What router?

aliferste · 20-12-2009, 20:45

Hiya - I am going to get one of those wee netbooks for crimbo - what kind of wifi router should I be buying - I will still want to plug in my main comp!

pip08456 · 21-12-2009, 09:04

Routers are all much of a muchness as they all do the same job and a lot of it comes down to personal preferences.

Netgear, DLink and belkin are the popular ones and all have provision for wired connections.

Peter_ · 21-12-2009, 09:20

Here are some ideas from PC World.

If you are on a cable connection then click HERE

If you are on a ADSL/BT connection then click HERE

pabscars · 21-12-2009, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456

Routers are all much of a muchness as they all do the same job and a lot of it comes down to personal preferences.

Netgear, DLink and belkin are the popular ones and all have provision for wired connections.

I would also add, that it depends what you want to do with it, if its just for general web browsing, the occasional download, facebook etc then pretty much any cheapo router will do.

If you plan on having multiple connections, games consoles, basically hammering your connection then I would spend a little more.

Also how far away from your router will your netbook be, and do you have thick walls all considerations you need to think off.

Best advice I can give you is do your research, google is your friend.

Ive recently gone through a few routers and the only conclusion I came up with is that the routers VM supply stear clear of, and just purchase one that doesnt have modified firmware.

Stick to well known makes like Linksys or Netgear so if you have any support issues you can give them a call.

Ive always found Linksys support very good in the past (even on boxing day).

Its a bit of a lottery trying to get one that does it all well.

Ive found Netgear to be fast via ethernet but lacking in wireless range and speed, and suffered random reboots.

D-Link seemed good for wireless strength throughout the house, but wasnt gamer friendly.

Linksys so far seems pretty good, and reasonably gamer friendly, with a pretty decent wireless throughput.

Happy hunting

Peter_ · 21-12-2009, 21:47

3 router suppliers possibly to avoid as they do not offer any phone support in this country and think that you should be able to email your issues to them are, Billion, Sweex and TP Link, not much use if the wireless is not working and you do not have a laptop.