Wireless Router

[BISCUT]

I have the right forum!!

I just upgraded the family computer. I haven't had a new router for about 7 years. Current one is Linksys 2.4GHZ. I was thinking it's a good idea to upgrade it all at the same time. Any thoughts? What's the cat's meow for say $100 or so? OR just keep it as there isn't much of a difference???

 

[EricF]

you can't go wrong with a Linksys or a Netgear.

If you have like Xfinity, they support the new doccis 3.0 standard, you'd need like a netgear cable modem, the xfinity cable modem won't let you go full speed. then get a router that supports the doccis 3.0 standard and you'll get super fast speed.

 

[wkcars]

Routers have come a long way in the last few years, better response and range, dual/simultaneous bands etc., so it might be worth it to upgrade since you can get a good router these days for $100 or less.

 

[BISCUT]

Originally Posted By: wkcars
Routers have come a long way in the last few years, better response and range, dual/simultaneous bands etc., so it might be worth it to upgrade since you can get a good router these days for $100 or less.


That was my thought since it's been 7 years. Question is which one?

 

[dparm]

In the under-$100 range, the differences between the big brands are small. Stick with any of the big names and you will be fine. Without knowing your computer's specific wireless capabilities (802.11a/b/g/n, 2.4/5.0GHz), it's hard to give any additional advice.

Once you start spending more, there are some routers with better WAN and/or LAN performance. I recommend the SmallNetBuilder.com website for the technical comparisons of those.

 

[skyactiv]

Wireless 802.11ac has replaced wireless 802.11n as the new standard.
I wouldn't buy anything that isn't dual-band and wireless 802.11ac.

 

[wkcars]

Dell has the Netgear R6300 on sale for $109 if you add to cart

Not sure if it's the v1 or v2 cause the site doesn't say. The v2 has been out for like a year so it's likely a v2, but no guarantees, you can try contacting dell and see if they can verify.

Or you can look at something from asus or linksys. There's just too many models. I would stick with one of the big brands, you get better updates/support.

 

[bepperb]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Wireless 802.11ac has replaced wireless 802.11n as the new standard.
I wouldn't buy anything that isn't dual-band and wireless 802.11ac.


At 100 dollars you're pretty close to affording 802.11ac and I'd pay the extra for it. Better speed and range. If not you can just pickup any dual band (2.4 and 5 ghz) for under 50 bucks and get decent performance.

 

[mattwithcats]

Get on with dual band (2.4 and 5 gigahertz), 10/100/1000 port speed, quality of service, good security, and parental controls.

Linksys EA2700
http://www.linksys.com/en-eu/products/routers/ea2700

 

[mattwithcats]

You don't need wireless "A" or USB ports...

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
You don't need wireless "A" or USB ports...



Wireless A is great for locations where range isn't a top priority.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: EricF
you can't go wrong with a Linksys or a Netgear.

If you have like Xfinity, they support the new doccis 3.0 standard, you'd need like a netgear cable modem, the xfinity cable modem won't let you go full speed. then get a router that supports the doccis 3.0 standard and you'll get super fast speed.


Um, what? you don't know what youa re talking about DOCSIS 3.0 has nothing to do with the router. DOCSIS 3.0 is what the modem uses to communicate with the Cable System. (I posted a guide on this the other week in this same forum). Comcasts XFINITY modems are DOCSIS 3.0 compliant and support the maximum speeds they offer.

Just get a decent wireless N router and you'll be fine. Check out newegg.com they have some pretty good deals on them right now.

 

[Rolla07]

Go to cnet.com and check the reviews/pros and cons on the routers they review. They do all kinds of benchmarking tests etc. Will help you get a better idea of which one is right for you.

 

[Donald]

I have a Vizio router as is has functionality to give priority to media packets going to a streaming Vizio blue ray player.

It also appears as 3 access points one for B, one for G and one for N. They can be interconnected or not.

 

[Boczech]

When we upgraded our DSL last year we got a new Netgear wireless router. Much faster than the previous 2-Wire modem we had.


B

 

[bvance554]

I bought a middle of the road Netgear (about $60 I think) last year and it was a night and day difference over my old one.

 

[97tbird]

How about Asus routers ?
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Dual-Band-Wir...rds=asus+router

that one is $89 and gets some great reviews....

 

[javacontour]

I have this router and it works well. I even have it shut down the radio at 11pm each night so the kids are not up all hours on their laptops, XBox, etc.

I have it set up with an SSID for the kids and a guest SSID.

I stayed with the older firmware as it worked better for what I wanted to accomplish.

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
How about Asus routers ?
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Dual-Band-Wir...rds=asus+router

that one is $89 and gets some great reviews....

 

[97tbird]

Huh - I thought that Asus model did not have a guest network option...I might be confusing this with a different model though. Will double check.

 

[mikefxu]

I like anything that will run Tomato firmware. For 802.11g I like the ASUS WL-520gU running TomatoUSB. For 802.11n I like ASUS RT-N16 running EasyTomato.