Router suggestions

stevie573

stevie573

stevie573

Associate
Joined
22 Jun 2005
Posts
20
Hi all,
Im thinking about buying a router, at the moment i have a speedtouch 330 usb modem to go along with my 8mb connection but when i tried to down load the high speed drivers i found that i have a issue with what seems like usb bandwidth so im considering a router. Im wondering if you can give me some suggestions on which one to buy (summit even a idiot can set up would be nice lol )

cheers

steve
 
The NETGEAR DG834G is a great 54Mbps modem/switch/router/firewall and wireless access point all in one box. The user interface is great which means it's dead easy to setup. You're looking at £55.
 
THanks for the quick reply, just looking at that one now, im totaly new to routers and am wondering how easy they are to set up, i dont really want to use the wireless part (but i guess for the future its cool) also looking at the DG834PN coz its £70 + vat, would this be suitable aswell?

soz for silly questions
 
FunkyT said:
Belkin routers aren't generally regarded as being the best. Their cables are superb though :p
Click to expand...

Belking routers have a very good reputation. if you want the best, buy a Cisco or a Draytek... if you want a 'good' router that is sold and relable then get a Belin. The model I bought is very highly rated from what i've read.

Review http://www.dslzoneuk.net/hw_reviews_adsl_belkin7633.php

:)
 
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stevie573 said:
THanks for the quick reply, just looking at that one now, im totaly new to routers and am wondering how easy they are to set up, i dont really want to use the wireless part (but i guess for the future its cool) also looking at the DG834PN coz its £70 + vat, would this be suitable aswell?

soz for silly questions
Click to expand...

Yep, that should be fine. It's a newer product than the DG834G (I've used a lot) with a higher specification but I've not tested one yet (I'm tempted though).

It's really, really easy - all configuration is done via a web interface. You basically follow a wizard (or it can be done manually). The only 2 piece of information you really need to enter are your username & password (assigned by ISP).

Any problems, I'll sort you out...
 
Richdog said:
Belking routers have a very good reputation. if you want the best, buy a Cisco or a Draytek... if you want a 'good' router that is sold and relable then get a Belin. The model I bought is very highly rated from what i've read. :)
Click to expand...

Ok, I must have been speaking to different people and reading different reports to you. I take your point about Cisco but that's a bit like comparing a Mercedes with a Micra :p
 
Most Belkin kit is crap, but the 7633 is apparently decent. Doesn't mean I'd use one.

There's a Billion that's popular (but I can't remember the model number offhand, search is your friend). Does the same SNR tweak joy that the Belkin does.
 
For ADSL2+ my netgear 834 was rubbish, speedtouch 585 now and it's awesome, again SNR tan be tweaked and there is a cool tool that gives a ton of info.
 
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Richdog said:
I said they were decent
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Beyond one exception, they certainly aren't decent.
If you want informative, look at all the users on this forum saying they're crap - most of us have had one, gave up on it, and chucked it out.

That said, the biggest problem's Belkin's firmware. The hardware's just the same generic crud (remember 3Com routers running Belkin firmware, and vice versa, not that the 3Com was great).

There's better options for the money.
 
tolien said:
Beyond one exception, they certainly aren't decent.
If you want informative, look at all the users on this forum saying they're crap - most of us have had one, gave up on it, and chucked it out.

That said, the biggest problem's Belkin's firmware. The hardware's just the same generic crud (remember 3Com routers running Belkin firmware, and vice versa, not that the 3Com was great).

There's better options for the money.
Click to expand...

What did you find bad about it, just out of interest (presuming you're talking about the 7633)?
 
Richdog said:
What did you find bad about it, just out of interest (presuming you're talking about the 7633)?
Click to expand...

The firmware was crap, their support no better and no I'm not talking about the 7633. :p
 
all the belkin kit I've had has ended up being sent back from being crap.
never had any of their stuff work as it should out of the box, and I've had a few where firmware updates made things worse.
also their "tech support" is a joke.
 
I helped a friend set-up a cheap Belkin router over the phone - the instructions that I downloaded from the Belkim website were utterly pathetic; they didn't go into any detail whatsoever (i.e. it only instructs you on how to use 64-bit WEP, nothing more), were written in terrible English and the screenshots/menus it described didn't match anything on the router interface itself.

I've got a DG834PN here and it's been good. Had a DG834 before that for 2 years and it never had a problem.
 
FunkyT said:
Richdog: now do you believe me? :p
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lol I now believe the old routers were cruddy, and the support is dire. However, my Belkin 7633 has been bulletproof until now, very stable and excellent signal, and the firmware on it seems good too, very easy to use.

Maybe the 7633 marks the sign of better things to come... or maybe it's just a one-off. However, it does the job for my home network. :)
 
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