[serious] Wirless Router Advice

[Blakk_Majik]

Ok, here's the deal.

I'm a hardcore "wired internet" type guy. I don't think wireless is reliable at all.

However, I'm sick of the wires! I've got a laptop, Wii, Xbox 360, and soon a PS3 that will all need the internet at some point or another. There is also a possibility that the fiance could be playing 360 while I'm playing the PS3 in another room. So I need something very stable and fast. I cannot afford for her connection to get dropped in the middle of a Rockband guitar solo on Live, and I can ill-afford the connection on the PS3 to drop while I'm kickin' ass in Tekken 6 (or T5ark Resurrection if I get a PS3 soon enough).

We live in a simple 2 bed/2 bath one floor apt. I think it's like 1200 sq. ft. It's big enough for us, but we'd probably be looking to buy a house (one story preferred) in the next year or so.

So, which router should I get? I don't do anything real intense on-line like download hundreds of mp3s, movies, or anything like that. But I need something very dependable and fast because I play a lot on Xbox Live, and also because there is a strong possibility that two or three of the aforementioned devices could be using the connection at one time.

Edit: I should mention that I am partial to Linksys, but will give other brands a shot. My current router is a simple Linksys model and performs excellently, even if I have the PC and XBox Live going at the same time. But I gotta get rid of these wires. Too much clutter.

[kleinma]

I would recommend you run wired connections to your console devices, and run wireless to any computers you want on the network.

If the computer(s) already have wireless cards or laptop with wireless built in, then its nice and easy. If they don't then you just need to get an internal (or better yet) external USB wireless receiver. They cost a little more than wireless G, but if you get a wireless N router and receiver for your PC, you will get the best range and throughput that wireless currently offers.

If in fact you do have your consoles all on the same tv, it should be easy to position your router close to them so that you can wire all them, and just use the wireless for your PC.

Just my opinion, this is how I do it at home, except I only use wireless for my laptop, my desktop which is 2 rooms over from the router is hard wired. I ran an Ethernet line through the basement ceiling.

[kleinma]

on, and I use the dlink gaming router. I never liked dlink, so I can say this was probably the first product from them that I used, that I actually liked. It has done nothing but work exactly how I want it to, and you can customize just about EVERYTHING. The only negative I can even say about it (which may not be true in newer models) is that it seems to require reboots when changing settings that other routers would not require reboots for. It reboots in about 15 seconds, so its not really a big deal.

[Kasracer]

The standard WRT54G from Linksys has been very reliable for folks.

To be honest though, if you want a reliable and dependable router then you may want to look at business level routers. I used to have a WRT54G, a D-Link and a few other wireless routers and they all had periods when they either needed to be reset or reset on their own (the damn D-Link wouldn't stop resetting itself). I got fed up and purchased a business grade Netgear router.

I haven't had a problem in the past two years or so that I've owned this router. It was a little more money (I think around $200-$250) but even with torrents going, XBox Live in another room, Team Fortress 2 in my room, and several people browsing the internet wireless, it doesn't skip a beat.

[kleinma]

netgear is the only router I have owned that actually died on me. That doesn't mean they are bad, I just have owned several dozen routers through work or home, and none have ever died except the nethear one.

[kregg]

I personally would go for the Ethernet-over-Power lines myself. They are more reliable than wireless, and depending on the model, most of them you just have a transmitter and reciever somewhere around the other side of the house. It's a far more secure and less prone to interference. The downside to this is that Ethernet is still better, but you can't win them all

Here are some links I found on the internet:
http://www.netgear.com/Products/Powe...etworking.aspx (I chose this because I remember reading on their website. It doesn't matter if it came from Linksys too, it's just extra info)
http://www.trustedreviews.com/networ...ine-Network/p1
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/in...690&forumid=18

[homer13j]

The standard WRT54G from Linksys has been very reliable for folks.

Plus you can install Linux on it.

[kregg]

Plus you can install Linux on it.

That is cool. But why?

