What Router?

seany · 10-01-2010, 14:59

Hey all.

I have had a Cable wired/wireless Belkin Router for a long time now and it has worked fine untill recently. It decides to stop working for no reason then works after a restart. I have come to the conclusion that having been constantly on for about 4-5 years, it is broken.

The one I have at the moment was working fine with 2 wired PC's connected, 2 or 3 laptops, a PC, the wii and a printer all wireless (maybe some other devices like handhelds. My dad likes ebay and gadget buying/selling).
I have VirginMedia 20MB broardband. The use of the internet in this house is huge and varies from watching HD vids to playing computer games.

So I need a decent replacement and I am quite prepared to spend some money

any suggestions ;-)

thanks

CHiLL · 10-01-2010, 15:16

I'd highly advise a Linksys router. Do you want a wireless G or N router?

I have one of these, and it's brilliant, especially with DD-WRT firmware: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/103185 (Though it's only wireless G)

If you want Wireless N, than I'd advise: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142702. You can even get a free PC game with it. Or, you could save Â£5 and get the same router without the game. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/175807

andy76 · 11-01-2010, 11:53

Im in the same position as seany, i'm on virgin with 20mb and have got a belkin router that has gone weird on me. i did a firmware update and now i cant connect wireless. nothing seems to detect the router!! works fine wired.
as a result looking at a new router and saw you comments about WRT160N, i run a laptop wireless, pc wirelessa a ps3 wired and a xbox wired. would you say this would do the job well? saw a linksys router that had gigabit connections on it. would that be better for gaming?

Down the Pub · 11-01-2010, 20:11

or try and see if you can talk one of the new d-link ones from vm. easy to set up and never had any trouble with mine. although if you want to use the n service and haven't already got one - you will need an n' adapter.

11-01-2010, 21:20

i'm using virgins belkin 'n' router with a mix of g and n laptops and pcs and found the connection slightly better than the netgear wndr3300 i bought last year .You could buy a 'n' router even your machines are still 'g' and be ready for any future upgrades on your machines

Welshchris · 11-01-2010, 23:21

i just setup a wireless network for a friend using this on VM 20mb and its great...

http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/prod...de=FMT-WR941ND

They have their home PC connected Via Ethernet and 2 Laptops wireless.

Zee · 12-01-2010, 00:54

i got a new router today, the netgear wireless N WNB2100. not set it up yet, cant be bothered at the moment.
the belkin one was crap, it was a wireless N aswell didn't work properly.

CHiLL · 12-01-2010, 15:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy76

Im in the same position as seany, i'm on virgin with 20mb and have got a belkin router that has gone weird on me. i did a firmware update and now i cant connect wireless. nothing seems to detect the router!! works fine wired.
as a result looking at a new router and saw you comments about WRT160N, i run a laptop wireless, pc wirelessa a ps3 wired and a xbox wired. would you say this would do the job well? saw a linksys router that had gigabit connections on it. would that be better for gaming?

Belkin have a bad name when it comes to hardware...a lot, and I mean a lot of people complain that their Belkin router or what not has broken.

Linksys on the other hand are the commercial side of Cisco, who are the biggest network equipment manufacturer in the world. I've used a few Linksys devices, all were excellent quality, no problems and easy to set up.

As for the Gigabit connections, you probably don't need them. Especially since the only devices wired directly to the router are games consoles. They don't need any where near 100Mb bandwidth, let along 10x that. As for your wireless devices, wireless N would offer you greater transfer speeds (it will NOT speed up your internet) and greater connectivity area. Though, standard web browsing and online gaming wouldn't utilise wireless N properly, only if you did file transfers over the wireless, or streamed HD movies wirelessly. If you don't do those, then there's no point in investing in Wireless N other than for future proofing.

andy76 · 13-01-2010, 18:14

Thanks for all the advice, i've just been on phone to virgin and they're sending me a new N router in the next couple of days free of charge! if i dont have any luck with this one, which linksys router would you recommend? it will need to be a N router as i'm upgrading pc's and laptops during the year.

CHiLL · 14-01-2010, 19:19

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142702 That is the one I'd advise.

seany · 17-01-2010, 00:02

Thanks for all the Advice.
I went for the Linksys Wireless N router.
Should be here on Monday and yay for a reliable connection.

Again, my thanks