My cable guy that just replaced my modem, he says that you get what you pay for in a router. I bought a dynex router from Best Buy. Do you guys think that I need to change my router? I run two computers off of it. I don't think there is any problems, but he says a cheap router can slow your connection down. Is that true?
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Router Question
- Thread starter seabass069
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seabass069 said:
Well.....if your happy with the speeds your getting, than I don't see a reason to upgrade. Router's just like cable modems can wear out over time. If you do decide to replace it, I recommend you go with linksys routers.
I've never had a problem with my linksys wireless router. Infact i've owned two, only because I needed one for when I was living on campus. But I am a little biased towards Cisco products...
seabass069 said:
Simple experiment: setup a system that uses the router and just one computer then, set up one computer but with no router. Which is faster? I'll bet you a buck that you can't tell the difference. bottom line is that it dowes low the connection but not enough that you would ever know. As soon as you have two computers you need the router. Note that a Mac can be set up to act as a router but then it must be up and running 24x7
The better routers are really any faster but they offer more features. The best way to select one is to go to the manufacture's web sites and download copies of the user manuals. Buy the router based on what you read in the manual.
Netgear
My first router was a Linksys (wired) model that was extremely quirky from the very beginning. It would often randomly drop the connection and require a reboot. Sometimes it wouldn't communicate with one or more of the computers connected. It finally died after about a year of use, and I replaced it with a wireless Netgear unit. The Netgear was extremely easy to setup (especially the security settings) and has incredible range. No issues to report.
If you aren't having any issues, then there isn't really a reason to upgrade though.
My first router was a Linksys (wired) model that was extremely quirky from the very beginning. It would often randomly drop the connection and require a reboot. Sometimes it wouldn't communicate with one or more of the computers connected. It finally died after about a year of use, and I replaced it with a wireless Netgear unit. The Netgear was extremely easy to setup (especially the security settings) and has incredible range. No issues to report.
If you aren't having any issues, then there isn't really a reason to upgrade though.
I've had no real issues with my Netgear Rangemax. I only replaced by old generic with to get wireless and because the old one had severe issues with allowing a VPN connection thru cleanly. The Netgear's also a lot easier to configure, and has better support, more regular updates, but that's about it.
Performance-wise (apart from VPN) i'm not sure i've noticed any difference.
Performance-wise (apart from VPN) i'm not sure i've noticed any difference.
Intertex IX66
Intertex make great routers http://intertex.se/ ive got an ix66, it has sip support for VoIP, very configurable firewall, never messes up, loads of logging and info options and very easy to use as has detailed help buttons on each feature.
Changing settings is instant with no reboots and it cleverly links DHCP addresses to MAC ids so connected computers always get same ip address, alowing for complex port forwarding and network settings without the hassle of setting up static addresses.
its small, doesnt get hot and the firewall settings can be changed from its front panel without need to login to the router from a computer.
it wasnt as cheap as some linksys ones but is definatly worth the cost.
bye
Intertex make great routers http://intertex.se/ ive got an ix66, it has sip support for VoIP, very configurable firewall, never messes up, loads of logging and info options and very easy to use as has detailed help buttons on each feature.
Changing settings is instant with no reboots and it cleverly links DHCP addresses to MAC ids so connected computers always get same ip address, alowing for complex port forwarding and network settings without the hassle of setting up static addresses.
its small, doesnt get hot and the firewall settings can be changed from its front panel without need to login to the router from a computer.
it wasnt as cheap as some linksys ones but is definatly worth the cost.
bye
routers
Yeah your cable guy was right, you get what you pay for. Any decent router will be fine for internet. The ease of use and configuration are the biggest things to look for to me. As far as the router's speed goes, you won't notice it swimming around the internet. You will see the router's performance when you have a number of computers attatched to it and start moving many files between the machines. Not all routers have the same internal capacity for bandwidth. I.e, a 5 port gigabit router cannot necessarily handle 5 gigabits of constant traffic. The point at which the router's traffic gets saturated is what matters in real life networking. I don't know what kinda' cable modem you have, but mine is 10 megabit.
Keep in mind though, routers go bad, so they aren't great investments. I payed $3,000 for a Cisco router 5 years ago. I can get a better one today for $400. I don't think I'd spend more than about $50 on a wireless router.
cheers!
Yeah your cable guy was right, you get what you pay for. Any decent router will be fine for internet. The ease of use and configuration are the biggest things to look for to me. As far as the router's speed goes, you won't notice it swimming around the internet. You will see the router's performance when you have a number of computers attatched to it and start moving many files between the machines. Not all routers have the same internal capacity for bandwidth. I.e, a 5 port gigabit router cannot necessarily handle 5 gigabits of constant traffic. The point at which the router's traffic gets saturated is what matters in real life networking. I don't know what kinda' cable modem you have, but mine is 10 megabit.
Keep in mind though, routers go bad, so they aren't great investments. I payed $3,000 for a Cisco router 5 years ago. I can get a better one today for $400. I don't think I'd spend more than about $50 on a wireless router.
cheers!
Interesting replies. The only router I've every purchased (used roommate's previously) was a netgear that I got for $30 at best buy. It was so bad that I left it in the apt. when I moved out. It consistently dropped the connection among our three computers (2 PC's and my mac).
