Wireless Router?

Jaime Johnston · 18 Apr 2018 at 07:45

Hello,

I think I have made a decision on my first PC. Thanks to a fellow user on here 'southernorth'.

At home we have the standard virgin media router. I noticed you can buy wireless routers which look pretty godlike.

I had my eye on this... https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/compu...tBid=t&tduid=30a7578bcb18fa6958dae5d43a6239fa

So I guess the better the wireless router, the better the speed? Sounds daft but I thought I would get some expert opinions.

Thanks.

mrbazmondo · 18 Apr 2018 at 09:28

If you can run a wire between your router and PC it'll be faster/more reliable.

Semple · 18 Apr 2018 at 09:32

May want to remove the competitor link seeing as OCUK sells those routers.

You can replace it with this one (direct from manufacturer) https://www.asus.com/uk/Networking/ROG-Rapture-GT-AC5300/

Depending on how many devices you have on your home network, you might find that router way overkill.

You mention buying your "first PC", so i would guess you'd only have a handful of devices that need connecting, you could pick up something like the *-ac68u for less than half the price for one of those, and will still be more than enough for what you'd need.

Jaime Johnston · 18 Apr 2018 at 09:35

Ok great, I understand but would that router on the link I added... would that improve the speed? If so... by a lot?

We have the normal Virgin Media hub and we do have fantastic internet speeds already because we have got the Vivid 200 gamer internet package which is giving us anywhere between 85-140mbps depending on different times throughout the day. They advertise "upto 200mbps" but that is based on a lot of factors unfortunately.

Thanks

Sao_Sin · 18 Apr 2018 at 10:09

Are those speeds wired or wireless? Biggest upgrade you can do is hardwire. A new router can be really nice if you like to tinker and have some sort of idea what you're doing but first step would be (if possible) to run a cable.

foster grant · 18 Apr 2018 at 10:20

I get 200 Mbps + ,and I dont have any " gamer" package , plus spending that much on a router is over the top I think

But as was said above , get an ethernet cable from the router to the PC....job done

Jaime Johnston · 18 Apr 2018 at 10:31

Sao_Sin said:
Are those speeds wired or wireless? Biggest upgrade you can do is hardwire. A new router can be really nice if you like to tinker and have some sort of idea what you're doing but first step would be (if possible) to run a cable.

How do I find out if those speeds are wired or wireless? I think that is what I will do is run a cable

foster grant · 18 Apr 2018 at 10:33

Well when you do a speedtest with wireless and/or wired what speeds are you getting ?

Also go into a game ..see what ping you get with cable and wireless

Sao_Sin · 18 Apr 2018 at 10:36

Jaime Johnston said:
How do I find out if those speeds are wired or wireless? I think that is what I will do is run a cable

So when you connect to the internet make sure wifi is off and you are connected to the router with an ethernet cable, also ideally make sure it's cat5e minimum and that the device you're using to test has a gigabit ethernet port. Sorry I know this is all additional stuff for you to look up but it will all have a bearing on your speeds in one way or another.

Pocah · 19 Apr 2018 at 07:18

I agree with the others. By far and away the best thing you can do is invest £5 in a wire! Wireless is both expensive and unpredictable. Ultimately a simple wire WILL perform much better. Even if it is difficult find a path for the wire to follow, time sorting that out is far better than time spend on the hopeless task of trying to improve poor wireless performance in your house. I can not tell you how many times I have spent a small fortune trying to sort out wireless. In my latest house first thing I did was run wires to every room! Cost about £50 and was the best investment I ever made.