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Recommend a wireless router....

Y

yg17

macrumors Pentium
Original poster
Aug 1, 2004
15,029
3,004
St. Louis, MO
I need a wireless router. It seems every one has iffy reviews. It MUST have 4 ethernet ports as well, so absolutely no AirPort, and I don't want to spend more than 50 bucks.

Thanks
 
I have a Netgear WGR614 and it works very nicely with my mixed Mac/PC network - and it costs $39.99 right now at Best Buy.
 
emaja said:
I have a Netgear WGR614 and it works very nicely with my mixed Mac/PC network - and it costs $39.99 right now at Best Buy.
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I bought one and it was terrible. I exchanged it for a Linksys WRT54G which hasn't been too much better.
 
yg17 said:
I bought one and it was terrible. I exchanged it for a Linksys WRT54G which hasn't been too much better.
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lol, that was going to be my recommendation. what didnt you like about it?
 
homerjward said:
lol, that was going to be my recommendation. what didnt you like about it?
Click to expand...

It would just randomly drop connections and would need to be reset all the time.
 
Belkin and Netgear claim to be Mac friendly. I have a Belkin ADSL2+ wireless router modem and it works fine.

If you want good speed and range look at getting a MIMO wireless router. Pre-N is attractive as well if you really need range.

I would also advocate waiting until after WWDC because we are well overdue for an upgrade of the Airport Express/Extreme routers. We might see Pre-N ones come out next week.
 
I think the general trend in these threads is that someone wil recommend a router, after which another person will come around saying its terrible, drops connections, etc.

I used to have an older Linksys Wireless-B router (i forget the model#). I really didn't like it. It dropped its connection every hour or so and was generally unreliable. I now have a Netgear WRT614 as described above. Besides it being a great looking machine, it works perfectly. In the 7 months I've had it, I've only had to reboot it once due to a connection loss. Couldn't be more pleased!
 
aswitcher said:
Belkin and Netgear claim to be Mac friendly. I have a Belkin ADSL2+ wireless router modem and it works fine.

If you want good speed and range look at getting a MIMO wireless router. Pre-N is attractive as well if you really need range.

I would also advocate waiting until after WWDC because we are well overdue for an upgrade of the Airport Express/Extreme routers. We might see Pre-N ones come out next week.
Click to expand...


Problem with all the pre-N stuff is that you need to use a seperate wireless card in your mac in order to get the higher throughput speeds. Seeing as the OP is using a powerbook, he only has a wireless-G card in his mac. I wouldn't like having to use another seperate card for my wireless. Just my $0.02!
 
yg17 said:
I bought one and it was terrible. I exchanged it for a Linksys WRT54G which hasn't been too much better.
Click to expand...

I currently have a WGR614, and I've had absolutely nothing but problems. From the day I got it, internet around my house has been sporadic. My main problem is that I have to reset my modem and router every two days because my router makes my modem think theres not a connection to a computer, if that makes any sense:rolleyes: Resetting it always fixes the problem, but it's just a hassle... My G4 powermac gets better signal than my iMac G5, though my iMac is 40 ft and 2 walls closer to the router. I have to reset the iMac's airport card everyday to get some signal. I really want airport extreme, but I'm unsure if it will work with my internet (Earthlink DSL) and my modem (Zyxel). Also, my WGR614 gets hot-I'm talking hotter than MBP hot :p :eek: :(
 
A person access point. A Xirrus array might do it. www.xirrus.com Or I guess maybe its 1000 client capacity might be overkill :rolleyes: who knows


In all seriousness, I'd go with a dlink. i have linksys now (WRT54G) and it is terrible. If i try to have security, it just randomly stops working. grrrrr
 
Verto said:
D-Link is always a solid choice.
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i have a d-link with a mac mini, two windows laptops, and a windows desktop hooked up to it. my friend's powerbook hooks up no problem when he's over.

i've never had a problem with it.
 
Huskers31 said:
I currently have a WGR614, and I've had absolutely nothing but problems. From the day I got it, internet around my house has been sporadic. My main problem is that I have to reset my modem and router every two days because my router makes my modem think theres not a connection to a computer, if that makes any sense:rolleyes: Resetting it always fixes the problem, but it's just a hassle... My G4 powermac gets better signal than my iMac G5, though my iMac is 40 ft and 2 walls closer to the router. I have to reset the iMac's airport card everyday to get some signal. I really want airport extreme, but I'm unsure if it will work with my internet (Earthlink DSL) and my modem (Zyxel). Also, my WGR614 gets hot-I'm talking hotter than MBP hot :p :eek: :(
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I m using the same one too. But mine works fine without any rebooting:confused: ?

And yes it does get as hot as my MB. But there`s been no problem otherwise for the last 6-7 months since I got it.
 
vikas soni said:
I m using the same one too. But mine works fine without any rebooting:confused: ?

And yes it does get as hot as my MB. But there`s been no problem otherwise for the last 6-7 months since I got it.
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Really? There must have been an update because after my last post I had to reset the router, and this morning I had to reset it again. I've felt the MBs at the stores in San Francisco and Sacramento, and they're ice-cold compared to the heat being emitted from my router. I haven't even touched my iMac yet, but I'll bet you I'll have to reset its airport as well. BTW, I bought this router when it first came out, and according to cnet.com that was over 3 years ago. Most likely there has been a revision since then...
 
Huskers31 said:
Really? There must have been an update because after my last post I had to reset the router, and this morning I had to reset it again. I've felt the MBs at the stores in San Francisco and Sacramento, and they're ice-cold compared to the heat being emitted from my router. I haven't even touched my iMac yet, but I'll bet you I'll have to reset its airport as well. BTW, I bought this router when it first came out, and according to cnet.com that was over 3 years ago. Most likely there has been a revision since then...
Click to expand...


Yes there are revisions all the time. I have version 6 which i bought just over 8 months ago. I think that's the latest one. It goes to show just how much the different versions differ from eachother as far as reliability goes. Mine never isn't hot either (not even warm). I've rebooted it once since I got it, but even that was caused by an initial connection drop from the DSL modem. It really is very reliable!
 
mfacey said:
Yes there are revisions all the time. I have version 6 which i bought just over 8 months ago. I think that's the latest one.
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Do you know how to check what revision the router is? Does anyone here have Earthlink DSL and/or the Zyxel modem and use it with an airport extreme base station? Did anyone have the WGR614 and switch to the aiport extreme, and if so, do you think it's a good idea?

Thanks!
 
Im on a belkin router, im not sure the exact model number, i believe sum1 above posted it, it has great range, the connection rarely drops, and its 100 times better then that joke of a router I had before "Dlink" that was a waste of money
 
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