Which wireless router

[Noddy made me]

Can the collective recommend a wireless router. Ive been into PC World and got a bit overwhelmed with G N and + and .11 etc
I have an adsl broadband modem for the pc.
My idea was to get a wireless router plug the pc in and use the wireless to serve the new PS3 and occasionaly the laptop. (the desk is in front of the airvent for the gas fire and my feet are fecking freezing)
Or would it be better to get a modem/wireless router combined ?
The PS3 is about 25feet away in the front room
Ta very muchly
Regards Tony

 

[wessie]

Personally, I would go with a single box solution. You will probably find that it costs much the same anyway: PCWorld etc sell more ADSL modem routers than plain routers (usually only bought by cable customers). The single box will use less power and look neater.

Virgin (ADSL via BT line) sent me a free Netgear DG834G as part of my upgrade package. It works fine. Very easy to set up. They are about £40-45 to buy.

Looking at the PCWorld website I'd probably try to find one of those Zyxels with the extra bits, as this will save you some cash. Out of stock on the website but you might find one in store. If you can't get one of those then the DLink box with an adapter included looks good value at under £40
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/st...m=null&tm=null&sku=088910&category_oid=-28359
It gets good reviews by gamers and you can reserve & collect to save any shelf selection woes

If you can wait for mail order then this bundle from Amazon seems like a good deal http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-802...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1230587187&sr=1-21

 

[Pukmeister]

+1 for the Netgear DG834 all-in-one solution. Used one in Australia with ADSL connection, 100% reliable and easy to configure and use.

 

[LiquidLAN]

We've resold Draytek for years, it's great stuff, pretty bullet proof... the bonus for us at least is the low postsales care thats needed - can't tell you how many unit's we've sold in total... its a lot, I've got a lever arch folder and a half full of copy receipts, of that we'll have had a couple of handfuls fault mostly simple stuff and maybe a few more than that in support calls.

The only downside with them is that they arent particularly bleeding edge on the technology front and the wireless range can be a bit limited - but it depends on what you need.

The other unit I would and have looked at is Buffalo, great kit, again the one's I've used are hugely reliable. Beauty with the Buffalo kit is that you can bridge as well as route so it make life easier if you dont have the wireless range you need

Remember thought, wireless is not the be-all and end-all, there are a lot of factors that will play into how successful you are at getting a solution to work.

 

[g.s.john]

belkin 54g used one for two and half years if you go wireless make sure its encripted.

 

[Davy F]

I think I have two brand new wireless routers lying about here which I haven't used and one Netgear which has been used (but is perfect) until I signed up with O2 a month or so back. Free to any home if someone pays for the P&P.

 

[gipsymagpie]

DG834G

N M M, I would definitely get the netgear DG834g. The ps3 runs at 'g' speed so a faster router would be a waste of cash. The netgear is really mature tech now at version 3 so it is totally solid. Just a few tips tho. Make sure you choose a channel your neighbour is not using, use security, change the password on the router and the wireless network name too actually! If you have any issues feel free to pm. g

 

[Robbo1200ADV]

belkin 54g used one for two and half years if you go wireless make sure its encripted.

+1for the Belkin series once set up pretty Good!!

 

[redcastle]

I think I have two brand new wireless routers lying about here which I haven't used and one Netgear which has been used (but is perfect) until I signed up with O2 a month or so back. Free to any home if someone pays for the P&P.

PM on its way young man

 

[mikepg]

Noddy,

Can't help thinking that for what you intend to do, a wireless application is not the most stable option.

It's a good idea to have a wireless facility for the laptop, but for the ps3, you might want a bit more bandwidth.

You might want to think about using a 'network over mains' solution. There are plenty of devices available and this is one of them:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=48539

 

[Achim]

Heads-up: Netgear router & iPod Touch

N M M, I would definitely get the netgear DG834g. The ps3 runs at 'g' speed so a faster router would be a waste of cash. The netgear is really mature tech now at version 3 so it is totally solid. Just a few tips tho. Make sure you choose a channel your neighbour is not using, use security, change the password on the router and the wireless network name too actually! If you have any issues feel free to pm. g

Good advice. We've got one, too, and it works fine with various brands of PCs, laptops, and games stations (Wii, PSP), BUT...: if you want to use a Touch or an iPhone with Netgear stuff, be advised that it IS difficult to get Apple PDAs/phones to talk to Netgear products. It took me over an hour of googling for solutions and fiddling with our son's Touch before getting it to connect to our network. Didn't have that problem with our iMac.

The easy solution if you want use a Touch or an iPhone on your wireless network is to NOT use a Netgear router. The alternative is to spend some time trying out different configurations.

Good luck,
Achim

 

[Noddy made me]

thanks for all your replys.
A visit to Comet found me coming home with a netgear modem/router, with usb adapter for the laptop. Even better swmbo found £20 in vouchers in her purse so it only cost me £40.
Ps3 is up and running too in wireless
One last question though,
To get the laptop to be included on the network ive had to change the A2k thingy security to Wep security. Although the network shows a padlock is it still as secure as it could be ??
Regards Tony
(from the front room........on the sofa........in front of the telly.......away from the the airvent)

 

[Noddy made me]

Bathroom

 

[Noddy made me]

Kitchen

 

[Noddy made me]

ok ill stop , so is Wep as secure
Regards Tony

 

[Womble]

ok ill stop , so is Wep as secure
Regards Tony

You're a lot better off with WPA and above, provided you use a sensible key. WEP is more of a speedbump as far as security is concerned.

 

[Noddy made me]

Ps3 and pc were fine, but as soon as the laptop wanted to play it didnt recognise Wap and a phone call the tech guys changed it to wep but with a stupid number.

 

[Noddy made me]

All sorted, just had an online tech session with Naveem and its all sorted now all systems are go WPA2K wotsit.....
Have to say so far, excellent bit of kit, great back up, reasonable price
Regards Tony
Front room

 

[Noddy made me]

The ps3 runs at 'g' speed so a faster router would be a waste of cash.

Wish i had known that before i bought an N. However it does mean i can surf on the laptop all over the house including the shed and garage

 

[Noddy made me]

Personally, I would go with a single box solution. You will probably find that it costs much the same anyway: PCWorld etc sell more ADSL modem routers than plain routers (usually only bought by cable customers). The single box will use less power and look neater.

Still looks like an explosion in a spagetti factory behind the desk though