Wireless router advice

[vancouv]

I'm planning on buying a new wireless router with an ADSL modem in it. I currently have 2 PCs networked via my router, plus the broadband access.

Can anyone give me recommendations of what I should look for - both in terms of technical specs and any makes that are good/to avoid. I have XP on one machine and Vista on the other so anything I get will have to be compatible with both.

[spannersatcx]

Can't tell you what is best/worst all I can say is I have a netgear wireless router. That as yet hasn't caused any problems. One of the reasons I chose it at the time was because it has 4 ports as well as wireless (primary for connecting ps2/xbox and things to it) although these days you can get wireless for them, but they do cost more.

Get the fastest and one with a good range available. Be it netgear or linksys etc. probably a good idea to have a browse of some tech forums and such like, like toms hardware and try and find some comparisons.

[Saab Dastard]

Well, having had 2 Netgear routers, I have recently got a Linksys WAP/Firewall/switch, as the Netgears have a habit of requiring a reboot on a daily basis (and sometimes more).

I haven't had to reboot the Linksys in 10 days!

This is for a cable system, but could be used in conjunction with an ADSL modem.

SD

[The Flying Pram]

I have a Netgear DG 834 which works well. The latest models are faster in terms of streaming video etc, if you need that facility. Do make sure you consider the security implications of having a wireless set-up. There is a thread here: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=296624
I don't personally know of any Vista compatibilities, but if you set it up from the XP machine, via a hardwired LAN connection you should always be able to access it via your web browser and make any alterations necessary.

[John Eacott]

I've got two Netgear router/modems, which worked well, but only up to a point. One carked it a month ago, and I've replaced it with Billion BiPAC 7300G.

The performance is chalk and cheese, the Billion is so much faster, especially with my MacBook Pro. Download speeds up around 20mb <1 minute on wireless, solid, although a tad clunky to set up. I'm only on a country copper wire connection, we don't get city cable stuff out here, but the speeds are blistering compared to what I got before :cool:

My 2c worth ;)

[HuntandFish]

I had an old Belkin (3 yrs) needed very regular reboots .
I now have a LiveBox from Orange very reliable one reboot in 2 mths .

[spannersatcx]

Netgears have a habit of requiring a reboot on a daily basis (and sometimes more).

Just checked mine, it's been up for 74 days now. You always get good and bad with all makes, sometimes you get lucky sometimes not.

[vancouv]

Thanks for all the replies, as usual I guess it's just a matter of picking the one you fancy!!

HuntandFish - I've currently got a Livebox, which has always been a little flakey, but now is going to be going out the window very soon - it's driving me mad, dropping the connection every few minutes (the wireless bit that is, not the broadband) and then giving v. slow respnse times when it is working.

[airborne_artist]

Had a Belkin cable router that worked fine for two years - may have re-booted it once or twice. But then it died. They replaced it for free with the newer model. The Netgear USB adaptors I got were very troublesome, and I think two had to be replaced.

[Keef]

Check that whatever you decide on is compatible with your ADSL connection. There are "telephone" ones and there are "cable" ones, I understand, and never the twain shall meet.


I've had Belkin, which were so unreliable I've banned the brand from the house. Both my daughters learned the same lesson, the hard way.

I changed to Linksys which was fine, but I ended up with three boxes (modem, router, WiFi) and retired it.

I bought a Netgear DG834G, which would stop working about once every three days and need a restart. It also had duff LAN sockets. I think I was unlucky, because most people I talk to haven't had any serious problems with theirs. The price isn't bad.

In the end, I paid the extra cash for a DrayTek Vigor 2800G. It just works, all the time. It has a couple of quirky features - like you can't change its MTU from any of its control panels, and have to resort to command-line type stuff. It has all kinds of bells and whistles, most of which I don't even understand the function of. It does provide for VPN access, which I use to connect into the Essex machine when I'm up in Norfolk or out travelling. That "just works", too.

[HuntandFish]

Vancouv
Interesting experience with LiveBox. I might have been lucky .
What I didnt say was that initially I couldnt get a Wireless connection working until I swapped my Wireless USB adaptor to a Netgear one !