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Looking for a new wireless router.

D

DarkestWall

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 4, 2011
16
0
Hey everyone.

I'm looking for a new wireless router that will work fast wireless with my Macbook, PS3, Apple TV and iPad. I also have an iMac (wouldn't use wireless) and 1 Lenovo Windows 7 laptop (would be using wireless as well).

Currently I'm using the US Robotics 5461 so I'm looking for a good upgrade from that. Trying to keep it below 100 if possible, but if I absolutely have to go higher I will.

Any suggestions? I'm mostly looking for fast speed and a good signal for the whole house wireless.
 
Pretty much any router with 802.11G/N will be fine. N will give you slightly better speed and range with the devices that support it.

Curious, why are you looking to replace your current router?
 
Tomorrow said:
Pretty much any router with 802.11G/N will be fine. N will give you slightly better speed and range with the devices that support it.

Curious, why are you looking to replace your current router?
Click to expand...

It's pretty old and has been on the fritz lately. Didn't cost much and I've been getting slow speeds with my appletv/ipad and macbook.
 
I will make a suggestion based on the experience that I've had with the air port extreme base station with simultaneous n. I'll further refer to it as AEBS. I bought the AEBS to replace my old, tired D-link DGL-4300. The d-link router would need to be reset several times a day in order to be able to connect through wifi. So after shopping Best Buy online, I found the AEBS refurbished for $120 as opposed to $179 for a new model.

The setup of the AEBS was not something I was used to. Every router I had in the past had a web page configuration. The AEBS uses the Airport utility that comes with every mac, or a free download for windows. Though new to the Air Port utility, setup was easy for me. But I do note that I do not get the internet speeds that I used to get through my D-link.

I used speedtest.net to do several tests through my ipad using wireless g and n. And I also connected my old router to the AEBS and enabled g mode. Consistently, I would get much faster speeds through my old router. For instance, 15mbps on the d-link, and 4-5 mbps on the AEBS.

Another gripe is that while monitoring the connection speed to the AEBS from the ipad, 65mbps is the max that it will connect. My wife's 2007 macbook connects at 270 mbps.

Also, I have a hard time transferring files over my network using wireless. I tried to copy my music library from my imac to my windows media center PC. While transfer speeds started out fast, I would always end up with a connection error at some point, ending my transfer. Then I would have to start over. As a matter of fact, I still haven't transferred all of my music over.

In summary, I think that I made a bad choice with the AEBS. My old wireless g router is still in operation for when I want to be able to stream youtube to my ipad. So really, after spending $120, I'm no better off than before.

I hope this helps!
 
Last edited:
unkn0wnsoldier said:
I will make a suggestion based on the experience that I've had with the air port extreme base station with simultaneous n. I'll further refer to it as AEBS. I bought the AEBS to replace my old, tired D-link DGL-400. The d-link router would need to be reset several times a day in order to be able to connect through wifi. So after shopping Best Buy online, I found the AEBS refurbished for $120 as opposed to $179 for a new model.

The setup of the AEBS was not something I was used to. Every router I had in the past had a web page configuration. The AEBS uses the Airport utility that comes with every mac, or a free download for windows. Though new to the Air Port utility, setup was easy for me. But I do note that I do not get the internet speeds that I used to get through my D-link.

I used speedtest.net to do several tests through my ipad using wireless g and n. And I also connected my old router to the AEBS and enabled g mode. Consistently, I would get much faster speeds through my old router. For instance, 15mbps on the d-link, and 4-5 mbps on the AEBS.

Another gripe is that while monitoring the connection speed to the AEBS from the ipad, 65mbps is the max that it will connect. My wife's 2007 macbook connects at 270 mbps.

Also, I have a hard time transferring files over my network using wireless. I tried to copy my music library from my imac to my windows media center PC. While transfer speeds started out fast, I would always end up with a connection error at some point, ending my transfer. Then I would have to start over. As a matter of fact, I still haven't transferred all of my music over.

In summary, I think that I made a bad choice with the AEBS. My old wireless g router is still in operation for when I want to be able to stream youtube to my ipad. So really, after spending $120, I'm no better off than before.

I hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Guess I won't be getting the AEBS lol.


Anyways, how does this one look guys?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122378
 
unkn0wnsoldier said:
I would personally look for something with gigabit ethernet. But I don't seem to have much luck buying routers.:D
Click to expand...

Gigabit ethernet is a good choice, but the OP will only be connecting one device to the router over ethernet - at that point, gigabit is not going to make a difference.

OP, the router you posted from Newegg looks fine. I'm using a much older Netgear router at my house (it pre-dates 802.11N) and it still runs like a champ.
 
Tomorrow said:
Gigabit ethernet is a good choice, but the OP will only be connecting one device to the router over ethernet - at that point, gigabit is not going to make a difference.

OP, the router you posted from Newegg looks fine. I'm using a much older Netgear router at my house (it pre-dates 802.11N) and it still runs like a champ.
Click to expand...

I agree with your point.
 
I've had good results with the Linksys E1000. Mine's in the basement of a two story house and signal strength has been good all over. I have it set to n only however and aside from an occasional reboot no issues at all. Speed hasn't been a problem either for me. The router from Newegg looks pretty nice too so good luck with the upgrade.
 
I have been using the gaming router from D-Link for many years now (DGL-4300). The connection has never dropped and I have a couple of computers connected, downloads and uploads going, and sometimes x-box live going.

Its new sibling the DGL-4500 has been out now for quite some time and I've heard good things about it too.
 
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