Best Home Router

[Inspiron 0]

I've got a linksys wireless router (BEFW11S4 V4) that causes lots of packet drops when I used it wirelessly. I didn't realise that packet drop while surfing webpages until when I tried to play online games.I tried Warcraft III and it becomes super laggy. I also tried to ping my router and sometimes I got more than 700ms latency and packet losts.I don't know much about routers but I believe it's something got to do with wireless buffers, however I couldn't find any related help from the internet.I'm trying to ask people in Xisto what are their best used routers, and state why too so I can buy something significant, not forgetting the model numbers.If voted others, please also name the brand.

Notice from BuffaloHELP:

This post does not belong in What Is...? section. Moving to Hardware.

Edited July 23, 2005 by BuffaloHELP (see edit history)

[rvalkass 5]

I like Netgear purely becuase they are easy to set up, have a good admin panel and don't lag the Internet and games that much. I've only ever used routers to share an Internet connection, but now I have got to the stage where file sharing is needed. Talking to people this supposedly involves workgroups, but I have never used them. I'll be on XPH on both PCs. Any help greatly appreciated, please PM me.Anyway, Netgear are reliable and cheap and everyone I have spoken to seems to like them.

[machinamedia 0]

For home users i would say a SMC - 7008ABR, Barricade Broadband Router would be awesome.Features:- Firewall security through Network Address Translation- Built-in Print Server- RS-232 Port for connection to an external 56K modem or ISDN TA- 4 auto-MDIX/MDI ports ? no crossover cables required- Hacker Attack Logging- VPN tunneling via L2TP, PPTP, and IPSec pass-throughCheers!

[kservice 0]

Hello i have a D-LINK DI-524 wifi, i pay for it U$S40 a few months ago, i didn't try the wifi capabilities yet, but i think that is a very good solution for a home network for it's price.Some features:Standards? IEEE 802.11g? IEEE 802.11b? IEEE 802.3? IEEE 802.3uAdvanced Firewall Features? NAT with VPN Pass-through (Network Address Translation)? MAC Filtering? IP Filtering? URL Filtering? Domain Blocking? SchedulingWireless Operating Range? Indoors: Up to 328 ft (100 meters)? Outdoors: Up to 1312 ft (400 meters)Wireless Frequency Range? 2.4GHz to 2.462GHzFor a complete list of features go to D-LINK homepage.kservice

[Cain 0]

I don't know too much about the specifics of routers, but all the same, I have a Linksys here at home that we also use for wireless. I have yet to really have a complaint of the speed of the hardwire internet or really the wireless, they both seem to work quite well. The only problem is that sometimes you have to manually reset the connection (which is literally unplugging it and plugging it back in and is quite simple). We got this when we purchased the Comcast Self-Install kit at Best Buy, because they have some pretty good deals for routers and modems then. When we asked about D-Link, the sales representative told us that with his experience they were one of the worst options, obviously other people here have had other experiences. They were the same price too, so he wasn't trying to sell us the more expensive one, that was his honest opinion.

[master34 0]

I use LinkSys BEFSX41 and i am very happy with it

[alperuzi 0]

I've used a Netgear and a Dlink for a while and can recommend both. The Dlink router is great, has features like UPnP. The Netgear has good wireless reception a nice case design.The packet losses you experienced is probably due to the misplacement of the router. Where you place the router in a room really affects the reception.

[atomicnacho 0]

I'm using a Belkin 802.11g router that I got at CompUSSR for 20 bucks a while back. I haven't had any problems with it. It was really easy to set up. I get pretty good coverage in my appartment, could be better but not bad.

[niloc 0]

i got a belkin 802.11g wireless router thinking that it would be a great as they are a quality manufacturer. i got that one wrong. it seems to have a nocturnal fault because when it gets past 9 - 10 pm at night it starts locking up. i sent it back and got a replacement and that worked fine for about 2 weeks and then ended up with the same nocturnal fault.i tried googling the fault only to find that the majority of people who owned a belkin wireless router where having similar problems and had come to the conclusion that the unit was overheating.i am in the process of looking at fitting a fan to the router to see if this improves the situation.what i dont understand is why would it only suffer from an overheating problem at night.

