Which wireless router for Mac + PC setup [Archive]

I3eXa

Apr 16, 2008, 03:14 PM

numbersyx

Apr 16, 2008, 03:51 PM

Like it says, I need a good wireless router (N preferably) for my two computers. Anyone have any good ones to recommend? I'm on a D-Link DIR-655 right now but it seems that some pages won't load on my mac when using firefox and sometimes even on safari. my other windows pc works fine, and my mac was working fine stealing internet from our neighbour...

Surprised that the D-Link 655 won't work on the mac as it did on mine - just kept dropping the signal at inopportune times.

I would get the Airport Express Base Station - great router and very reliable with some distance....

Sesshi

Apr 16, 2008, 04:48 PM

I'd avoid anything else but Apples. Not the best, but pretty good and most guaranteed compatibility.

I3eXa

Apr 16, 2008, 08:41 PM

so the airport express is a wireless router correct??? I wish apple would label their products better instead of giving things their own names. Guess I'll order that then. The dlink works but sometimes my mac will sit for 15 -20 seconds after I click on a link and it pisses me off waiting...

edit: the airport has built it wireless doesn't look like it will work cause i've got a wireless mac, two wireless windows PCs, and a VoIP phone (wired) that need to hook up to it.

Sesshi

Apr 17, 2008, 07:44 AM

You will need the Airport Extreme (dooood).

Eraserhead

Apr 17, 2008, 08:46 AM

You will need the Airport Extreme (dooood).

The Airport Express is wireless n though now isn't it?

If you're willing to spend more money for less features (you can't attach a USB hard drive), but with rock solid reliability I have to recommend the Draytek 2820n (http://www.dsl-warehouse.com/product_info.php?products_id=200&osCsid=fd23809e32ff88a15ac34a293227d352).

Sesshi

Apr 17, 2008, 12:29 PM

Yes, but he wants to attach wired devices as he figured out.

Eraserhead

Apr 17, 2008, 02:12 PM

Yes, but he wants to attach wired devices as he figured out.

Oh I missed that :o. The Apple ones will have an easy setup I suppose...

I3eXa

Apr 17, 2008, 03:45 PM

yeah but 179 for a freakin router???? Will Apple not even use lube if I bend over and spend that???

Eraserhead

Apr 17, 2008, 03:53 PM

yeah but 179 for a freakin router???? Will Apple not even use lube if I bend over and spend that???

Good=Expensive. The one I was suggesting is even more pricey, but it will be working in 10 years time.

The other cheaper options are Netgear or Linksys, neither of which has a great reputation. To be honest you might as well get another D-Link as you're used to the setup.

pprior

Apr 17, 2008, 04:04 PM

Apples router doesn't even do SPI does it? I don't understand why people think it's so great.

The main function of my router, as far as I'm concerned, is firewall. Then again, I don't do much wireless. I have about 20 ethernet devices on my home network and my dlink router has been solid, if not the easiest in the world to manage.

Eraserhead

Apr 17, 2008, 04:17 PM

Apples router doesn't even do SPI does it?

What is SPI?

pprior

Apr 17, 2008, 04:24 PM

What is SPI?

Stateful Packet Inspection, a must IMO for any decent firewall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stateful_Packet_Inspection

Sesshi

Apr 17, 2008, 04:59 PM

But... but... I thought Macs were secure? (evil grin)

If NATting alone makes you feel dirty, then try the MIMO Linksys routers. I've had fewest wireless problems with the useless MBP's (and you may have better luck with the MB) with the Linksys MIMO routers. The WRT600N is the functional equivalent in terms of connectivity of the Extreme with 4 gigabit ports, MIMO wireless and USB storage sharing capability, but it is not Time Machine compatible (you can make it compatible, but I wouldn't recommend it). It does feature an SPI firewall.

I don't like the Drayteks. I've had various iterations for use in branch minioffices I have after recommendations but they used to crash on a uselessly regular basis, like once every month. These days I go Linksys or straight up to Cisco / Check Point / Juniper / Fortinet. The Drayteks are more feature-loaded than basic home routers, but they're useful only for those people who need the features and actually have more than a slight clue what they're doing, which I think excludes the vast majority of Apple users :p

Eraserhead

Apr 17, 2008, 05:14 PM

(and you may have better luck with the MB)
I've never had any wireless problems with my MacBook, except at University, though they admitted the fault was at their end (after slamming Macs for 5 minutes, yeah professional :rolleyes:).

I don't like the Drayteks. I've had various iterations for use in branch minioffices I have after recommendations but they used to crash on a uselessly regular basis, like once every month.

I'd go with Sesshi's advice on this one, maybe I've lucked out with mine. Though they are much better than consumer level routers in terms of reliability.

miniConvert

Apr 17, 2008, 05:24 PM

What is SPI?
Draytek don't know either, or at least they didn't. I bought a router from them and they'd 'forgotten' to properly implement the SPI firewall. The result was the only Windows machine on the network getting some manky worm. I gave them a week to fix the firmware but they couldn't, so I got my money back and aren't likely to take a chance on them again.

So, stay away from Draytek :D

Linksys, for their sins, seem to make as many bad products as good ones. That said, I've owned a lot of them and they have a completely clean security record with me and they pack a good feature set with a good interface.

