What brand of router should I buy

[jzarashi]

Hey guys,

Would like to ask what brand of wireless router should I buy?

There's Linksys, D-Link and Netgear available.

I only have a limited budget so im buying the wireless G type

Suggestions?

Thanks.

[electromech]

LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS LINKSYS AND FINALLY LINKSYS to be honest I no shit about networking but my wife knows lots of shit about it and she always raves about linksys and we got one at our house

[snagga]

For an easy life, get a Netgear router. They are easy to setup and use.

[xant14]

I would go with a Ryobi, or a Bosch. De-Walt do some good ones, but you pay well over the odds.
http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/members/xant14/albums/smac/3307-router-m.jpg

[gogusclipici]

Asus wl500 is great (it has 2 usb ports for printer, hdd, etc). Linksys is good, but Asus is somewhat better.

[bigfella]

i have a netgear and have no problems with it wat so ever ...easy to set up and works perfectly every time so i d reccommend netgear to anyone ,,,,the girlfriend has a belkin and it keep s goin off so pehaps stay away from belkin

[h_ammer]

DUDE AT HD TALKED ME INTO A NETGEAR ONCE
THAT WAS SOME BAD DAYS
OH YES
GET THE MOST EXPENSIVE MODEL

[Spange]

Do NOT get a belkin.... Bane of my life!

[waqasahmed]

Really? Ive always been setting up Belkin wireless routers for myself and friends/family.

Only recently, have I set up a Dlink wireless router

Once my wireless router arrives from ebay, I will have configured a Linksys one(they do seem quite popular with businesses)

Eventually, Ill be purchasing a Linksys WRT300N as it works with both cable/ADSL connections making it future proof, so to speak

Im also waiting though, seeing as though there is no support for custom firmware for the second version of that product unfortunately

[electronicsuk]

I think you'll find that most people will recommend the brand of router that they own, so it's difficult to get an unbiased opinion.

I just recently replaced a Linksys BEFSX41 that was getting on for seven years old and finally starting to give up on me. I was extremely happy with it, and on that basis I also purchased a pair of WAP4410N Cisco/Linksys wireless APs. Sadly they have not proven to be anywhere near as solid as the old Linksys kit, which is odd considering Cisco are willing to lend their name to the brand. I've also heard comments elsewhere that Linksys are not what they used to be.

I don't have experience with Netgear routers, but of their products that I have come into contact with, they have generally been a world of pain.

Right now I'm running a MicroTik RouterBoard 750G. Probably no good for you as it's not wireless, but what you do get is five gigabit ports, 580Mbps maximum throughput, 680Mhz CPU, firewall, advanced routing, bandwidth management, and a whole host of other features that even I don't understand. And all for sub-?50.

[waqasahmed]

I suppose Linksys is used a lot in business because of the CISCO link. The same way that using MS products are the "business standard" but admittedly, CISCO products are generally quite good as they do tend to buy up quality brands, not budget based ones and then do more research in to them

From a business point of view, Id recommend Linksys routers. I normally buy routers based on the price(but now Im also factoring in how easy it is to install custom firmware), as there havent been any ones that Ive had that were "bad"

[albsmokin]

I have both a netgear and a dlink router. the netgear is just the standard $30 - $40 wireless g router, and works fine for most uses. i have a desktop, a laptop (wireless), and a WII(wireless) that all perform well with it. my Dlink is a N1 router. I paid around $100 for it. it is MUCH faster than the wireless g router. the netgear gets about 54Kbps ; the N1 Dlink gets 300Kbps.

the thing is, in order to take advantage of the N1 technology, your wireless adapter must also support N1 - otherwise you get wireless g speeds. the N1 also has 3-4 times the broadcast range.

[albsmokin]

The only experience i have with Belkin is with their wiresless adapters. I bought 2 ($100 each) N1 adapters. they worked fine for a while, but then started to randomly drop their connection. Total CRAP! Garbage

[Aireal]

I own 3 routers one netgear, billion and a linksys. The linksys is by far the best, in terms of customisations and settings. The netgear is easy to configure but is pretty standard. The billion is also pretty standard. None of these have given any trouble.

My recommendation would be to by a Linksys wrt54g, as it is a well supported version and is easy to configure with custom firmware.

Enjoy

[mikeyb]

don't most ISP's now give you one for free. Give em a call and i'm sure they will send you one out.

I have got a netgear and it's fine but it is easy & basic. I bought two d-link routers and they have been crap. Like someone else said before it will be hard to get a decent opinion as people have one and stick to it as long as it works.

[kingdill]

2 wire rok

[kev50]

We bought a brand new belkin off fleabay coz it was cheap it was rubbish and finally packed up after 3 months. Now we got a Netgear had it a while now and so far no problems.

[waqasahmed]

Ive bought Belkin and Linksys routers. Both do the job for me. Ive configured Dlink routers before and that isnt bad either. I havent however configured a netgear router

On a side note, does anyone know which N wireless router to get that can use cable/ADSL connections and can be modified with DD-WRT?

[probegt91]

i have a netgear and have had no problems at all.

[id4sure]

Limited budget ... D-Link should not be a bad choice.