[kdr_98 0]

I have a Topcom router (WBR 254g) , it works fine for browsing.With Ptp programs (like bearshare, shareaza ) the router reboots every 20 - 25 mins.It's very hard to download something if it reboots every time, because the IP adress changes everytime.It think the CPU of the router can't handle the amount of small IP packets.Haven't tried any other routerbrand yet.I have also build a router with an old comp an IPCOP, this router has no problems

[iGuest 3]

How do i port forwarding with topcom wbr 254g?

Best Home Router

 

Replying to kdr_98 I wonder how I do port forwarding with this router? I when I go on internet and then write the ip in and then user and password... How do I start port forwarding in the page?

 

-reply by Need help

[Live-Dimension 0]

For all of your port-forwarding needs - portforward.com

Stay away from D-link and Linksys (I think, but don't quote that on me), these routers just cause problem after problem. Belkin aren't bad apparently.

Check out the Whirlpool forums for all kinds of data and knowledge about what routers work and what break. Wish I had before I got this D-link, I'm afraid.

[ckcomputerstallahassee 0]

I had a dlink and it died after a year or so. Now i use a netgear and it has been good. I also use a linksys at my other house and flashed it with dd-wrt firmware which gives it abilities of a $300 router pretty much. I have not had any problems with the wrt54g linksys.

[Hagebyhemdata 0]

I'm running a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless!
I bought my router for about a three years ago, under consideration of having LAN Party's at home. With four Gigabit Ethernet ports it would be enough, since more part of my friends having Wireless network already in their computers. I have never had any problem running it, and easy piecy setting up application and gaming rules (portforward.com) to work secure and properly without any fuzz at my home network. I think it's a perfect router for homeowners or a small office.

DGL-4300 Specs:
* D-Link 108G Wireless Technology
* 1 x RJ-45 10/100Base-TX WAN
* 4 x RJ-45 10/100/1000Base-TX LAN
* Oversized NAT Table
* Static & Dynamic Routing
* Built-in SPI Firewall
* Access Controls
* 108Mbps Wireless interface
* 802.11g/802.11b
* WPA-Personal/WPA – Enterprise

Software Features:

* GameFuel™ Priority – Technology
* Up to 256 Firewall Port Configurations
* Access Control Policies (Parental Controls)
* Internal and External System Logging
* Static/Dynamic Routing
* Oversized NAT table
* Email Alerts
* Wireless Distribution System (WDS)

Product Features:

• Optimized Gaming Experience with GameFuel Technology
• Up to 108Mbps* 802.11g Wireless Connectivity (Throughput WAN-LAN 80 Mbit/s)
• 4 Gigabit Ethernet Ports
• Customizable Settings for Games and Applications

Standards:
IEEE 802.3i , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g , IEEE 802.3u , IEEE 802.3

Security:
TKIP , WEP , WPA-PSK , WPA2-PSK , WPA2 , WPA

Notice from rvalkass:

The spec needs to be put in Quote tags as it isn't your own work.

[iGuest 3]

router probsBest Home Router

linksys are made by cisco, one of the best manufacturers and I use linksys at home and manage cisco equipment in my job (network engineer).  the reason you are getting packet drops is usually a utilisation issue, too much traffic leaving your network and once your router output queues/buffer gets full, you get packets drops.  this is because your lan will run at 100mbps per second, and because your broadband connection isn't, you will get queues when you are utilising your link, but you would only get packet drops when too many packets are being queued (think of it as a bottleneck, you are sending lan traffic at 100mbps to a broadband connection that is anywhere between 256kbps up to 20mbps, so your router will queue outbound packets because your broadband connection is slower.  Hope this helps!

-reply by ciscokid