In need of a new router... I think?

Stoner81

Stoner81

Stoner81

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Derbyshire
Hey guys, I have just recently setup a home network so as my other half can connect to my PC and transfer files for backing up to the shared drive. The problem is that the router has a habit of falling over and the signal drops out which is very annoying when trying to transfer large amounts of data.

The router itself is the sack of garbage that Utility Warehouse send out the Technicolor TG582n, so I am thinking it is worth replacing this with something which is much better, more powerful and more stable. The overall internet connection is perfectly fine it is just the transfer over the network which is the issue (my PC is connected via cable and her laptop is via wireless). There is no other network nearby using the same channel as us so I highly doubt it is that so the only thing left is to replace the router itself.

We have a 20Mb broadband connection and so require a router/modem combined to replace the existing pile of crap we have. As for budget I don't really have one but if I can spend less than say £100 then that would be epic but I can stretch if needed. We don't stream to other devices or anything really since it's just the two of us... anyway I could go on and on so I'll leave it there for you boffins :)

Thank you in advance for any/all suggestions or ideas :)

You guys rock!

Stoner81.
 
Massive necro here so please bear with me...

We have upgraded to fibre and the router we have isn't gigabit which is now a major pita since we have a small network at home. My desktop has a shared drive which the HTPC and the other half's laptop can see. The OH has full read/write access to the drive since she sends files to my rig for storage but the HTPC only has read access atm to read/stream video files.

So I need a decent router which is capable of running fibre, our current router uses a DSL cable (we are on FTTC) and then I just connect a network cable. The OH and the HTPC are both on wireless. Budget wise is around £150 ish but can be flexible if it is worth it. It needs to be gigabit, rock solid stable and easy to set up.

Thanks peeps!

Stoner81.

PS - Sorry again for the massive necro.
 
bremen1874 said:
What's the current router?

You could fix your Gigabit issues by adding a Gigabit switch (<£30).
Click to expand...

As bledd mentioned the laptop connects via WiFi but that could be done via cable easy enough since it's not set up in one place. The HTPC however has to be through WiFi, I don't like the look of powerline adapters and the wiring in our house isn't the best by any means. Running a network cable would be a pita since the router is upstairs (which is a Thomson sack of garbage).

So yeah the new router is the way to go from the looks of things, on another note I have been told that to get full gigabit speeds I will need Cat6 network cables but I could have sworn that Cat5e is rated for gigabit?

Stoner81.
 
bremen1874 said:
Who is your ISP? There are technical issues with some that'll limit your choices.

Do you need a router with an internal VDSL modem (there's still a lot to be said for using the separate Openreach modem with an Ethernet router)?

What are you looking for on the wireless side?
Click to expand...

Our ISP is through Utility Warehouse but I think it's provided by TalkTalk. Utility Warehouse list the settings required to use your own kit so I would have thought it would not be a problem.

Internal VDSL is preferable since I don't want to be spending extra when one box will suffice.

As for wireless I would like dual band since I think everybody else nearby is on 2.4 so that would cool, overall I just need it to be fast and rock solid stable and obviously gigabit.

ov_sjo said:
Why do you want to replace the router? The suggestion above to add a cheap gigabit switch will resolve your issue.
Click to expand...

No it won't, the HTPC downstairs is on WIFI as is the other halfs laptop (which to be fair I could use a cable when she is in the office where the router is). Connecting a gigabit switch to a 100Mbps router is not going to give me a full gigabit transfer rate.

We have been watching some shows on the HTPC (Kodi) tonight and after a while things got a little jerky so I really don't think the router is up to handling the traffic being put through it.

Currently I am looking at the TP Link VR900 but I don't really have much of a clue about these things (well duh!).

Stoner81.
 
We are using the ISP supplied router :) It's some Thomson Technicolour TG588v v2 sack of garbage, it's the only one we have.

I get what you are saying about the switch but I have a device that must go through the WiFi (HTPC downstairs) since it's too far to run cabling and so would not be gigabit or even remotely close :)

Stoner81.
 
Last edited:
We live in a rented property so we can't go drilling through walls etc in order to run cables.

Yeah I probably should have edited the first post really to save the confusion, my bad sorry.

Stoner81.
 
Ordered the VR900 which arrived earlier this morning, all is up and running though the internet speed has dropped somewhat but I'm assuming it will sort itself out over time.

Thanks folks.

Stoner81.
 
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