52 AM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124081

this was JUST on sale for $130, but it looks like the deal's gone

2/26/2008 9:29:55 AM

Quote :

"I'm looking for a gigabit router with pre-n capabilities... any suggestions ?"

http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/


All interfaces including the WAN are gigE. It has 802.11a/b/g and n on both 2.4 and 5 GHz. It really is a damn good wireless router and overall tested better than any other wireless router in its class.

Read: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/802-11n-router-roundup.ars for more detail on benchmarks etc.

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 9:56 AM. Reason : .]

2/26/2008 9:55:52 AM

Cept it only has a 3 port switch... i can do with 4 but 5 is what i really would like to find.

2/26/2008 10:09:38 AM

not going to find it.

you either have increments of 4, or the APE with 3.

Do you really have more than 3 devices that need or can even use gigE?

APE is as good as it gets.

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 10:11 AM. Reason : .]

2/26/2008 10:10:50 AM

Don't get Belkin, I'm on my 3rd one from them that they have replaced for free

2/26/2008 10:15:06 AM

haha i have a belkin now... it sucks i have to reset it nightly.


Actually i guess i could do the 3 port and get another switch for the non gigabit stuff good point.

2/26/2008 10:44:40 AM

yup - those switches only run about 20 bucks anyway, or you could just use your existing belkin as the switch.

2/26/2008 10:50:01 AM

yea, gigabit switches are el cheapo now

2/26/2008 11:49:42 AM

5-port d-link unmanaged gigabit switch, $10AR and google checkout:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202593729

2/28/2008 12:49:54 PM

^I have the DGS-2208 and it's great

2/28/2008 1:36:08 PM

I love my now-black-market buffalo router. I guess that explains why the bookstore couldn't get any more in though.

2/28/2008 2:36:56 PM