Router advice

[Eric Vail]

I need to get my father in law a wireless router for his computer. His account is a high speed one with telus. He probably will continue to have his desktop plugged in directly to the router, but would like to use his new wireless laptop around the house.

I went over to the future shop website and saw that they have several different ones with a range of prices. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations on what is the best to get?

Thanks

[Boblobla]

I am a Linksis fanboi.

I like the interface and they are pretty user friendly.

Something like this awesome for the price.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...MX145(ME).aspx

[fredr123]

Lot's of other threads on the topic: http://forum.calgarypuck.com/search.php?searchid=544489

Bottom line: people seem to have mixed experiences with the major brands (Linksys, Netgear, Belkin, D-Link, etc.). Some people love one model while others have had nothing but trouble.

[Cliche]

Wireless A+B/G are it for now. Wireless N, which depending on who you go to may be pushed, but there is no real official standard for it yet, as that is apparently stuck in approved by (*Standards Body*) bureaucracy loop, and official products will be released later.

For consumer stuff, Linksys is hit or miss due to the number of revisions of their wireless routers.

D-Link might be more suitable as they have online versions of the router menu systems that you can test drive. Quality wise, it's still hit or miss, but finding a store that is able to handle numerous returns would be a better bet than lowest price. YMMV. D-Link was the best for troubleshooting over the phone as you could walk through the steps at the same time as the other person.

The other is Netgear, and I have no experience with their equipment.

[Boblobla]

One thing to make sure is that your cordless house phone (if you have one) broadcasts on a different frequency.

[dobbles]

i am a big supporter of buffalo products. they take dd-wrt very well. though i think they were having legal problems and had to stop selling product for a bit.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

One thing to make sure is that your cordless house phone (if you have one) broadcasts on a different frequency.

Wireless standards (B/G/N) use 2.4 still right? I agree, use 5.8 phones if you can to limit interference. Or an old 900 cordless might not interfere either - if it still works as a phone.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

One thing to make sure is that your cordless house phone (if you have one) broadcasts on a different frequency.

It helps, but most recent routers should not have any trouble unless there are a ton of 2.4gHz phones in the area.

The annoying thing is having interference from all your neighbour's phones/routers/wireless devices. In a high density situation, it can get quite soupy in that spectrum.

[gottabekd]

Don't forget microwaves sometimes operate in the 2.4 GHz range.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by gottabekd

Don't forget microwaves sometimes operate in the 2.4 GHz range.

As I understand it, unless you put your router on top of the microwave, the energy level just isn't high enough to interfere with it.

Then again, take this story to heart: http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/The_...niversity.aspx