Which Wireless Router

MotoAce51 · Post by **MotoAce51** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:13 am

My router took a crap and I don't know much about them so Iam looking for someone to point me in the right direction.Things Connected to Router:Xbox 3602-3 LaptopsPrinterTVBluerayAnd who knows what else.I like the new features that allow you to hook up the external to transfer files. Right now I am looking at:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/NE...08844a ... Ci...25056

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:15 am

Cisco Lynksis

MotoAce51 · Post by **MotoAce51** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:38 am

Salsa Guy · Post by **Salsa Guy** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:15 pm

Cisco-Linksys are normally very solid products. Netgear and Belkin will bite you. I also would suggest Asus. I found them to be very cheap and very solid (I've reflashed a $40 router with DD-WRT and now it's a $200 Router, VPN, Firewall)

keithvibe · Post by **keithvibe** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:21 pm

Quote, originally posted by Salsa Guy Â»Cisco-Linksys are normally very solid products. Netgear and Belkin will bite you. I also would suggest Asus. I found them to be very cheap and very solid (I've reflashed a $40 router with DD-WRT and now it's a $200 Router, VPN, Firewall)show off... I've run a netgear router now for over 5years and it's never failed me.Belikin... trash...

Salsa Guy · Post by **Salsa Guy** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:51 pm

^^You are the few that can keep a gear going that long. When it finally dies buy a Cisco...LOL

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:09 am

Couple questions:How many of your devices are connected wirelessly vs wired?How many of the wireless devices are G vs N?How many of the wired devices are Gb capable?What is the speed you get from your ISP?How many (and what size) file transfers do you do within your network?

MotoAce51 · Post by **MotoAce51** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:10 am

Only wired devices are TV and Blueray. TV can be wireless but the router is sitting under it so whats the point. I know my laptop is N other than that I have no idea. I think my wifes is G. Not sure.Right now I did a speed test (7:08pm) and Down Speed is 12.96Mbps - Up speed 0.98MbpsAs for transfers, I am just trying to transfer Movies and Music without needing to plug in the laptop.

tribalman · Post by **tribalman** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:26 am

from your list i choose neither. linksys ones tend to be overly simple for me. i've had a few of them and they are ok for plug and go. Netgear is the same, i also work with them at work as people call in. personally, i like d-link. i have a wireless n with gigabit forced into wireless n mode only and my main server computer with ethernet set to gigabit only. i also have a 2nd router daisy chained so all the other non-wireless n devices(aka. everyone else in the family except me) can connect and for all the other non-gigabit devices to connect to.i would recommend getting a dual band wireless n router with gigabit. will allow any wireless n devices to connect at those speeds and the xbox and any others to use wireless g. also, gigabit for file transfers to/from a network attached hdd is a MUST.

tribalman · Post by **tribalman** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:35 am

also, avoid anything with "gaming" in the name. they claim to have advanced QOS (quality of service) to make sure you are getting the fastest speeds possible, but they tend to work like crap, require a TON of packet forwarding, and are overpriced.here is one of this site's multi router reviews/tests: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardwa...est/1 or if you have an old computer you were thinking of throwing away: http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2...ter/1

keithvibe · Post by **keithvibe** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:36 am

^^ those posts are from 2007 and 2008... there has to be some newer reviews.

djkeev · Post by **djkeev** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:03 am

You are getting and will get opinions on what is best. You need to decide but consider that a wired hookup is the fastest way to transmit high quantities of information. Wireless is great and easy but wired is actually better. If you can transfer this huge files with a wire, you'll be better off.I have FIOS internet so I use the FIOS provided router. I also have an Apple Airport Extreme in the house as a 2nd system and I use an Apple Airport Express for sending music to my audio system wirelessly.They all of their quirks, no one item is perfect and while they excel at one task they can be a real pain in the (removed) for another!Dave

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:36 am

My first choice would be an Apple Airport, but I have a fully functional Cisco Lynksis that has been working for years. When/if that craps out, Apple Airport will be choice.

