I need advice on a wireless router...
 

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to buy a new wireless router as the one I got from my ISP is pretty awful. I've seen the Apple AirPort Extreme and it looks great but it's quite expensive at £139 and I wonder if it's really worth the extra. Either way, the two I've narrowed it down to are as follows. I live in Cologne so ideally I'd like to order from somewhere like Amazon.de so I make sure I have the right plug.

- Apple AirPort Extreme (£139 UK or €159 here)
- NETGEAR WNDR3700 (£102.82 UK or €91.89 here)

I've noticed a few different model names with the NETGEAR router and I'm not sure what they mean. On Amazon.de I see two models for the same price. Once is called the WNDR3700-100PES and the other is the WNDR3700-100GRS. They're both €91.89 delivered which is quite a bit cheaper than £102.82 on Amazon.co.uk.

I have a MacBook Pro which can utilise the 5Ghz "N" band but my girlfriend's MacBook is a bit older so she'd use the 2.4GHz "G" band - this is the reason why I'd like a dual-band router. Am I right to think that with a 'non dual-band' N router that it will work at the slowest speed for both of us?

Ideally, I'd prefer to spend less and get the NETGEAR so if you guys don't think there's that much in it then I'd go for that one. I know that Apple products are great but I also know they're expensive. On paper, both routers look to be a similar and very good spec.

I'm on a 64 Mbps connection so I'd like to get as much as I can and not be held back too much by a router.

Thanks in advance :)

Re: I need advice on a wireless router...
 

Looks like the different part of the code for the Netgear is just a regional indicator.

http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=53999

Re: I need advice on a wireless router...
 

Thanks for your reply.

Does anyone have any experience with these routers? Any advice would be much appreciated :)

Re: I need advice on a wireless router...
 

The WNDR3700 is great and flexible - runs alternative (open source) firmwares easily, and has decent speed and features.

Can't say the same for the Apple - I've not tried it.

Both should be able to easily handle 200mbps+ internet connections, though I guess you might get better support from Apple if you're using an all-apple setup. Certainly from what I hear Apple don't skimp on the hardware inside the Airport Extreme.

Re: I need advice on a wireless router...
 

...no they skip on everything else to produce their wares though....

Re: I need advice on a wireless router...
 

I use the Cisco/Linksys E3000 router with DD-WRT and it runs great - I'd definitely recommend it.