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Thread ID: 108703 2010-04-08 04:42:00 What do you use to connect to the internet? utopian201 (6245) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
874329 2010-04-15 07:47:00 This is how I'd do it:

1) Decide what features you want, narrow down your results to all devices that include them
2) Look at the configuration page\utility of each device and decide if it suits you. There's nothing worse than trying to configure something through an interface designed by a medieval torture specialist.
3) By now you should have a few devices left, pick the one with the best quality hardware (cooling vents included) The bottom line here is pretty much does it use decent capacitors or not? Where decent generally = made in Japan

End result:

You have a device that does what you need, is easy to manage and will last a long time. What more could you want?
Agent_24 (57)
874330 2010-04-15 11:40:00 Hhmm, so if not Belkin, Linksys or Netgear, there isnt much else out there.
D-Link and Dynalink then...?

Pretty much.

If it's N-Wireless I'd go for NetComm (Dynalink), Draytek, or the Apple Airport. Nothing else.

You may be surprised at how the Airport Express / Extreme works, I loved my Express when I had it back in the day .... :D
www.apple.com
www.pbtech.co.nz
Chilling_Silence (9)
874331 2010-04-15 12:06:00 3) By now you should have a few devices left, pick the one with the best quality hardware (cooling vents included) The bottom line here is pretty much does it use decent capacitors or not? Where decent generally = made in Japan

A well put post.

Definitely agree about the quality of the hardware. Unfortunately for some odd reason, much of the N-Wireless AP hardware that's available today is just nowhere near as reliable as it should be. Granted the standard was in draft form for some time, but still, it's a shame to see that so many manufacturers (Linksys, my personal favorite included) missed the mark so badly. The WRT160N for example is crap, constantly overheating, restarting, and sometimes even permanently failing :(

G-Wireless gear by almost all the manufacturers is *significantly* better and more reliable, though some surprisingly more-so than others :devil
Chilling_Silence (9)
874332 2010-04-15 12:07:00 OMG someone else recommended the Airport?
Just a tip go for the extreme not express.
Extreme has more features.
I love my express as well.
nedkelly (9059)
874333 2010-04-15 22:42:00 Hhmm, well based on what I have read, the Apple Airport extreme doesn't have a web interface, QoS, WPS

Smallnetbuilder.com finds that D-link and Netgear have the fastest wireless performance.
utopian201 (6245)
874334 2010-04-15 22:46:00 I'm not sure who smallnetbuilder are, and they may be right, they may have marginally better performance, but I know I'd prefer one that stays up right the way through a file transfer than crashing half way through.
The Extreme has a "Guest Mode" which far surpasses WPS.
I've done dozens of wireless installs over the years and not once have I ever seen QoS on the wireless that actually works, in the 4-5 instances somebody actually tried to use it. It's a waste of time.

No WebGUI, everything is done from the PC in a nice wizard-style interface.
Chilling_Silence (9)
874335 2010-04-16 02:24:00 What gear do you use Chilling? utopian201 (6245)
874336 2010-04-16 02:35:00 How about one of these? http://www.myopenrouter.com/ (Netgear WNR3500L) Agent_24 (57)
874337 2010-04-16 03:38:00 This is how I'd do it:

1) Decide what features you want, narrow down your results to all devices that include them
2) Look at the configuration page\utility of each device and decide if it suits you. There's nothing worse than trying to configure something through an interface designed by a medieval torture specialist.
3) By now you should have a few devices left, pick the one with the best quality hardware (cooling vents included) The bottom line here is pretty much does it use decent capacitors or not? Where decent generally = made in Japan

End result:

You have a device that does what you need, is easy to manage and will last a long time. What more could you want?

Well the few that -do- have the features I want are the Linksys WRT610N and Netgear WNDR3700, but they haven't been recommended on this forum.

The Linksys supports DD-WRT, while support is for OpenWRT is starting on the Netgear one...

Ive just purchased a modem to go with one of those so I'll have a look. At this point, it is probably going to be the Netgear since it offers better wireless performance, but it is priced about the same as the Linksys
utopian201 (6245)
874338 2010-04-16 03:49:00 Maybe then it's best to get separate devices so you can have the features you want and with decent hardware too. Agent_24 (57)
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