[kleinma]

I personally would go for the Ethernet-over-Power lines myself. They are more reliable than wireless, and depending on the model, most of them you just have a transmitter and reciever somewhere around the other side of the house. It's a far more secure and less prone to interference. The downside to this is that Ethernet is still better, but you can't win them all

Here are some links I found on the internet:
http://www.netgear.com/Products/Powe...etworking.aspx (I chose this because I remember reading on their website. It doesn't matter if it came from Linksys too, it's just extra info)
http://www.trustedreviews.com/networ...ine-Network/p1
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/in...690&forumid=18

I looked at those at one point, but when I started to look for reviews, I noticed people saying things like this:

The adapter units occupy, roughly, the space of three decks of cards, so they're easy to handle. But they plug directly into electrical outlets, and depending on the outlet and the other plugs, they can block the remaining outlet. Unfortunately, the signal quickly degrades if the unit is plugged into a surge suppressor or even a power strip.

[mendhak]

Moved to General PC.

I'd also say wired for PCs and consoles, wireless for laptops. Make sure you go through one of the numerous guides online on how to secure your wireless network, not broadcast names, so on and so forth.

[kleinma]

Yeah, I use WEP and also do not broadcast my SSID.

At my buddies apartment complex, we can connect to about 30 different unsecured networks, and get into about 20 of their routers configs using default passwords.

I hear WPA is a more secure encryption method? I haven't really looking into it because I only have my laptop on the wireless, but I would be willing to switch if it does offer some extra benefits..

[Lord Orwell]

i use the linksys with no issues. My network is also a hybrid wireless/wired. My apartment is 850 sq ft, and the Linksys and Mac Mini are literallly at opposite ends of the apartment. If you centrally locate one of them, you should have plenty of signal. I get signal from adjoining buildings.

[techgnome]

I use the WRT54G from Linksys, nary a problem. I have a desktop and a laptop conencted wirelessly, and a server hard wired to it, plus our Wii is connected via wireless as well. Using WEP and not broadcasting the SSID seems to keep things in order. It's amazing the number of SSIDs that are broadcasted in the neighborhood... and yet, we only have one or two that are unsecured....

-tg

[mendhak]

Yeah, I use WEP and also do not broadcast my SSID.

At my buddies apartment complex, we can connect to about 30 different unsecured networks, and get into about 20 of their routers configs using default passwords.

I hear WPA is a more secure encryption method? I haven't really looking into it because I only have my laptop on the wireless, but I would be willing to switch if it does offer some extra benefits..

WPA2 > WPA > WEP

WEP is the oldest of the three; WPA and WPA2 were introduced to address security issues in WEP, among other things.

[Blakk_Majik]

I appreciate all the input.

What about the Linksys WRT54G2? I see a few people put the WRT54G as their preferred wirless router, so I assume the one I'm looking at is a newer version of the same router.

It's gotten good reviews from what I've seen.

[Lord Orwell]

No issues at all with the first one, except this: All the settings are (as normal) controlled through a web browser interface. This interface is frustratingly slow. It can take 10 to 20 seconds to load one of the property pages on my system. Also it's not necessarily intuitive. The page has tabs but they don't look like tabs. It looks like a purple menu bar.

However, it doesn't always take that long, and i have yet to figure out why. Hopefully it was something addressed in version 2. You should also look: g is getting phased out. Get an N router if you can afford it. I only went G because my wife uses a Mac and it's got G built-in. And everyone knows a wireless network operates at the speed of the slowest connection.

[CodedFire]

Funny ive had issues with all those companies. I both a few buffalo products and have never had an issue with them. Although I heard a rumor buffalo is going bust!

[The_Grudge]

I have a crappy router (Microsoft MN-700) that's gone without a firmware update for about 3 years because MS stopped supporting it. Having said that, I'm not sure why everyone is so "wired" happy in here. My Xbox 360 is hooked up to my network wirelessly and I never have any problems with lag or dropped connections.

If you ask me, there are no issues going wireless for everything.

