Recommend a router
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Recommend a router
11-06-2010 12:57 PM
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I was wondering if there is any consensus on what the best wireless N adsl modem router is to get these days?
thanks
Mark
Re: Recommend a router
11-06-2010 1:04 PM
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To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Re: Recommend a router
11-06-2010 2:13 PM
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Which if you want N throughput all the time you might be looking at a dual 2.4 / 5GHz box
PS I have a BiPac 7800N too. It's great.
If it helped click the thumb
If it fixed it click 'This fixed my problem'
Re: Recommend a router
11-06-2010 2:33 PM
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Mark
Re: Recommend a router
13-06-2010 12:31 PM
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The latest models also have a USB port which can be used with a Mobile Broadband provider, this allows you to share your Mobile broadband wirelessly or to use it as a backup if your main DSL line goes down. The only downside of current models is that they only have one Gigabit port rather than four (the rest are 100mb).
Signal strength is pretty good but you always need to Google the exact model.
Re: Recommend a router
13-06-2010 5:00 PM
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Quote from: Strat I and others here use a Bipac 7800N successfully.
I was looking to replace my Zoom X6. This Bipac looks like it'll cope with being hammered.
One question for you Bipac 7800N users if you please - How often does yours crash requiring rebooting or power cycling?
Re: Recommend a router
13-06-2010 9:43 PM
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To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Re: Recommend a router
14-06-2010 12:32 AM
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I'll be biteing the bullet and ordering one tomorrow to replace this flakey Zoom X6 (it was all they had in the shop at the time and the salesman raved about it).
Re: Recommend a router
14-06-2010 8:25 AM
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To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Re: Recommend a router
14-06-2010 11:00 AM
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Quote from: dratdestroyer
Quote from: Strat I and others here use a Bipac 7800N successfully.
I was looking to replace my Zoom X6. This Bipac looks like it'll cope with being hammered.
One question for you Bipac 7800N users if you please - How often does yours crash requiring rebooting or power cycling?
We have used a dozen Drayteks for our home workers, they have never crashed. We have a dozen VPN's connecting them all as well as our internal phone system connected through these routers so we would get to know about it if there were problems. For some users the ISP kept dropping the line so we used the Draytek feature to ping to keep it alive, also for some ISP's it is occasionally advisable to reboot because of issues at the ISP but we leave that to users to decide.
In my experience Zoom are a cheap naff brand and I can't say I know Bipac, it is certainly not one of the majors. If all you want is a connection then fine but if you want your router to be able to do professional stuff it is sometimes worth paying a bit more. For example most routers can join a VPN but few can create them or manage multiple VPN's, the same goes for the USB port if you get one, the Draytek's can be used to share a printer or to share a mobile connection. Right now mobile internet is slow and expensive but that may change down the road.
You really need to think about your needs, some routers are brilliant as being a Storage Router, they have peer to peer clients and Itunes built in and can use any USB storage (disk or ram key) to store stuff. So they sit there running scheduled downloads and allow you to copy them to a memory stick later. Others are just very simple to use and ideal for novice users.
You need to read reviews from the computing press and major review sites, consider the dates because bugs are often fixed in firmware releases, here are a few
2006 - http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-13936_7-6615808.html
Mar 2010 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/wifi-routers/356017/belkin-double-n
Apr 2010 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/wifi-routers/356095/buffalo-wzr-hp-g300nh
Feb 2010 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/wifi-routers/355780/draytek-vigor-2110n
The Belkin in the PCPro report is fast, has some issues and is expensive
The Buffalo in the PcPro report is an ideal all rounder and cheap at £47
The Draytek is still their A-List recommendation if you don't mind spending £97
The Buffalo is only single band but it is fast as the review says you can couple it with a Draytek Vigor 120 Ethernet Modem and still get change from £100. I like this kind of strategy because it allows you to upgrade the wireless when the technology changes. Also you can use a 120 for load balancing http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/vigor120.html
BTW I don't work for Draytek, just been happy with their products, not sure I would use them if it were my own money unless I needed a particular feature.
I make wide use of the VoIP for both work and family abroad, I know I could get these from Plusnet but I like to keep things seperate as I get better service and a better product offering.
Re: Recommend a router
14-06-2010 12:55 PM
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Quote from: Zap I can't say I know Bipac, it is certainly not one of the majors.
The BiPac 7800N is regarded as a more business oriented router http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/wireless-routers/278557/billion-bipac-7800n
Billion have been around a while http://www.billion.com/corporate.html
...and a PCPro review of their 7402.
PS I don't work for Billion
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Re: Recommend a router
14-06-2010 1:01 PM
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Quote from: Zap We have used a dozen Drayteks for our home workers, they have never crashed. We have a dozen VPN's connecting them all as well as our internal phone system connected through these routers so we would get to know about it if there were problems. For some users the ISP kept dropping the line so we used the Draytek feature to ping to keep it alive, also for some ISP's it is occasionally advisable to reboot because of issues at the ISP but we leave that to users to decide.
I'd have to say I wasn't that impressed with Drayteks. DSL and wireless performance and reliability was well below other mainstream brands and there were a few firmware bugs and peculiarities. The need to try out different firmwares to get the best performance from different line characteristics and things like the lack of WAN ports on 2800s made me question the justification for the premium pricing. Some nice functionality in the UI but if you don't need it then I'd recommend looking elsewhere. If I was looking at a Draytek I'd be looking at models with WAN ports so that a separate non-Draytek DSL modem could be used.
Quote In my experience Zoom are a cheap naff brand and I can't say I know Bipac, it is certainly not one of the majors.
Agree about Zoom but Bipac are used widely outside the UK (see the Whirlpool forums) and, in their higher-end models, have equivalent or better functionality and performance than Draytek models. They've a very wide product range and I'll certainly be considering them next time I'm in the market.
Re: Recommend a router
14-06-2010 1:40 PM
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All i can say is we get called out *alot* because theres 'no signal' - quick reboot of the box and all is well
Two years in a row someones had to go in on christmas day/Boxing Day because of a signal fault.
adiewoo convinced me to get a 7800N too... If i tinkered less it would be up much more
Never had a crash - even with *many* concurrent connections (from single, or multiple machines)
@Mark, if your after signal strength, and router will do, then invest in some high gain aerials -- my AP is in the garage(only G rated), and i get full signal strength all around the house (my room is the opposite side of the house) Obviously if your getting a wifi N router, you'll want 3 of these - so probably not the cheapest option - but a way you'll definately get a good signal. One downside is that if you put one on thats *way* too big, you might find sitting within 1m of it, you get a fantastic signal - but really poor throughput
However, it could also be a very cheap way of getting some more out of that belkin your using. if it aint broke, dont fix it
Re: Recommend a router
14-08-2010 10:00 AM
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I've had the Bipac running now for nearly 3 weeks and it has not re-synced once. I rebooted it myself 8 days ago and it has stayed connected ever since. It doesn't seem at all phased by SNR drops - last evening the SNR was 1.9 but still the BB throughput speed stayed the same. Also the noise problems and interference with the phone is gone. All I can say it the Bipac may cost a bit more than most routers, but well worth the extra.
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