Yet Another "Which Wireless Router" Question

[Thund3rball]

This is for my brother and his wife who recently bought a laptop and still have a wired desktop too. This is the laptop (I think). It doesn't seem to support N so I don't think that's worth worrying about. They will probably just be doing basic web/email and some downloading but I don't anticipate they're going to get all fancy with port forwarding and torrents etc... They aren't all that techy.

R522 performance 15.6" R522P - notebook - mobile computing | SAMSUNG

I have an old and ugly WRT54G that has been very good to me. I also recommended one to my in-laws after they found the router they originally bought to be pretty craptacular. So is this still the way to go? I see lots of people talking about D-Links, I have never owned one but if they have a better basic wireless router for roughly same price, with plugs for wired Nics too, I'd be happy to recommend it.

Thanks for your input!

[rjbarker]

^^^^ Yeah me too!!! I have the same Cico Router as you...presently have:
2 - Desktops hard-wired to it
1- Printer hard wired to it

My Notebook connects via "G Wireless"...
BUT..I find I have to unplug the Router and plug it back in (Power) fairly regularly...pita!
So...I noticed FS has severa varieties of "N Cisco Wireless" Routers for around $70....are these newer "N" Routers better/ more reliable / faster than my old G Cisco?

This is the one I was looking at
Future Shop: Computer Add-Ons: Networking: Linksys Home Wireless N Router (WRT160N) - Black

Had a :"quick" look at some Reviews....that Cisco I posted above doesn't support Gigabit LAN (will work but slower)

This one (Belkin) got rave reviews..about $100 at FS
Future Shop: Computer Add-Ons: Networking: Belkin Wireless N+ Router (F5D8235TT4)
Belkin N+ Wireless Router specs and Router specifications - CNET Reviews

[Thund3rball]

I don't think wireless N is going to do you any good if your NIC doesn't support it. ;) But yes it is a better signal with more bandwidth, especially in terms of not having a direct line of sight to the router. But as said the WRT54G is doing great. At my in-laws the router is upstairs in a back bedroom (office) and you can get a pretty decent signal downstairs in the living room. Absolutely no line of sight and laptops/Wii all connect without issue.

As for restarting the router... it's only happened to me once or twice in the years I've owned it. And I think it had something to do with Shaw actually, so it was just part of my troubleshooting network problems. No complaints here. :)

[rjbarker]

Yeah i could be Shaw related alright....or the fact that I have a splitter for my Shaw HD Box (good quality splitter) on the same line as my Shaw Router......

[rjbarker]

^^^ I just may pick up that Belkin and give it s go.....we'll see as I drive by FS this afternoon ;)

[no_pulse]

I'm currently using a Belkin Wireless n+ router and I've had no problems with it so far. I've been using it for at least 2yrs now :)

[geokilla]

What version is your old WRT54G? You can load DD-WRT onto it and the difference is like night and day. DD-WRT really brings the life out of DD-WRT supported routers.

If you want a new router, take a look at the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 and ASUS WL-520GU. Both are DD-WRT compatible and great routers.

[rjbarker]

^^^ I have no idea at all what FW version it is...I can tell you its about 2 - 3 yrs old....

[sswilson]

I've been running the standard Dlink wireless N router for a year now and haven't had any problems with it at all. 3 PCs connected wirelessly, 2 PCs wired, 1 network printer wired.

Haven't had to power cycle the router once in that whole year to get it back on line, but then again, we don't do torrents in this household so your results may vary.

Keep in mind that unless it's a dual band wireless N router it'll drop down to wireless G for all devices if there's a single non-N device connecting to it wirelessly.

[Thund3rball]

Thanks SS I'll keep that one in mind.