[alfiedog]

I have a lot of experience with routers, having a degree in networking and being a cisco ccna and ccnp aproved engineer i would recomend a linksys, they are a quality router and not a toy like dlink and belking which have limited facilites for routing, linksys are easy to set up, also one thing do not go down the path of usb networking it is software led and will cause you problems along with slower routing,

you can purchase a linksys router at a fraction of the cost of others that have the same specifications,
rgds

[waqasahmed]

lol. I do like Linksys, yes and I think it is superior to other brands yes, but I see people saying "They are easy to set up"-All routers are pretty much "easy" to set up

A lot of routers can be modified with DD-WRT. The main reason why people get Linksys routers, is because of the massive support behind them, and DD-WRT can also be flashed on Belkins, D-links etc... and it can do far greater things than the Linksys stock firmware

Belkin routers tend to be the cheapest. Its my main router at the moment, however I havent had a problem with it(ever)

Cisco do like to advertise their Linksys products all the way through their courses, so its pretty easy to become brainwashed and recommend them on the basis that they are
easy to set up and
having more facilities than other routers

The fact is that most branded routers are now easily set up(they have to appeal to the masses...), and a lot of routers can be modified to have even more facilities than Linksys routers. In fact my Belkin had more options on stock firmware over my Linksys router, when it was running on stock firmware

[varmab]

Anyone got a Draytek Virgor2820n? as per reviews it is the best one

Draytek Vigor2820n Wireless ADSL2/2+ Firewall Router Review - Networking Reviews - TrustedReviews (http://www.trustedreviews.com/networking/review/2008/04/14/Draytek-Vigor2820n-Wireless-ADSL2-2-Firewall-Router/p1)

[topsi]

I had top of the range BELKIN AS I THOUGHT broke my heart on off etc bought a netgear 40 euro wireless not a problem since :bounce:

[waqasahmed]

Top of the range eh! What model did you purchase? The Linksys ones are quite nice. The dlinks are cheap, and the firmware is a little buggy in some models, but they are readily flashable with custom firmware!

[sandancer]

why the hell get a router if its the internet for surfing you want just get a dongle save yourself a lot of hassle just as fast depending on the size 1meg to 5 meg is good enough for what you want and half the price if you have mobile phone contract get one put in with your monthly bill .its worth looking at because if any power cuts you can still go online at any time goo luck

[waqasahmed]

why the hell get a router if its the internet for surfing you want just get a dongle save yourself a lot of hassle just as fast depending on the size 1meg to 5 meg is good enough for what you want and half the price if you have mobile phone contract get one put in with your monthly bill .its worth looking at because if any power cuts you can still go online at any time goo luck

its oh so easy to use 200-300MB/day just from web surfing. I average 500MB
/day

Mobile broadband is hell expensive compared to a wired broadband connection

?15 for 15GB? No thanks. You can get 40GB broadband and line rental at a price of ?18.48
You can also get unlimited broadband and line rental from ?20.

Mobile bb is good if you are out and about a lot,if you have a payg one in case of power cuts,and if you have a hacked one(that can be cut off at any time)

[starsky]

LINKSYS WRT54G + DD-WRT!

[das-1874]

Netgear DG834G (http://www.netgear.com/products/service-providers/routers-and-gateways/wireless-g-modem-router/DG834G.aspx) soooo easy to setup and use, i have installed loads of them. I will always use netgear over anything else.

[digitalspa]

The DIR615 is a very cheap and powerful router especially when flashed with DD-WRT.

[badapple]

Ive got a Belkin N1 router and 3 N1 usb wireless adaptors running for the last 2 years and never ever had any problems.
The signal is always good/excellent.
Ive been well pleased with this router.

[FXless]

I use sitecom and its very reliable

[hrabe]

I use Asus wl500 with usb, wifi, usb flas dongle and openwrt. It's now small linux server with many applications, qos, pbx, printserver,...

[hinko]

Being a oss embedded software engineer, i was always keen on sticking linux in everything i could get my hands on, hence i recomend linksys wrtg54l + dd-wrt firmware.
Works flawlessly for me, signal is available all over the house, and the router is not even in the center
:barscarf:

[autolockmasters]

I have Linksys WAG160N modem router. Very stylish, easy to setup and works well compare to my old Belkin54G. Only thing is not very good for streaming over network i.e. if you want to stream movies from ur pc to tv

Read this article for more info on choosing a router:
Internet Routers - How to Choose a Wireless Router (http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelessrouters/bb/wirelessrouter.htm)

[LaiWongBao]

IMO.

It doesn't really matter which router you buy now a days. As long as it is fairly new they all operate the same. Your best bet is to always update the firmware. These fixes are critical. I cannot express anymore how important it is to update the firmware.

Disconnecting issues and lag spiking normally can be fixed by a software update. Also putting your router in a dust free and clear table is the best. Routers tend to overheat very easily.

I'm using a TP-LINK WR941ND and so far so good.

[azrin]

try Trendnet

[rashid01]

Asus wl500 is great

[nelson608]

Linksys BEFSX41

[DNG2010]

Depends what your going to use it for.

Basic home - Linksys
Good Security - Sonicwall
Professional - Cisco

Based on your needs choose the one you want. I personally love Cisco, its hard to setup but its amazing.

[digitalspa]

lol

@ op, did you pick one eventually? :p

[mbsobrinho]

Ever LinkSys...

[soheil_ha]

Just Linksys ,, N series ,,,, go for it ,,

[salim]

Buffalo for a cheapo one & stick ddwrt on to it
else draytec & sonicwall as someone else mentioned but sonicwall a bit expensive for home use.

We use one at work, bullet proof

[nier]

I use linksys and it is very happy