Which Wifi Router Should I Get? Need Advice.

[DarkNetworks]

Which Wireless-G Broadband Router should i get and will it work with Macs?

I've selected a few models that are available in my area and i'm still considering which one to get and i'm concerned about will it work with Macs. I've narrowed down the list to two brands Linksys and D-Link. Which brand's a better pick? Below are a few models available in my area.

Linksys:
Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT54G
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Sate...957298&pagename=Linksys/Common/VisitorWrapper

Compact Wireless-G Broadband Router The Compact All-In-One Wireless-G Networking Solution WRT54GC
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Sate...825655&pagename=Linksys/Common/VisitorWrapper

Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster
The Wireless-G Networking Solution with SpeedBooster Performance Enhancement WRT54GS
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Sate...698937&pagename=Linksys/Common/VisitorWrapper

D-Link:
DI-624
http://www.dlink.com.my/products/?pid=6

DI-624+
http://www.dlink.com.my/products/?pid=304

DI-724P+
http://www.dlink.com.my/products/?pid=305

DI-524
http://www.dlink.com.my/products/?pid=380

I'm not sure what's the difference between up to 108Mbps and up to 54Mbps. So is there anyone that can explain it to me the difference between these two? The ones by Linksys doesn't seem to have any of the 108Mbps products. Thanks in advance.

 

[ieani]

A 108MBs will you give you a stronger signal than the 54Mbs. It will be able to go through more walls and floors with less of a speed loss. Around how far away will you be using your wireless in relation to the planned location of your router?

 

[DarkNetworks]

A 108MBs will you give you a stronger signal than the 54Mbs. It will be able to go through more walls and floors with less of a speed loss. Around how far away will you be using your wireless in relation to the planned location of your router?

I'm planning to put the router in my store room and i would like to access it from my room upstairs...it's not too far away but basically, my whole family wants to use their laptops anywhere around the house so i guess i need a router than can provide strong signals...

 

[wPod]

get the linksys WRT54G then go to lkinsysinfo.org and download the latest firmware hack, go in and boost the signal to its max and you will have great reception. you can also get more powerful antenna which will also boost reception (should the hack not be good enough for you). but its a great router and the firmware change allows for a lot of cool stuff, such as WDS connection to the airport express (i love this aspect!)

 

[DarkNetworks]

get the linksys WRT54G then go to lkinsysinfo.org and download the latest firmware hack, go in and boost the signal to its max and you will have great reception. you can also get more powerful antenna which will also boost reception (should the hack not be good enough for you). but its a great router and the firmware change allows for a lot of cool stuff, such as WDS connection to the airport express (i love this aspect!)

Awesome...i'll check that out...Any other suggestions from others?

 

[FoxyKaye]

Just bought the LinkSys WRT54G - it's very good, and pretty easy to set up and configure. It does port-forwarding, DHCP, DMZ, and supports up to WPA2. Apple's native Airport/AE software doesn't like this router too much if you're using WEP - you'll need to enter the hex key from the router to log in to your network wirelessly. But, running WPA2 with an iMac at home and I love it - and AirPort software handles any WPA password no problem (even my really long 26-letter password).

One thing to remember with the LinkSys WRT54G - probably most of the routers on the shelf these days are going to be V5 models. In this model, LinkSys halved the amount of RAM and flash memory as compared to previous models, and switched the OS from Linux to VXWorks. This means 3rd party firmware may not work with this model (only the V4 and earlier). For me, this is no problem, since my personal wireless needs will never be greater than two or three computers across a house. But, if you really want to hack your router, I suggest looking at the WRT54GL - it is essentially the V4 model of the WRT54G repackaged (and more expensive) as a new router running Linux.

 

[York-Diuck]

I use the Dl-624 and it works flawlessly. I have it set up on the bottom floor of my three story house and I get excellent reception on the third floor as well as on my deck which is also located just off the third floor. It is really easy to set-up and I had it running in less then 5min after opening the package.
The only real issues I can think of with this router is that if you have a 2.4ghz cordless phone it might interfere with the signal. I have known a few people with this particular problem, where their signal from the router drops because of the phone signal. Other then that I have had it since september 05 and had not one problem.

 

[excalibur313]

I did the same thing that wPod did and it works fantastically. I had a Dlink before but the build quality wasn't so hot and it broke after a couple weeks. Definitely go with linksys, you won't be sorry.

 

[balamw]

A 108MBs will you give you a stronger signal than the 54Mbs.

What makes you think that? I'm afraid that anything beyond 54 Mbps 802.11g is wasted today since you have to have proprietary devices to support the higher speeds. Just like most .g networks never reach their full potential, most higher speed networks will also fall back to 54 or 11 Mbps most of the time. (I know .n was ratified today, but it'll take a while for it to become a real standard).

The Linksys is a good choice. I have one, running open-wrt in client mode.

B

 

[Laser47]

Just bought the LinkSys WRT54G - it's very good, and pretty easy to set up and configure. It does port-forwarding, DHCP, DMZ, and supports up to WPA2. Apple's native Airport/AE software doesn't like this router too much if you're using WEP - you'll need to enter the hex key from the router to log in to your network wirelessly. But, running WPA2 with an iMac at home and I love it - and AirPort software handles any WPA password no problem (even my really long 26-letter password).

One thing to remember with the LinkSys WRT54G - probably most of the routers on the shelf these days are going to be V5 models. In this model, LinkSys halved the amount of RAM and flash memory as compared to previous models, and switched the OS from Linux to VXWorks. This means 3rd party firmware may not work with this model (only the V4 and earlier). For me, this is no problem, since my personal wireless needs will never be greater than two or three computers across a house. But, if you really want to hack your router, I suggest looking at the WRT54GL - it is essentially the V4 model of the WRT54G repackaged (and more expensive) as a new router running Linux.

Theres also news that the WRT54GS runs on Vxworks too, so if you want 3rd party firmware then you need to get an old WRT54G or a WRT54GL

 

[frankblundt]

i have a NetGear WPN824 which was pretty easy to set up and configure and works flawlesly with wired VPN, pc laptop (with a netgear card), airport enabled g3 iMac and a BlueAngel PDA.
No interference from the phone, bluetooth etc.
Haven't tried it with Extreme yet. (waiting to see what happens with the Intel mini....)

 

[Dark]

Belkin Pre-N. I love mine.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=202570&pcount=&Product_Id=184316

 

[DarkNetworks]

Just bought the LinkSys WRT54G - it's very good, and pretty easy to set up and configure. It does port-forwarding, DHCP, DMZ, and supports up to WPA2. Apple's native Airport/AE software doesn't like this router too much if you're using WEP - you'll need to enter the hex key from the router to log in to your network wirelessly. But, running WPA2 with an iMac at home and I love it - and AirPort software handles any WPA password no problem (even my really long 26-letter password).

One thing to remember with the LinkSys WRT54G - probably most of the routers on the shelf these days are going to be V5 models. In this model, LinkSys halved the amount of RAM and flash memory as compared to previous models, and switched the OS from Linux to VXWorks. This means 3rd party firmware may not work with this model (only the V4 and earlier). For me, this is no problem, since my personal wireless needs will never be greater than two or three computers across a house. But, if you really want to hack your router, I suggest looking at the WRT54GL - it is essentially the V4 model of the WRT54G repackaged (and more expensive) as a new router running Linux.

What's the issue with the Airport software? I'm quite concern about this one. How's my mac gonna connect to it wirelessly?