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Need help with buying a router
hello, i need help buying a new router but dont have much knowledge about them. i have the gateway fx laptop with a 9800 GTS card in it. i was going to go to best buy the next few days to buy one. could somebody go to www.bestbuy.com and tell me what router is best for me to play mmos on and just normal internet use. i dont want the most expensive but the best quality for a good price. thank you if anybody can help me.
Comments
If you're going to bestbuy, then just pick up a Linksys. Simple. They are all good. They had a couple models a few years ago that weren't all that great, but those were only a couple models and I don't think anyone sells them anymore
BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR PLUGS THOUGH!
I reorganized my desk a couple weeks ago and the plug to my cable modem and my linksys router look EXACTLY the same. I didn't think nothing of it and plugged it in. I did some more shuffling around and picked up my router and thought "why the hell is it so hot?" then I looked at the plug and the bottom. Even though they looked exactly the same, same brand, same everything the Cable Modem was a 1mA and the router was a 0.5mA.
Needless to say, I fried my router and I'm back to using one of my crappy off brand ones I had stored in the closet. lol
I'm probably going to buy this one soon
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx
It's just slightly more than you're going to pay for a Linksys and does alot more. It has the ability to support external hard drives and download stuff from the internet by itself. Like Torrents.
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I brought this one : D-Link - Xtreme N Wireless-N Gigabit Router after my Linksys crapped out on me with random disconnections. I would steer clear of this one WRT610N personally speaking. Other linksys models I have had have all been great but was disappointed in their latest offering.
If you just want the router for internet access then go with the WRT54G2.
It's a basic wireless G router, no extra bells and whistles, just a router, in my opinion, the best one on the market.
Only other brand I would recommend would be D-Link and their Xtreme series of routers. But they are 2 to 3x the cost of the WRT54G2.
If you could post some more details as to how you use the internet in your home I could make a better recommendation.
1. How many computers are connecting through ethernet? Through wireless?
2. How many computers are being used at the same time?
3. Do you do any file sharing / large downloads on a regular basis while playing an online game?
4. Do you transfer large files on a regular basis between computers on your home network?
5. What is your internet connection speed?
6. How many wireless G devices are going to be connecting to the router? How many wireless N?
7. Do you want to be able to hook an external USB HDD to the router?
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
I'll agree with the Linksys preference. I've found Netgear to be decent, Belkin terrible. I haven't tried a D-Link router but their network cards have worked great and I've read good things about Buffalo. You don't need anything fancy above $70 if you just want it to get you on the internet.
If you really want, you could go to http://www.dd-wrt.com and try to get a router that is in the database as supported. The DD-WRT firmware adds a lot of functionality deliberately left out of ~$60 routers, and I've been able to get home networks running better just by putting this firmware on there so I could tweak settings.
The Linksys WRT54G2 v1.5 doesn't support DD-WRT unfortunately but the v1.3 does, but looks the actual in-store selection is pretty limited so I'd probably just get the WRT54G2 either way.
thanks guys, i will only be using my laptop on it and its mainly just for regular internet use and mmos. dont do a whole lot else. maybe download a little music too. how scary is it buying this refurbished one rather than a brand new one and is it much better than the other one i linked?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/D-Link+-+Factory-Refurbished+Xtreme+N+Wireless-N+Gigabit+Gaming+Router+with+4-Port+Switch/9536371.p?id=1218121541446&skuId=9536371&st=router&cp=1&lp=5
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/D-Link+-+Xtreme+N+Wireless-N+Gigabit+Router/8040121.p?id=1157068454881&skuId=8040121&st=router&cp=1&lp=2
Linksys is not owned by Cisco so they are good products now but are more money. Look at spending about $60+ on a standard 4 port wireless router now.
Sooner or Later
Refurbished would probably be fine for a router. The fancier Gaming one has a display screen that looks kinda cool but won't actually do anything for you. It also is a dual band 2.4ghz/5ghz meaning if the 2.4ghz spectrum is crowded AND your laptop is dual band you can use the 5ghz spectrum instead.
Other than dual band let me explain what you're paying for on those $120 routers that you won't find on the cheaper ones:
1. Wireless N - not necessary for internet as most broadband caps around 15Mbps and Wireless G does 54Mbps, but you can get N on many cheaper routers too.
2. Gigabit ethernet - definitely not necessary for internet, only useful if you're gonna be transferring huge files between home PC's wired to the router. Cheaper routers use 100Mbit.
3. USB port - you access a portable hard drive or printer through the router instead of having to share it through your computer.
4. QoS (prioritize "gaming" traffic) - main selling point, secret is this is only useful if you are clogging your network with other forms of traffic (re: p2p file sharing/torrents) that your gaming traffic could be prioritized over to begin with.
Of the 4 things, Wireless N can be gotten for cheap, Gigabit is unnecessary, USB port is pointless if you have the only PC, and QoS can be implemented with DD-WRT firmware for free on a DD-WRT ready router (it's easier than it sounds, takes 5 minutes).
But from your usage description it sounds like you don't need QoS or Gigabit so I'd just pick up a $60 Wireless N or Wireless G router and not worry about the extras.
The dual band *could* be worth it if your laptop supports it and you live in an apartment complex or use your laptop right next to the microwave, but with ~13 channels to choose from at 2.4ghz it's usually not an issue.