Need some help picking out a new wireless router!

[Kompresshun]

Alright guys, I replaced my dying Linksys WRT54G router about 2 years ago with a $40 Belkin Wireless N router from Walmart. It was great for the first few months and now it sucks big ones! We live in a 3 br, single level home, and I can barely get signal in our living room(it's 100ft or so from our living room area). I thought it was an internet issue at first, but after testing everything out, the router is the real issue. If we have more than 2 devices going at the same time, the internet goes ballistic and one of the devices gets the short end of the stick, when it comes to a good connection, and I have to constantly reset it.

So, I started researching new ones last night, seeing as just going out and buying one didn't work out so well last time. I need something that can handle streaming video, playing games on Xbox live, and moderate internet browsing. Streaming is probably the thing we do the most, but everything goes up and down, even if it's basic internet browsing.

I've run across some of the Dual Band Wireless N Routers, I found a Vizio at Sams Club last night and I also found a Linksys online last night. It seems like Dual Band might be the way to go, but that's where I need to hear from you guys, since I don't know that much about them. I would like to spend $80 or less on a router, less than $60 would be even better, so any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[AppleBonker]

I've got a Netgear WNDR-3700 and I love it, though it is definitely out of your price range unless you can find an amazing deal somewhere. Dual band, guest network, NAS, the works. My buddy (who has a PC repair/consulting business) runs the WNR3500 and he is quite happy with that. I think the only thing really different between the two is the dual-band capability. Though, the 3500 also runs DD-WRT easily whereas my 3700 does not (iirc). The 3500 can be had from newegg for under $80 right now. I've been running Netgear routers exclusively for the past 3-4 years and have had no major issues with them. Just my two cents...

[Kompresshun]

Thanks for the info Adam, i'm willing to give them a shot. I love Linksys but I gave up on them after my third one failed within 2 years, and i'm not very impressed with Belkin either.

Do you feel like it's worth it to spend the extra money on dual band? I just get annoyed when the wife is playing on Xbox live or watching Netflix while i'm trying to browse the internet on the iPad or something, it always seems to slow things down on one of the devices considerably.

[RCA]

$50 (not including shipping) gets you my used Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH.
Online reviews should be some where at 3 stars and rightfully so. The router has huge interface issues, but I have replaced Buffalo's mess with a DD-WRT interface that is awesome sauce.
The Buffalo hardware is powerful. It was able to handle torrenting, Xbox, YouTube and a NAS at the same time. I probably had 5-8 clients at one time.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Bu ... -HP-G300NH

Do you feel like it's worth it to spend the extra money on dual band? I just get annoyed when the wife is playing on Xbox live or watching Netflix while i'm trying to browse the internet on the iPad or something, it always seems to slow things down on one of the devices considerably.

This could have to do with the amount of bandwidth you get. If your speeds are 5Mbs down then Netflixing while iPad browsing could be an issue.
720p streaming is about 4.5Mbps and 1080p is nearly 7Mbps.

Dual band just means that your router uses two frequencies so if you have a lot of 2.4ghz items that interfere with your WiFi network your router also uses a 5Ghz signal that not many devices use.

[AppleBonker]

Chris, not sure how much help dual-band is for that situation. I don't really run much wirelessly. Everything is hard-wired save the netbook/laptop/iPad and only when those are in use. If the netbook/laptops are on the desk, then they're wired too. My buddy doesn't have an issues with his wireless though unless he's gaming (the modem is near his tv which isn't in the same room as his desktop - when he games he runs ethernet along the floor). On a budget I'd almost be tempted to try without dual band? But again, I might not be the best person to ask that question...

[Kompresshun]

This could have to do with the amount of bandwidth you get. If your speeds are 5Mbs down then Netflixing while iPad browsing could be an issue.
720p streaming is about 4.5Mbps and 1080p is nearly 7Mbps.

Dual band just means that your router uses two frequencies so if you have a lot of 2.4ghz items that interfere with your WiFi network your router also uses a 5Ghz signal that not many devices use.

This is possible, I believe I pay for 6MBs right now... It's either 6 or 8MBs. I will have to look when I get home tonight. I know the router is still part of the issue though, because I don't get full signal in my living room on any of my devices.

Sounds like Dual Band really isn't important then, the only thing that I have that might interfere would be the baby monitors, but I think they're 900mhz. We don't have home phones or anything else aside from just computers and mobile devices.

On a budget I'd almost be tempted to try without dual band? But again, I might not be the best person to ask that question...

Yeah that's the only dilemma i'm in right now, I would rather not break $100 on one, but i'm starting to wonder if I should spend more than $80... Since I possibly don't need dual band it looks like less than $100 will get me something good though.

[RCA]

Things that use 2.4Ghz:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromag ... at_2.4_GHz

[C-Kwik]

My suggestion is to hard-wire anything you can. Most people don't bother with it since most routers only have 4 ports. I ran a Netgear Enterprise 8-port wireless G (I have a lot of devices to hook up), but being an enterprise device, it was a PITA to set-up and manipulate (not to mention it wreaked havoc on our XBOX Live connections, even thought it was hardwired). About 6 months ago, I ran across the D-Link Wireless N DIR-632. Its fairly inexpensive, has wireless N and 8 ports. The big advantage to an 8-port router? Everything but my mobile devices are hardwired. So there are zero interference issues on those devices and so far, the wireless N has been flawless. Of course, its not necessarily easy to hardwire up to 8 devices, but just throwing it out there as an option.

Also, just to see if you might be able to retain your current router, also try different channels on your router. If you have an android phone with wifi, you can download a free app to analyze signals around your house to determine what channels your neighbors might be using (there may be similar applications and programs for other devices as well). This might help with interference issues if that is the cause. Most routers use channel 6 as a default so it could get crowded if you didn't change it. Couldn't hurt to try.

