Forum Home
Press F1
 
Thread ID: 43568 2004-03-19 05:25:00 ADSL modem - which is the best buy Silentlord (3114) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
223618 2004-03-19 05:25:00 Hi

A friend of mine is upgrading from dial-up, to jet stream (he doesn't know it yet, it's a birthday present).

I'm wondering which is the best brand/modal of modem to get. I have a Dynalink RTA220, which seems to work OK for my needs.

I'm looking for a nice balance of ease-of-use/price/reliability.

I know this is a pretty BROAD questions, and I'd welcome all opinions.

Cheers 		Silentlord (3114)
223619 2004-03-19 06:47:00 Dynalink RTA300, next model up from yours. Or some D-Link ones might be ok, but some of them have security issues. kiki (762)
223620 2004-03-19 06:59:00 I have had the Dynalink RTA300 for quite a few months, and have been really happy with it. It is an adsl modem router so you can hang up to four connections off it.

If you think you may want to set up a wireless network you could go further and go for the RTA300W, which has WIFI capability.

My RTA300 initially would not work because of a faulty power brick, but Dynalink provided excellent support and an immediate replacement. I gather other people have had the brick fault. Must have been a shonky supplier because Dynalink do not manufacture the power supplies. 		John H (8)
223621 2004-03-19 08:17:00 I have installed a dynalink RTA300 for someone else in Auckland. This was installed about 8 months ago and he has no complaints.

I would recommend the RTA300 as:-

1. It works.
2. Docs made it easy to set up.
3. Allows networked PCs to access the internet.

I have not used this for my own broadband as I live elsewhere but I was in Auckland very recently and took the time to drop in. The guy wanted a new printer and I helped there. This person has two desktops and one laptop connected to the net using network cards, cables and the RTA300.

It may not have been the best solution as I would have considered the RTA300 and wireless network cards. I built his last desktop based on the fact he had two computers with network cards ( non wireless ) already.

Anyway.... Enough of my blurb. 		Elephant (599)
223622 2004-03-19 08:32:00 For what it's worth, the modem/switch I got from DSE is working well, and cheaper too.
www.dse.co.nz 		Curious George (3535)
223623 2004-03-19 10:32:00 I have a DSE (Dick Smith) ADSL Router XH1149
It was a reasonable price, & no problems over a year now. 		Mzee (158)
223624 2004-03-19 11:02:00 Yeah
I was looking at the DSE one. It's definately a good price. I might recommend that one. I was just worried about 'buying cheap', but so far, I haven't heard anything bad about them...

Thanks 		Silentlord (3114)
223625 2004-03-19 11:08:00 Another recommendation here for the DSE ADSL Router. Jester (13)
223626 2004-03-19 12:47:00 The thing I don't like about DSE and D-Link routers are the web interface. When you click apply or reconnect it doesn't do anything. Sometimes just sits there, making you think it hasn't doen anything at all.

I like the RTA300 especially because it doesn't do that and when you click to change something, you know its definitely been changed.

Its not the cheapest solution but definitely beats most of the competition hands down. Great, friendly technical support and you can ask them questions about it too. 		kiki (762)
223627 2004-03-19 13:17:00 Ive found that the Web Excel routers from QMB ($100-ish for a 4-Port) seem to do the job nicely. Ive got one that's a few models down and its served me good.

In saying that, I know a guy who used that router and he was right on the edge of where he could get JetStream in his area. He was connecting at 600kbps. It got fried through a power outage, so he bought the D-Link RTA300, and was immediately getting connection speeds around the 1800kbps area.

If you can spare the little extra dosh, then the RTA300 is a definate winner.


Chill. 		Chilling_Silence (9)
1 2