Router for £80

parker · 29 Apr 2006 at 13:57

hi,

i am looking for wireless router with a built-in adsl modem for around 80 pounds? i was using a belkin but thats on its last legs and would like to get something a bit newer? i am connecting to bt 8meg at the moment.

Thanks in advance
Steven

bee · 29 Apr 2006 at 23:36

Belkin 7633 for around £70 or billion 7402vgl for around £87 , best 2 wireless routers for under £100 . Got the billion myself its superb for both adsl and adsl2 and the wireless is also excellent.

Burbleflop · 29 Apr 2006 at 23:42

Eugh, Belkin. Linksys WAG54G seems to be the way to go, have started to buy them having had issues with Netgear DG834G's with wildly varying SNR's.

bee · 30 Apr 2006 at 00:04

i'd agree the old linksys routers with linux based firmwares were good , the new ones arent so hot though , just whatever you do stay away from netgear.

BoomAM · 30 Apr 2006 at 03:13

The 54Gs are aparentely dodgy. Although mine worked for over a year withour flaws.

The 354G is the way to go now.

Energize · 30 Apr 2006 at 05:03

bee said:
i'd agree the old linksys routers with linux based firmwares were good , the new ones arent so hot though , just whatever you do stay away from netgear.

I think you mean belkin.

FunkyT · 30 Apr 2006 at 07:55

bee said:
i'd agree the old linksys routers with linux based firmwares were good , the new ones arent so hot though , just whatever you do stay away from netgear.

The NETGEAR DG834G is rock solid...

Burbleflop · 30 Apr 2006 at 10:33

FunkyT said:
The NETGEAR DG834G is rock solid...

Not if your on Max and your SNR is a bit iffy they're not.

Burbleflop · 30 Apr 2006 at 10:34

BoomAM said:
The 54Gs are aparentely dodgy. Although mine worked for over a year withour flaws.

The 354G is the way to go now.

The old 54G's were pretty awful, but the new ones are fine. Dunno about the 354G though, never used one.

FunkyT · 30 Apr 2006 at 10:49

Burbleflop said:
Not if your on Max and your SNR is a bit iffy they're not.

I'm regrading from 2Mbps to 8Mbps next week. Am I likely to experience any problems using a DG834G with these stats:

smids · 30 Apr 2006 at 11:22

FunkyT, you should be ok, but when the SNR drops to about 6, expect disconnections frequently on the Netgear. I also synced 1.5Mbit higher on this Belkin than the Netgear.

The Netgears are appalling for SNR. I replaced my DG834G with the Belkin 7633 - the difference is phenomenal. 10dB SNR difference (with the Netgear starting at the same as the Belkin, but then tailing off by 10-15dB, yes it was that bad!).

I can honestly say the Belkin 7633 is an amazing router. For those stung by early Belkin's, I can understand your view (I mean I've had poor products from them too you know!) but this router is very good. It holds connection solidly all the way down to 3dB on my line - at which point it struggles.

As an idea of how good it is, look at my stats for this long line:

I don't have any dropped connections, nor do I have any problems with slow loading pages/timed out pages.

It uses the Broadcom BCM6348 chipset which is apparently one of the best, and certainly better than the (TI?) AR7 in the Netgear DG834. I was recommended it on the ADSLGuide forums and I have no regrets whatsoever, despite initial apprehensions about it.

FunkyT · 30 Apr 2006 at 18:33

Burbleflop said:
Not if your on Max and your SNR is a bit iffy they're not.

This site (taken from the OcUK FAQ) doesn't seem to agree: "The Netgear DG834 and Westell 6100 are 2 routers that have been known to maintain a more stable connection on a low SNR line"

Ref: http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/lowSNR.htm

Burbleflop · 30 Apr 2006 at 18:55

FunkyT said:
This site (taken from the OcUK FAQ) doesn't seem to agree: "The Netgear DG834 and Westell 6100 are 2 routers that have been known to maintain a more stable connection on a low SNR line"

Ref: http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/lowSNR.htm

I tend to go on my personal experience and that of other people I know rather than what a sales organisation says.

FunkyT · 30 Apr 2006 at 19:07

Burbleflop said:
I tend to go on my personal experience and that of other people I know rather than what a sales organisation says.

I agree with your logic but I don't think http://www.kitz.co.uk are a "sales organisation". If the accuracy of the information they provide is questionable, should they be listed in the OcUK FAQ?

Burbleflop · 30 Apr 2006 at 19:13

FunkyT said:
I agree with your logic but I don't think http://www.kitz.co.uk are a "sales organisation". If the accuracy of the information they provide is questionable, should they be listed in the OcUK FAQ?

I meant OcUK when I mentioned the sales organisation. As for if that site should be listed in the FAQ, personally I wouldn't list it, but it isn't up to me.

It comes down to people believing anything they read on the internet. I've seen sites that say Belkin routers are fantasic/the best/whatever, but I know from personal experience that they're crap.

smids · 30 Apr 2006 at 21:38

FunkyT said:
This site (taken from the OcUK FAQ) doesn't seem to agree: "The Netgear DG834 and Westell 6100 are 2 routers that have been known to maintain a more stable connection on a low SNR line"

Ref: http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/lowSNR.htm

Absolute rubbish - I don't mean to judge you for taking that as an example, but the info in there is very wrong. I've had one for 2.5 years and have to say that it does not hold a connection very well on a long line - mine with Attn of 53dB. It could only manage 3Mbp/s on Max. My Belkin 7633 has managed to get me a max stable rate of 5Mbp/s on this very long line!

This does not mean to suggest it is a bad router. It served me very well for 2.5 years but it is known that on a long line the router is not as steady as others, not by a long chalk.

benjo plz. · 30 Apr 2006 at 21:40

Tbh, Westell walk all over Netgear and Belkin.

tolien · 30 Apr 2006 at 21:45

Burbleflop said:
As for if that site should be listed in the FAQ, personally I wouldn't list it, but it isn't up to me.

If you take it in context, the link's purely for giving instructions for extracting stats from modems/routers where it isn't necessarily obvious

Suspect the information on there's not necessarily wrong but just old (ie. pre-Max), when the AR7 chipset was generally regarded as one of the "better" options on marginal lines.

smids · 30 Apr 2006 at 21:51

tolien said:
If you take it in context, the link's purely for giving instructions for extracting stats from modems/routers where it isn't necessarily obvious

Suspect the information on there's not necessarily wrong but just old (ie. pre-Max), when the AR7 chipset was generally regarded as one of the "better" options on marginal lines.

...back in the days of USB modems being the 'in thing' :eek:

- I'm not surprised.

Jabbs · 1 May 2006 at 09:09

smids said:
Absolute rubbish - I don't mean to judge you for taking that as an example, but the info in there is very wrong. I've had one for 2.5 years and have to say that it does not hold a connection very well on a long line - mine with Attn of 53dB. It could only manage 3Mbp/s on Max. My Belkin 7633 has managed to get me a max stable rate of 5Mbp/s on this very long line!

This does not mean to suggest it is a bad router. It served me very well for 2.5 years but it is known that on a long line the router is not as steady as others, not by a long chalk.

I am too looking for a new router currently on a Linksys AG041 and get some issues on max dsl, i too have a long line my attenuation is around 43 but can only manage at best so far 3 meg speeds, is this likely to help.

I was told to upgrade the firmware but have seen no new ones the latest i have for it is 2004, could this be having a affect on what speeds i am getting, any help would be appreciated.