Lastly, a buddy of mine recently started using one of those network systems that use the home's power lines as he had poor reception in the lower floors of his home. He threw an old router on it using it as an extender and he loves it.

[AppleBonker]

I don't know that you need an eight-port router. You can always add one or more switches. I've got eight or nine devices hard-wired running through the router and two switches. All of the devices near the tv are on one switch (as it seems completely pointless to run 4-5 dedicated ethernet cables to one location). Just sayin...

[Chaotic_Warlord]

I have a Belkin Surf 600, it was a PITA to set up and technical support was absolutely no help, but I got it for $80 @ Target and aside from having to reenter to password on occassion but besides that I haven't really have any issue and the broadcast range is freaking awesome, I can still get a wifi signal on my phone from it a block away and I live in NE Philly so the houses eat signal bandwidth like it's a sandwich. It is a N+ with dual band router and as long as you know what your doing on setup you shouldn't have any issues. I only had a problem because I have to lock out my neighbors and setting up the password and WEP key was just a headache and a half.

[AppleBonker]

WEP

http://lifehacker.com/5305094/how-to-cr ... -backtrack

[Chaotic_Warlord]

WEP

http://lifehacker.com/5305094/how-to-cr ... -backtrack

Oops, I meant to say WPA. But the Belkin does give you the option to go with a 64/128 bit WEP or a 256 bit WPA with custom keys and passwords. It also allows you to have a guest login so that your kids friends can use your wifi signal without out eating up all your bandwidth or having to enter your secure connection.

[AppleBonker]

Just making sure. I'm fairly certain Chris was aware, but for anyone else reading I wanted to stress how minimally secure WEP actually is. Don't use it.

[szh]

I use a D-Link 655 ... it has been on for some years now. The latest firmware is very reliable - the last one had a tendency to lock up after a day or two.

It pretty much stays up 24/7 all the time.

Z

[C-Kwik]

I don't know that you need an eight-port router. You can always add one or more switches. I've got eight or nine devices hard-wired running through the router and two switches. All of the devices near the tv are on one switch (as it seems completely pointless to run 4-5 dedicated ethernet cables to one location). Just sayin...

Surely. Depends on your configuration. My router and modem sit next to my TV. As are the LAN jacks to 2 other rooms in the house. I did actually try daisy chaining 2 routers, but I couldn't get devices on one router to see devices on the other. This was problematic as I have a NAS and wireless printer on my network. An 8 port router took care of that for me.

[AppleBonker]

Yeah, daisy chaining routers isn't the easiest thing to do. Switches, on the other hand, is simple. In essence, the router just has a 4-8 port switch on it. I've got NAS and a wired printer on my network. Have had no issues connecting to NAS/printer over the wired network through a switch. My HTPC near the tv (all items near the tv connect to my "tv switch") can see the printer and NAS without a problem. The only reason I wish I had a router with more ports is that I have the modem, router AND an additional switch sitting on my computer desk (from the office I need to connect a desktop, two laptops, a printer and the "tv switch" so I actually need 5 ports and my router only has four).

[Dattebayo]

You know, the big problem with many routers is that many people don't understand how to position the antenna properly to get signal where you are. The tip of the antenna puts out no signal (neither does the other end), so if that is even remotely pointed in the direction of your laptop, you won't get signal. you must position the antenna so that it is as perpendicular to your position as possible...

I keep mine at a 45* tilt so I can use it downstairs, and it works just fine at over 70 ft... (and it's a sh*tty Verizon router, too)

[Kompresshun]

Thanks for the input guys! I'm planning on going and buying something new next week, I haven't totally decided what i'm gonna go with yet though. I'm trying to keep the cost to a minimum, but i'm not going to buy a cheap piece of junk either.

Dave, i'll give that a try on mine, it just happens to have antennas so it's possible that's the issue... We live in a single level house though, so i'm not sure if that'll solve it, but it's worth a try. What are you supposed to do with the newer routers that don't have antennas though?

[Dattebayo]

Newer routers have antennas too, they're just internal and non-adjustable. I have noticed that they are designed to provide a single level with access and don't really work as well between floors.

There is kind of a sideways hourglass shape that the signal propagates out to in the short range that you need to be aware of when you place the device, this is the same for all signals.

You also have to be aware of you house construction. If you have an older place with plaster on the walls, they used a metal mesh to spread that stuff over. In fact, the government uses a similar structure to keep signals out of scifs in super secret levels of govt. buildings. Any sheet metal or metal matrix in the way of a signal can absorb most if not all of the signal.

Concrete reflects most types of signals as well, with very little penetration, so be aware of that.

Anyway, I really didn't mean to complicate the issue, but I have run into these issues a lot when we were using pretty good equipment and had to find out what was wrong with the signal...

[Kompresshun]

The house is about 20 years old and it has a pretty modern build. I did some research on my current router though and it is a hunk of junk. It's my own fault for not checking into it before buying it, but I didn't think it was important at the time. I just needed something to replace my dead Linksys.

I ended up spending a little more than I had hoped, but $80 isn't too bad. I picked this Netgear up on sale at Best Buy today: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/NETGEAR+-+N ... Id=1208844

Seems like it's a pretty quality router for the money and will handle what I need just fine

[audtatious]

Stop blowing s*** up and they will last longer

[Dattebayo]

Stop blowing s*** up and they will last longer

^drunk?

[Kompresshun]

Stop blowing s*** up and they will last longer

At least this didn't catch on fire...

[audtatious]

Stop blowing s*** up and they will last longer

^drunk?

Probably....and I have inside info

[audtatious]

Stop blowing s*** up and they will last longer

At least this didn't catch on fire...

Good point