That's my .02 anyway.

[kleinma]

well for one you had to buy the wireless adapter for the 360. When I can run a wire 5 feet to my router, I am not paying 100 bucks to get wireless. If it came with it (as my laptop did) then I would be using it wireless instead.

I also do stream a lot of content from my PC to the 360. Movies, recorded TV shows, and music are all shared out through Windows Media Player 11 on my XP box, which streams to my 360. I am not sure if wireless would cause any issues there, I will suppose not, I have not tested.

I did run a hard wire to my PC because I was having wireless connectivity issues and the router was not that far away from the desktop PC. I could have maybe bought a new wireless card and tried that, but I had the cable, so it was free to run a cable, or money to go wireless again.

[Lord Orwell]

well for one you had to buy the wireless adapter for the 360. When I can run a wire 5 feet to my router, I am not paying 100 bucks to get wireless. If it came with it (as my laptop did) then I would be using it wireless instead.

I also do stream a lot of content from my PC to the 360. Movies, recorded TV shows, and music are all shared out through Windows Media Player 11 on my XP box, which streams to my 360. I am not sure if wireless would cause any issues there, I will suppose not, I have not tested.

I did run a hard wire to my PC because I was having wireless connectivity issues and the router was not that far away from the desktop PC. I could have maybe bought a new wireless card and tried that, but I had the cable, so it was free to run a cable, or money to go wireless again.

You COULD pay $100 for the adapter, or you could go to Circuit City or equivalent and purchase the "gaming WAP" complete with ethernet adapter socket for $50

[kleinma]

or I could wire it 5 feet for free, and its faster. The wire runs under my baseboard heat, you can't even see it. Even the wire that runs to another room to my PC runs through the basement ceiling/ground level flooring, so you don't see that either. It is run to a nice face plate in the wall. People make it seem like it is a huge deal to run ethernet lines, but it really is not.

[Lord Orwell]

or I could wire it 5 feet for free, and its faster. The wire runs under my baseboard heat, you can't even see it. Even the wire that runs to another room to my PC runs through the basement ceiling/ground level flooring, so you don't see that either. It is run to a nice face plate in the wall. People make it seem like it is a huge deal to run ethernet lines, but it really is not.

no harder than running the cable wiring. I circled my room under the baseboards to get the computer located where i wished. The wall jack is in a really inconvenient spot.

However running it back to the other end of the apartment would have been impossible due to the hallway and doors off of each side of it, so wireless was used in the other room.

In summary, each has its place.

[kleinma]

no harder than running the cable wiring. I circled my room under the baseboards to get the computer located where i wished. The wall jack is in a really inconvenient spot.

However running it back to the other end of the apartment would have been impossible due to the hallway and doors off of each side of it, so wireless was used in the other room.

In summary, each has its place.

Yeah if you are in an apt building, then generally you don't have access to run wires through floors/ceilings, etc... so I did not want to come off as saying wireless has NO use, I would HATE it if my laptop was not wireless. I just am one of those people who uses wireless on devices that are portable, but I don't mind running wires to devices that are stationary. Especially since I have the ability to do it in my house. It can even make home value go up a bit if you have nice ethernet ports in every room on a wall jack.

[Lord Orwell]

Yeah if you are in an apt building, then generally you don't have access to run wires through floors/ceilings, etc... so I did not want to come off as saying wireless has NO use, I would HATE it if my laptop was not wireless. I just am one of those people who uses wireless on devices that are portable, but I don't mind running wires to devices that are stationary. Especially since I have the ability to do it in my house. It can even make home value go up a bit if you have nice ethernet ports in every room on a wall jack.

i am bad about this sort of thing. If i owned this place, there would be a cable and ethernet hook up on every single wall of every room, and possibly even in the closets if i were to decide to hide a cable modem in there. Last place i owned i had a drop ceiling and the cable wire was long enough i could run it down any wall if i moved the tv. I also had something like 7 outlets in the bedroom. This place isn't so bad though. Bedroom has five outlets.