Wireless router

C

CmoAMD

New Member
Hey all. Its been a while, plus my girlfriends pregnant so... been busy with that.

Anyhow, ive always been a cable line to modem type guy. I just went on newegg to look for a wireless router and I see they range from $600 to $50. So, my question is what should I be looking for? I want one that has the highest speeds obviously, and a good brand (Im thinking motorola/linksys?) Also, what do I need to add to my computer so that it pics up signals, cause I have no idea. Any help is appreciated, thanks guys.
 
$600 to $50 range? Wow, you could get a lot within that range ;)

If you could find either the Buffalo WHR-G54S or WHR-HP-G54(High Power; same thing but with a signal amplifier) they are great routers. I found my WHR-G54S for about $45 shipped on Newegg and it's been a great router. What's so good is that it's probably the cheapest one that allows for DD-WRT. I HIGHLY suggest finding a router compatible with this. Aside from all the features, it's very stable.

Motorola also makes a decent router. My dad has the cheaper one(I forget...850 something...) But anyway, it also works with DD-WRT.

I never used the Buffalo much without DD-WRT, but I will say the Motorola's built in firmware was horrific! Most are pretty sorry, espcially once you've used something like DD-WRT.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/
 
Cisco makes Linksys so that should tell you something.
Linksys router have a nice UI and you can get a 802.11G anywhere for $49
you can also get the one with Speed Booster but you have to have Linksys
wireless cards to use the speedboost.
I woundnt go for a 802.11N yet its 1st Gen and they are not that much better if any.
 
Deepblue said:
Cisco makes Linksys so that should tell you something.
Linksys router have a nice UI and you can get a 802.11G anywhere for $49
you can also get the one with Speed Booster but you have to have Linksys
wireless cards to use the speedboost.
I woundnt go for a 802.11N yet its 1st Gen and they are not that much better if any.
Click to expand...

This is wrong information. Cisco bought out Linksys several years ago to enter the consumer market. Linksys routers do not use any Cisco technology, and they actually have broadcom hardware in them, not cisco. Cisco routers are a series of embedded systems (multiple processors) based on PPC technology for the most part. Cisco simply bought out Linksys and then slapped their name on the product.

If you do buy a Linksys I highly recommend you buy a WRT54GL, because it comes standard with 16mb of memory where as other linksys routers only have 8mb of memory. It is also completely compatible with most third party firmware, like the_other_one pointed out. I also run DDWRT. Buffalo routers are great, I have heard nothing but great things about them. Buffalo routers are also built on broadcom hardware.
 
tlarkin said:
It is also completely compatible with most third party firmware, like the_other_one pointed out. I also run DDWRT. Buffalo routers are great, I have heard nothing but great things about them. Buffalo routers are also built on broadcom hardware.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think most all consumer routers run broadcom hardware now-of-days... If you read reviews on cheaper Linksys routers, people tend not to like them since they changed their hardware as mentioned... Besides the inability to use other firmware(or limited to micro versions) people seem to really dislike the new firmware Linksys uses. I don't know, I've not used many of them, but about any router with DD-WRT on it should be great. Hehe, I mean once you load the OS on it, basically all routers are the same ;)
 
The_Other_One said:
Yeah, I think most all consumer routers run broadcom hardware now-of-days... If you read reviews on cheaper Linksys routers, people tend not to like them since they changed their hardware as mentioned... Besides the inability to use other firmware(or limited to micro versions) people seem to really dislike the new firmware Linksys uses. I don't know, I've not used many of them, but about any router with DD-WRT on it should be great. Hehe, I mean once you load the OS on it, basically all routers are the same ;)
Click to expand...

Well, I agree with this, and I don't. Some routers are just crap hehe. Though a lot of routers are very similar. I've been running DDWRT at home for about over a year now and it works great. I have also set up multiple router configs for many clients using DD-WRT firmware. I like it, and recommend it. If you mod your router to add more ram you can actually run Linux apps in your router, like apache, samba, firewalls, etc. If you ssh into your router you get a bash command prompt. I haven't messed around too extensively with it, but I have VNC'd over an ssh tunnel before using putty on a remote windows box and it ran pretty decently.
 
1 x 10/100M (4)
1 x 10/100M WAN; 1 x 10/100M LAN (3)
1 x RJ11 WAN; 4 x 10/100M LAN (6)
1 x 10/100M WAN; 4 x 10/100M LAN (72)
1 x 10/100M WAN; 4 x 10/100/1000M LAN (5)
4 x 10/100M (4)

- More

5 x 10/100M(1)
4 x 10/100/1000M(1)
1 x 10/100/1000M WAN; 4 x 10/100/1000M LAN(2)

Data Rates
up to 54Mbps (49)
up to 108Mbps (16)
up to 125Mbps (14)
up to 240Mbps (1)
up to 270Mbps (2)
up to 300Mbps (7)

WPA/WPA2
No (8)
WPA (48)
WPA2 (38)

Newegg lets me choose those options when narrowing down results. Im not sure what is better though, here is a Buffalo one I found, had bad reviews though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833162008

this one had good reviews
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833162134
 
Last edited:
tlarkin said:
This is wrong information. Cisco bought out Linksys several years ago to enter the consumer market. Linksys routers do not use any Cisco technology, and they actually have broadcom hardware in them, not cisco. Cisco routers are a series of embedded systems (multiple processors) based on PPC technology for the most part. Cisco simply bought out Linksys and then slapped their name on the product.

If you do buy a Linksys I highly recommend you buy a WRT54GL, because it comes standard with 16mb of memory where as other linksys routers only have 8mb of memory. It is also completely compatible with most third party firmware, like the_other_one pointed out. I also run DDWRT. Buffalo routers are great, I have heard nothing but great things about them. Buffalo routers are also built on broadcom hardware.
Click to expand...

Okay, then why does the WRT54G have a Cisco logo on the front?



Anyhow, it is a great router, I have my laptop wireless connected and three desktops with cables. No problem, except for Verizon:rolleyes:.
 
I've had Bose speakers that had Samsung speakers inside them :P Just because it's got a badge on the front doesn't mean much. Cisco bought Linksys. That doesn't mean they changed the hardware or anything else about the router. They still run off broadcom hardware. If you don't beleive me, look around. I know DD-WRT's website talks about it.
 
Well either way Linksys is one of the top routers and you can get one anywhere. Im sure any of the major brands are about the same so its kinda up to if you want to order one or just run to walmart or best buy and get it now .
 
Linksys is getting criticized on their newer routers for being "skimpy" on the RAM and on some models putting a mere 4 MB.

IMO, the WRT54GL is the best one for the dollar. I think you can still get it on newegg.com, but most retail stores no longer carry that model. It comes standard with 16MB of memory.

Linksys is owned by Cisco, but not designed and made by Cisco. They are still designed and made by Linksys, and use broadcom based hardware - Not Cisco based. Why would Cisco do that? They still want all the high end router sales to go through them. Acquiring Linksys was just a way for Cisco to enter the consumer market with out having to make a consumer product themselves.
 
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