CoreyX64 · Post by **CoreyX64** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:50 pm

I deal with network infrastructures and workstation connections on a daily basis whether it be at home, school, and work. While each scenario uses entirely different forms of gateways, I can expand upon the "home" section due to the fact that I seem to go through routers like toilet paper, so I've had experience with various brands. I'll briefly describe my experiences with each to help you. While you will likely get various and sometimes contradictory responses, the most important factor (above product reviews) is evaluating your needs, specifically regarding bandwidth. It sounds like multimedia is a widespread demand in your home, so I could not recommend anything lower than a wireless N router with gigabit Ethernet. This is purely for optimal performance however. Technically speaking, any router will work. But if your spending The money on a new one, you might as well make your investment worth it.Brands I've used: Zoom- only for DSL customers. Very solid and dependable router/modem combo. however, I host my own server from home, and this model would not let me forward web port 80 to the server. I had to get rid of it. Also, it hated anything apple, but I don't have anything apple but a single iPod. Not a big deal.Belkin- had a wireless N with the USB port for file storage. (discontinued model) slow USB file transfer aside, this was probably my most dependable one of all. I only ever had to reboot it maybe once or 2x over the course of several months. net was very fast, and local network sharing among workstations was flawless. This includes streaming media (WMP shared music libraries) I don't have any game consoles besides wii, but that always worked so I can't really speak of anything significant there. while i believe that belkin firmware is terrible, it's workable. get in, set things up, and your good to go. You shouldnt have to mess with it too much. Never had a single one die yet.Netgear- I have mixed feelings about these, and it is model dependent. I have personally used a netgear DGN3500 and DGN3300. (both DSL specific) while netgear's firmware is feature rich, my experiences prove it to be unstable. however, this is not the case with older models. the non-DSL sibling, WNR3400 is generally stable and sustains a very fast connection. It all depends on your bandwidth consumption and how much network traffic it is controlling at any given point. (for example, I managed to brick the DGN3500 simply by downloading massive software images (8GB+) consistently over a 36 hour period; rare, unlikely situation)Encore- off brand, basic network devices. They are cheap (picked it up at newegg for 24 bucks) but so far communication-wise I have had no problems at all with it.D-link- worst possible firmware to work with. Not user friendly. Network performance is good says people I have set these up for. Cannot speak from personal experience besides the bad firmware interfaces.like someone before said, try not to buy into all of that gaming Mumbo jumbo. Quality of service (QoS) is QoS- no catch phrase will change that from router to router. Since multimedia and file transfer seems to be a central part of your network, make sure whatever router you decide to get (in store or online) supports at least N300 (wireless N @ 300mbps) and gigabit Ethernet. Wire up as much as you possibly can, and with cat5E or Cat6. (not cat5) These cable types are capable of gigabit speeds (1GBps or sometimes referred to as 10/100/1000) which will dramatically improve media performance across any network. Assuming most of this equipment is relatively new, they should already be equipped with gigabit Ethernet controllers, so speed should be no problem at all.My 2cCheers,-Corey-

jimincalif · Post by **jimincalif** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 2:49 pm

I replaced our failing and aggravating Netgear with a Linksys E1200 a few months ago and have been very pleased. It just works, day in and day out. And it has great coverage throughout the house. Over Thxgiving with all the kids and relatives here I counted 4 laptops, 2 iPods, 1 Kindle, 4 smartphones, 1 iPad, 1 Android tablet and one Wii all connected to it at once. No issues.

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:23 pm

Sounds like an N dual band wireless router would be the best for you right now.That being said...I run an older wireless-G Linksys WRT54GL but it only services 2 laptops and a phone. Everything else is on a Gb wired network. Nice to watch things transfer at 30-50 MB/s.

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 12:20 am

Staples here has the Cisco Valetplus router on closeout for $49. The USB stick to use for a computer without a wireless card was $10.Might be available on-line from Staples or others.

DeClerq · Post by **DeClerq** » Sat Dec 03, 2011 9:54 pm

I use one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Medialin...r=8-1 I've got a PS3, Wii, Directv DVR and TV all running wirelessly off it. Works like a charm.

Which Wireless Router

Which Wireless Router

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