Need a POWERFUL and EASY TO CONFIGURE wireless router that is not LINKSYS (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

I can't tell you how much Linksys sucks!

Spent $130 for their new WRT54GX4 router which
worked great as far as range in a huge home and
compatability with my 2 wireless laptops.

Just bought a Lenovo T60 laptop, duo-core. These
laptops come with an Intel 3945ABG wireless network
card built-in.

They don't work with the new Linksys routers. Seems
to be dozens of people in my situation that bought new
duo-core laptops and have issues with their Linksys
router.

I need to buy a new router. It must be powerful
so that it can send great signal range throughout
my home. It must also be easy to configure. The
great thing about Linksys routers is that it has
a webpage that makes it simple to set up your network.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[SethH]

I've had good experience with Belkin routers in the past (and present), but my router is still of the "b" generation, so I can't recommend a specific model because my experience is with slightly older models.

 

[Paul Padilla]

Depends on the actual range and environment. Really, Linksys is usually the highest rated stuff for consumer use. D-link usually isn't far behind. For anything truly robust equal or above Linksys you'd have to get into Cisco equipment which isn't cheap. Most if not all equipment will have a web interface for configuration. Heck...even most network printers give you that management tool these days.

Sorry to ask the bonehead question, but what have you pursued with IBM/Lenovo? Since there were no problems before, the new piece of equipment is the most suspect as the cause. If a number of their machines, or machines using that wireless chipset, are having problems, they should have or be working on a solution like a firmware upgrade. Just because they all happen to have problems with Linksys doesn't necessarily mean that Linksys is substandard and at the heart of it. It just seems a shame to can your perfectly functioning network because a new element doesn't play nicely.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Paul,

Basically in a nutshell...

Neither party wants to admit it's their fault.

The Intel 3945 card is new technology. So is
the Linksys router. From phone conversations with
both camps, IBM doesn't think they have a widespread
problem and Linksys doesn't even acknowledge there
is a problem.

So I had to spend $100 to buy a Belkin router. It
solved the problem so I consider it money well spent.

 

[Jassen M. West]

I wouldn't recommend a Cisco router, considering they make Linksys.

 

[Mike Fassler]

here are my recommendations for higher end and still good priced consumer routers;

Trendnet,sonicwall,SMC,Zyxel,Xterasys.

I cant say enough good things about sonicwall, only con is they can be pricey,but you definately get what you pay for.





While they are made by the same company the cisco components are in a class by themselves

 

[Ken Chui]

Not to highjack Ron's thread, but I'm in the market for a wireless router myself, though it will be used primarily for gaming (PC, PS2, PSP & Xbox). I have my eyes set on the D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router, which has received its fair share of accolades. While the DGL-3420 Wireless 108AG Gaming Adapter would be a logical choice, at $100 a pop, it's not exactly a cost-effective solution. Can someone recommend an inexpensive, easy to configure adapter? I'm also looking for a wireless PCI adapter for my PC - suggestions? TIA

 

[Mike Fassler]

Ken,

i would look at SMC as they are very reliable and lower in cost than most other routers but they work good.Dlink also makes other lower end wireless routers that arent too bad. DI-524 is the model I believe thats around 40 bucks on newegg.
I used a DI-704p(not Wireless) before I got my sonicwall and it was pretty decent for gaming my pings range around the high teens to mid 20's pretty consistenly,personally I dont use wireless for gaming because of the higher ping times and other issues ive experienced with wireless networking while gaming.

Belkin model:BELKIN F5D7230-4 is around just under 40 bucks as well.

 

[Ken Chui]

Mike:

Thanks for the input. I'm using a DI-604 at the moment, which has worked rather well (because of the close proximity between my living room and bedroom, I'm running a couple of Cat 5e cables to my router), but I may not have that luxury when I plan to move later this year.

Price-wise, the DI-524 looks really temping (moreso with the $25 rebate that they're offering for the month of April), but the customer reviews on Newegg are something of a mixed bag, so I'll need to do some research on this model before I commit. In the meantime, I'll take a look at SMC's adapters.

 

[PhillJones]

I'm not sure about what's good but I know what's bad

http://www.netgear.com/products/details/WGT624.php

Don't touch this with a sombody elses 10ft poll.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Guys,

I settled on the Belkin Pre-N router, and I
must say, I really like it.

It's very powerful -- provides coverage for my
entire home, and setting it up was a snap!

I just ordered the Pre-N PC card as I hear that
the combination of both REALLY upscales the signal
communication.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Mike Fassler]

Cool! Glad too hear that its working well for you.

Ken,

Your Welcome

 

[MarkHastings]

Ron, I have a new Dell Laptop (dual core) and it works superbly with my Linksys B/G wireless router. The router isn't exactly brand new, but it's less than a year old.

p.s. FYI, my wireless card (in the laptop) is a Dell 1390.I tend to agree. About 5 years ago, I dealt with one of the top guys in the IBM laptop division because my company was doing a lot of work for IBM and we ran into a sound card issue that IBM was totally unaware of. As Paul mentioned, a lot of their laptops needed sound card firmware/driver upgrades to fix the problem.

Basically, I was the guinea pig and they wrote up some white papers based on my findings, so I wouldn't rule IBM out of the equation. Perhaps they aren't taking blame because they don't realize what the problem is?

Just an FYI

 

[Lance_R]

I know I am a little late, but he US Robotics line of wireless devices are really good and easy to install. One of my favorite features is it does not encrypt the WPA-PSK in the web interface! I never really understood that, then you do not have to reset the key on all devices when your friend forgets his code!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Not really. Cisco bought Linksys a couple of years ago, but the division really operates independently and addresses a completely different market. The only thing that Cisco does with the product is slap their logo on it. I've been working with actual Cisco networking equipment for over 12 years, and can attest that the company makes some excellent products and has top-notch technical support.

Ron, I'm glad to hear the Belkin router is working out for you. I'm using a Dlink router and wireless adapter. My initial experience was not very good, but I found that the issue appeared to be with the PCI adapter for the PC, and not the wireless router. I bought a new adapter when I purchased a new PC, and the newer Dlink adapter is working like a champ (it's in my old Dell PC, which I moved upstairs for my wife to replace the really old eMachines PC she had been using).

 

[Dennis*G]

Interesting. Lost site of this thread. Ron, would it not have been a lot cheaper to just get a linksys card instead of going with a whole different setup, since that's what you did anyway (not using the internal card)?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I think alot of it depends on the luck of the draw. My first router was Belkin - utterly terrible piece of shit. Since, I have bought two Netgear routers (one for my apartment, one for the house) and have had no substantial problems.

And as this thread shows, there are plenty that have had the opposite experience. Finicky things, these routers.

 

[AlyssaAnders]

I have a D-Link wireless router that I use and its GREAT and most importantly it was easy to set up while the prices were reasonable which is always a plus too.

 

[Kimmo Jaskari]

I'm glad to hear of a good experience, but as a general rule you can pretty much assume that D-Link stuff is really godawful. They obviously work just well enough so that it's not always a doorstop, but quality is awful and interoperability between them and other brands isn't anything to write home about.

Also, only a short while ago, a story broke where D-Links cheap home routers were egregiously misconfigured in their firmware and as a result millions of the devices performed what amounts to denial of service attacks on a time server in Denmark.

Most consumer grade cheapo routers are pretty weak, IMHO. You can get them to work, but how well they work depends on luck of the draw and what you want to do with them. Personally, I've long since gone over to a custom PC-based firewall and a separate wireless access point from 3com, and have had virtually no troubles since.

 

[Rommel_L]

This is why you don't jump on anything that doesn't follow a set standard.