Which wireless router and network adapter would you suggest?

TheSwede

TheSwede

TheSwede

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As the title, which wireless router and network adapter would you suggest? Its for my flat mate so he can access the net, he has a Asus K8 mobo so I presume that any PCI adapter will be fine but since I have no clues as to which is good or bad I need some recommendations! All I know is that Belkin and Netgear is good brands but since there is different models I am totally clueless!

He will be using it for normal surfing but want the best possible combination for around £100, so any and all suggestions are welcome! The broadband connection that we have in the house is Virgin and are 4MB now but will be upgraded to 10MB this month.

Cheers
Tom
 
D-Link, Netgear and Linksys all good.

I am not a fan of Belkin although they are better these days.

I have a Netgear DG834PN which is stable.
 
router

have to get a WRT54GL and put Tomato firmware on there (sounds complicated, but it's really not)
 
As for an adaptor I'd probably do a Linksys or a D-Link with a drivers only installation. The wireless utilities supplied with these cards are always pretty nasty, just let Windows handle it.
 
Definitely PCI over USB. Plenty of people get on fine with USB adaptors, but they can be prone to overheating and PCI is simply more reliable.

Personally I'd go with this D-Link card. I know it means mixing brands but I've found the driver setup with D-Link adaptors to be less onerous than the others.
 
if it lets you only install the network card driver (should be well under 1mb), and none of the crappy software that comes with them

windows does a perfect job of it
 
Sorry for being such a n00b, but would this be a good combination and another thing, since I am on Virgin/NTL I should be buying a Cable Router and not a ADSL Router, right?

Which of these two routers would be best?!?

Router - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-052-LS

Router - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-010-NG&groupid=46&catid=1014&subcat=730

Wireless Card - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-096-DL&groupid=46&catid=1002&subcat=1000

Cheers
Tom
 
go with the WRT54GL and that card

I've got virgin/ntl cable too, this is the best router you can get for it. that card would work fine
 
Thanks! My friend will be buying the Linksys WRT54GL router and the D-Link DWL-G510 card but I do have another question.. when it arrives how will I connect it? Should it be that the broadband cable goes into the Virgin modem, then a cable to the router and from the router to my own computer and he will be able to access the net through the router even if I am not online, or how does it work?!?!?

Sorry for being such a total n00b about this!

Cheers
Tom
 
You use the router instead of the modem, and connect the router to your PC via the ethernet port.

Your friend will be able to connect even if your PC is off, just as long as the router is on.
 
Gillywibble said:
You use the router instead of the modem, and connect the router to your PC via the ethernet port.
Click to expand...
Not quite, you use the router as well as the modem. TheSwede had it right first time :)

TheSwede said:
the broadband cable goes into the Virgin modem, then a cable to the router and from the router to my own computer and he will be able to access the net through the router even if I am not online
Click to expand...
 
you cannot replace the ntl cable modem, you have to plug it into the WAN port of your cable router

then connect pc's up to it (only the router has to be on for the connection to be active)
 
bledd. said:
you cannot replace the ntl cable modem, you have to plug it into the WAN port of your cable router

then connect pc's up to it (only the router has to be on for the connection to be active)
Click to expand...

In that case the cable broadband goes into my modem, then from the modem to the router and from the router to my own PC? I presume I can have my own PC wired from the router, yes?

Cheers
Tom
 
that's correct

wallsocket -> ntl modem -> router (internet is shared between anything that connects to router)


router -> 4 wired pc's or/& 64 wireless pc's
 
Thanks bledd.! He has ordered the router and card now so I will hopefully be able to plug it all in correctly once it arrives.. I presume there is some instructions with it on how to make it a secure wireless connection right? Don't want anyone else to try and take advantage of the connection!

Cheers
Tom
 
just stick to WPA with TKIP/AES and no-one will be jacking his connection.

you can consider flashing to router with a third party firmware to have more fun with it but it's not essential.....use tomato if you do :)
 
marscay said:
just stick to WPA with TKIP/AES and no-one will be jacking his connection.
Click to expand...
That don't tell me anything I'm afraid! :confused:
marscay said:
you can consider flashing to router with a third party firmware to have more fun with it but it's not essential.....use tomato if you do :)
Click to expand...
Is this safe to do? Read a little about the "tomato" in another thread and it did sound interesting, might do it if its safe and not at a risk to ruin the router! :eek:

Cheers
Tom
 
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