I've actually been having trouble with my wireless. I ran a cable from my DSL to my wireless and it worked fine but last weekend we ran the wire along the wall and set it up, drilled holes and all and i had to cut the cable and put on the heads myself. But now the cable doesn't want to work...i was making these cables at my previous job and they were all fine. This cable was actually too long and the extra part i cut off i made a cable with and that's fine but the other (main) part isn't working. i checked the color coding and that the cables were pushed all the way to the end and they were. Took off the heads and did them again but still no progress....the routers light up when i plug it in but status and laptop saying that it's not connecting. Anybody can suggest what could possibly be wrong? 
Oh yeh it's not running beside any strong lights that could damage the signal either.
Oh yeh it's not running beside any strong lights that could damage the signal either.
My first router was a Linksys and it simply died about a year after I bought it and would often lose the connection and require a hard reset (often by unplugging it from both the power source and the ethernet source). I will never buy another Linksys product. I later bought a D-Link router and it has been rock solid for close to a year with NO resets at all. It has been very reliable. As for speeds I have no clue but I tend to think you will get similar speeds with almost any router (that has similar specs).
My D-Link DI-624 pooped out after only 2 years of service. After spending close to 2 hours with D-Link tech support and telling the same crap of resetting the cable modem, router, and computer I just said screw the warranty and bought a new Linksys WRT54G. Never D-Link again.
will work for bandwidth
Dlink seem to be falling behind the times, if you're after a new router I recommend netgear or linksys. If you already have a netgreat or linksys wireless card (prob not an issue if you're using macs) then get the same brand router.
Also with some linksys routers you can head over to sveasoft (http://sveasoft.com/) and get some neat firmware for $20 that unlocks a lot of features and does some cool stuff.
In answer to the posters question, if you've not noticed a problem, don't buy a new one! Assuming your internet connection is less than 2mbps a cheap router would be very unlikely to slow your internet connection down.
But then if you live in an area with 8mb ADSL perhaps... hurry up BT and get upgrading my exchange already!!
Dlink seem to be falling behind the times, if you're after a new router I recommend netgear or linksys. If you already have a netgreat or linksys wireless card (prob not an issue if you're using macs) then get the same brand router.
Also with some linksys routers you can head over to sveasoft (http://sveasoft.com/) and get some neat firmware for $20 that unlocks a lot of features and does some cool stuff.
In answer to the posters question, if you've not noticed a problem, don't buy a new one! Assuming your internet connection is less than 2mbps a cheap router would be very unlikely to slow your internet connection down.
But then if you live in an area with 8mb ADSL perhaps... hurry up BT and get upgrading my exchange already!!
IMO no router is worth a damn.
I have gone thru 3 D-Link 604s all for the same problem.
it drops the connection after about a week of uptime and then you cant log into it. It just asks for a firmware update. So i have to unplug for at least 5minutes, because any less than that and the HARD reset button wont do anything.
I just put up with it because I only need the router for XBOX file transfers, which isnt that often.
But alas, I have no expertise in networking, but I know what I am doing so far as to get the network to work when I want it to. And become fixed when it breaks, but to stop it from breaking, how do I know.
I just think no matter what routers are built to fail, modems are built to fail, they deal with tons of heat and basically work 24/7. Anything like that is bound to fail, and I think they just make them cheaply because the market is so flooded with home networking crap that they figure you will only buy cheap stuff.
I think if you dont buy a $1000+ router (8 or 16 port minimum id think) it wont be reliable in the long run. Then again, IT people will always have a job.
I have gone thru 3 D-Link 604s all for the same problem.
it drops the connection after about a week of uptime and then you cant log into it. It just asks for a firmware update. So i have to unplug for at least 5minutes, because any less than that and the HARD reset button wont do anything.
I just put up with it because I only need the router for XBOX file transfers, which isnt that often.
But alas, I have no expertise in networking, but I know what I am doing so far as to get the network to work when I want it to. And become fixed when it breaks, but to stop it from breaking, how do I know.
I just think no matter what routers are built to fail, modems are built to fail, they deal with tons of heat and basically work 24/7. Anything like that is bound to fail, and I think they just make them cheaply because the market is so flooded with home networking crap that they figure you will only buy cheap stuff.
I think if you dont buy a $1000+ router (8 or 16 port minimum id think) it wont be reliable in the long run. Then again, IT people will always have a job.
Just for more specific advice: I love my Cisco Linksys WRT54G.
Easy to setup, and no problems running 2 wireless and 1 wired computer at the same time. However, I no longer expect to stay connected when using my 2.4GHz cordless phone.
Easy to setup, and no problems running 2 wireless and 1 wired computer at the same time. However, I no longer expect to stay connected when using my 2.4GHz cordless phone.
linksys
I have had several netgear routers. I finally got fed up with all of the sh** associated with them. They never worked, how low throughput rates and always went down. I finally trashed them all and bought a couple linksys routers and have had no problems whatsoever with them. I have one running one wired desktop, 3 wireless windows laptops and 1 wireless mac laptop. works outstanding. I put some high gain antennas on it and everything, fantastic. I highly recommend linksys
I have had several netgear routers. I finally got fed up with all of the sh** associated with them. They never worked, how low throughput rates and always went down. I finally trashed them all and bought a couple linksys routers and have had no problems whatsoever with them. I have one running one wired desktop, 3 wireless windows laptops and 1 wireless mac laptop. works outstanding. I put some high gain antennas on it and everything, fantastic. I highly recommend linksys