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Decent Walmart Router Possible?

bobber205

bobber205

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 15, 2005
2,183
8
Oregon
The majority of our computers + Wii rely on wireless for net access.

About 30 minutes ago, I'm pretty sure the wireless chip crapped itself.

I am going to call Qwest tomorrow. I've been paying 7-8 dollars a month insurance on this 2WIRE router and if they don't overnight us a new one, then I'm going to tell them to shove it you know where and I'll run out to radioshack or walmart or somwhere and just buy my own.

What brands should I avoid? I am aware I need to spend near 100 dollars for a decent one. I would get online but I need it asap.

Thanks. :) (btw the Ethernet is working ok, albeit slower than usual).
 
bobber205 said:
I know what they sell, but are they any good? I've never owned any other router except this one that's dying.
Click to expand...
I've owned the following and they're usually on sale at Wal-Mart.

Belkin F5D7230-4

Belkin F5D8233-4

Linksys WRT54G

They range from $44.99 to 79.99 online and in retail stores. The Linksys was the best in terms of configuration but the Belkin 802.11n can be found for $69.99 most of the time. The built-in firewall on the Belkin F5D8233-4 was a little too strict for my tastes.
 
I'm lloking for a new router and have heard good things about Netgear. What do you guys think? By the way I have a Linksys now and almost everyday I have to unplug and plug it back in for it to work.
 
ipodtouchy333 said:
I'm lloking for a new router and have heard good things about Netgear. What do you guys think? By the way I have a Linksys now and almost everyday I have to unplug and plug it back in for it to work.
Click to expand...

NETGEAR is good. I currently have this one:
http://www.netgear.com/Products/RoutersandGateways/RangeMaxWirelessRoutersandGateways.aspx

Signal is strong, I even let friends who are below, and a few dorms down from me use it and they can connect to it strong, 24/7. So the range is definitely worth the price.

If you need something cheaper
http://www.netgear.com/Products/RoutersandGateways/GWirelessRouters.aspx

Thats the v3, I had the v2 and iit went strong for 2 years, so they will last you.
 
I recommend Linksys and Netgear. I do not recommend D-Link. This is based on routers I have owned from these companies. Take my non recommendation of D-Link with a grain of salt, I purchased that router quite awhile ago, I am sure they have improved since.
 
I've only ever bought one D-Link product (a PC card wireless adaptor), but it performed terribly. Fortunately, it was built like a tank and still worked for a little while even after the bottom piece of the case came off.

Right now I have a Linksys wireless adaptor for my PC (and used to use it on my laptop after the other card died) and a Linksys router (the WRT54G in particular) and they both work just fine, in that they broadcast and pick up wireless signals. Having only ever used a 2Wire combination DSL modem/wireless router that my dad stuck in a freaking cabinet, the Linksys gets amazing range, but I don't know how it works in the real world.

Aside from increased bandwidth/802.11n support, I actually don't know what spending the extra money above 50 bucks gets you for a router.

(And having to call Linksys tech support the other day because of my stupid ISP, I learned they have good tech support. All she did was guide me through a firmware update (I've long ago lost my manual), but she was able to tell me how to do it from a Mac (not really any different, but she said "Open up Safari" which tickled me) and everything.)

So for my purposes the cheapo Linksys router has been just fine for the last 2 years.
 
Belkin routers

I previously used Linksys routers at home. Ran into problems with them cutting out randomly. Tried several other brands. The only brand that works in my environment is Belkin. Now have a Wireless G Plus router and it works extremely well.
 
Over the years I've used routers from D-Link, Belkin, Netgear, Linksys, and Apple. For me, the D-Link and Belkin were at the bottom of the barrel, not even worth the trouble to fight with. The Netgear was good while it lasted, but the wireless died after less than a year. I've never had a single problem with Linksys. Web setup is easy and they are rock solid if you get a model that fits your needs. I currently have an older Airport Extreme and it has been great for months.
 
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