wifi

[Itax]

I am shopping for a wifi broadcasting router. Any recommendations? Any ones I should stay the hell away from because they explode and eat all your cheetos and drink all your beer? I looked at the comparison sites and they all said more or less the exact same thing, no help. And when the hell did a modem become a router anyways?

[i_am_not_your_father]

netgear and linksys are good brands. Also, make sure that whatever brand/model you buy, it is compatible with the wireless devices you currently own (e.g. 802.11 b/g/n).

Just to give you an example, I have a relative who came to visit me with a 802.11 b device and couldn't connect to my new netgear router because it is not bakcward compatible. So I had to dig out my old linksys 802.11 b/g router.

Hope this helps.

IANYF

[Nightstalker]

Itax I am sure as little beer as you drink you will have a clear head and I am sure you will make the right decision.

[Sarge 1/68th Armor]

Never mind the boozer. Linksys.

[Swanny-CG]

Linksys (now Cisco) for me. To be honest, I've ended up needing to buy a new one about every 18 months, as for some reason they usually lose their damned minds at some point. I don't know why, reloading the firmware, resetting to factory defaults, nothing fixes them for long - my last one just decided to stop handing out DHCP addresses to anyone.

My latest one, Cisco-branded, has been pretty solid but occasionally doesn't let new people on the wireless; it doesn't give them addresses. When that happens, a quick pull of the power cord sets me right again for about a month.

I do like routers that allow DDNS updates, so I can have a registered DNS name that follows my router when the IPs change.

I guess telling you the issues I've had doesn't sound much like a plug but for whatever reason I keep buying them.

I would generally avoid new tech that isn't backward compatible in some way but I'm not a gear whore so I don't have the latest and greatest everything (not to say Dad is, only that I don't rush to buy new-ish stuff).

FWIW.

[Payne N. Daiz]

Read this thread. Post #12 is the important one. JackMDS, the mod, knows his stuff.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread. ... est+router

I have the Buffalo router mentioned and it's been solid. The Asus will get you 'N' and a print server. The WNDR3700 gets true dual band.

If you have simple wireless needs and don't have any 'N' devices and don't want to spend much I can recommend the Buffalo.

Bookmark Anandtech.com. It's always my first stop when looking to upgrade. Their forums contain a wealth of information.

[Itax]

Thanks for all the help and input, you guys made this so much clearer and easier for me.