Eraserhead

Apr 17, 2008, 05:26 PM

and actually have more than a slight clue what they're doing, which I think excludes the vast majority of Apple computer users :p

Fixed it for you ;).

I gave them a week to fix the firmware but they couldn't,

That does seem like a bit too short a time frame to be fair. No-one fixes security holes that fast.

I3eXa

Apr 17, 2008, 05:37 PM

Good=Expensive. The one I was suggesting is even more pricey, but it will be working in 10 years time.

I don't follow that nor think that it's accurate. Everyone knows for the most part you are paying for the apple logo, so good doesn't always equal expensive. And in my case, great=cheaper! My wife bought a netgear, not 802.11n though :(, and I just finished hooking it up. Not only is it trouble free with ALL websites and not hanging for 15seconds or displaying 'page not found,' but it's overall faster so yeah. Netgear WPN824, worked for me.

Eraserhead

Apr 17, 2008, 05:48 PM

I don't follow that nor think that it's accurate. Everyone knows for the most part you are paying for the apple logo,

Sure.

so good doesn't always equal expensive. And in my case, great=cheaper!

All the other routers we discussed, i.e. the Linksys WRT600N and the Draytek (though they don't appear to be that great compared to other business routers) are more expensive than a standard home router, but are higher quality, can take more connections and are more stable.

At University I use a £40 Netgear, and its OK, but not great under high load (i.e. six students), it is better than a BT Home Hub that we had before, but that isn't saying much at all.

miniConvert

Apr 17, 2008, 05:55 PM

That does seem like a bit too short a time frame to be fair. No-one fixes security holes that fast.
They reckoned they could do it to start with. By the end of the week they couldn't even give me an ETA on when they might fix their gross incompetence :D I wasn't prepared to get stuck with the thing, so I sent it back for a refund within the distance selling regs time period.

Eraserhead

Apr 17, 2008, 05:56 PM

They reckoned they could do it to start with. By the end of the week they couldn't even give me an ETA on when they might fix their gross incompetence :D I wasn't prepared to get stuck with the thing, so I sent it back for a refund within the distance selling regs time period.

Ow, that is bad.

Sesshi

Apr 17, 2008, 06:27 PM

Which Draytek router was this?

Evangelion

Apr 18, 2008, 03:02 AM

yeah but 179 for a freakin router???? Will Apple not even use lube if I bend over and spend that???

179 seems like a decent price for a router with those specs.

Sesshi

Apr 19, 2008, 09:58 AM

Well, it's not a terrible price for Apple. The WRT600N for example is $160 on Amazon, so I guess you're paying about a $50 street Apple tax (given the lack of a firewall)? But I'm sure most may prefer to have a $219-239 AEX with a firewall and full support for Time Machine.

micsaund

Apr 19, 2008, 12:27 PM

179 seems like a decent price for a router with those specs.

The AEBS is also the only 5GHz 802.11n router I've seen commonly available. Last time I looked, all of the Linksys/etc. ones I looked at were only 2.4GHz.

I love getting my network traffic away from the common-carrier 2.4GHz spectrum and at 5GHz, I get great range and zero interference, even with about 10-12 other wireless signals in the same area.

The 5GHz usability alone is worth it for me, but of course, I don't have any wireless machines that don't support it, so I can enable it and lock it without issues.

The new 802.11n Express looks interesting and the price is nice, but I wish it had at least one wired connection so I could connect it into a switch for the wired portion of my house. The AEBS has that port (and a couple more ;) ) but it's an expensive 'add-on' to get that port I need ($99 vs. $179).

Mike

briandi

Apr 19, 2008, 01:46 PM

I'm a poor British ex-pat living in Southern Spain! I have land line through Telefonica and I believe they can supply me with 1Mb broadband, but can't jumb to 3Mb because of the poor line quality!
I have a iMac G4 running 10.4.7. Any ideas on which routers are compatible, don't want to get stuck with something I can't use!
There appear to be people on this thread with similar problems.

Sesshi

Apr 19, 2008, 07:29 PM

The AEBS is also the only 5GHz 802.11n router I've seen commonly available. Last time I looked, all of the Linksys/etc. ones I looked at were only 2.4GHz.

Doesn't 5Ghz result in less range? I suppose with the cr-Apples, it's hard to see what the problem is. Netgear sell a fair number of 5Ghz routers, and the WRT600N I recommended is dual-radio, dual-band.

shinji

Apr 20, 2008, 02:12 PM

I have a WRT54G and it works great with the mix of Macs and PC's here.

When I upgrade though and when 802.11n becomes a standard, then I'll see what's available...I personally wouldn't buy a router until then.

krye

Apr 21, 2008, 11:25 AM

Airport Extreme. Or just an Express to save a buck. You can plug it into your current Router and disable the wireless on the old one.

I3eXa

Apr 21, 2008, 03:31 PM

Airport Extreme. Or just an Express to save a buck. You can plug it into your current Router and disable the wireless on the old one.

kinda pointless to two routers daisy chained like that though...

ButtUglyJeff

Apr 21, 2008, 05:18 PM

I use an Airport Extreme Base Station and I have no issues with using it with my Macs, my work laptop (I refer to it as "El Crapo"), my Drobo/Droboshare, and my HP printer all on network.

I do have to admit my work laptop spends very little time on the internet, and only at work related sites. So, I can't really speak about security..........