What's a good router these days?

[GapBoyPCS]

My old D-Link 624 died yesterday (no lights on at all). So, I'm trying to look up what's a good router brand these days.

I guess I'm looking at least an N-based router with wire/wireless. I'm just at the point whether I "need" dual-band and/or a gigabit port. I don't do any gaming, but the most my connection is used for is downloading Top Gear episodes, YouTube, on-demand TV, and the usual web surfing activities. The maximum devices that would connect would be three laptops (one would use a VPN anyhow), a desktop, my BlackBerrys, and a PlayBook.

I'm not sure what you folks run, and/or how much you're breaking the bank for these things. I'm a simple man -- I just want to be able to set this sucker up and continue surfing

[Norm201]

You can't go wrong with Linksys (Cisco brand). Did N band become the industry standard or are the mfg's just jumping the gun and hoping they meet the standard if and when?

[GapBoyPCS]

Originally Posted by Norm201

You can't go wrong with Linksys (Cisco brand). Did N band become the industry standard or are the mfg's just jumping the gun and hoping they meet the standard if and when?

I'm not entirely sure. I know my current laptop (and most new ones) are n-equipped.

I'm leaning towards Linksys -- it's just the price premium and what I "need".

I see this one at my local Costco:
Costco - Cisco® Linksys® E3000 High-performance Wireless-N Router

Then Best Buy has this one (which appears to be a newer version):
Linksys Wireless N Router (E3200-CA) : Wireless N Routers - Best Buy Canada

The only reasons I'm looking at these ones are the fact the house I'm in is very large, and I'm a bit of a future-proofer. I was doing fairly fine with my 802.11g, so going this extreme might be too much of an extreme. The one thing I'm not a fan of is how these have to sit on a shelf -- I prefer the router to be upright and compact. That's why I'm also looking at a D-Link 655.

Oh, and is it safe to assume that almost all routers do backwards compatibility? I have another laptop and some other users that might only get g.

[dirtyblueshirt]

Two things to consider:

- Get a router with Gigabit Ethernet, if you have any wired devices

- Make sure you get a router with dual radios (5GHz and 2.4GHz). the reason is that if you connect mixed devices to a 2.4GHz-only router, the bandwidth for all devices will throttle down to the lowest speed, so your N devices may be running at G or even B speeds. with the dual bands, you can ensure the N devices connect to the 5GHz band (the G and B devices are 2.4GHz only) and they'll get the full bandwidth.

That being said, I'd recommend the Linksys E3200.

[deadlast]

Originally Posted by dirtyblueshirt

Two things to consider:

- Get a router with Gigabit Ethernet, if you have any wired devices

- Make sure you get a router with dual radios (5GHz and 2.4GHz). the reason is that if you connect mixed devices to a 2.4GHz-only router, the bandwidth for all devices will throttle down to the lowest speed, so your N devices may be running at G or even B speeds. with the dual bands, you can ensure the N devices connect to the 5GHz band (the G and B devices are 2.4GHz only) and they'll get the full bandwidth.

That being said, I'd recommend the Linksys E3200.

I recommend one that does not connect you to the internet. Nothing good comes fromm the internet. unless youre using linux/mac/android.

[dirtyblueshirt]

If you're not unnaturally adverse to anything Apple, I'd actually also recommend the AirPort Extreme. It's setup is very easy, but what I really like is the way it automatically handles the dual radios as one SSID. Most other dual band routers will broadcast two separate SSIDs. Also at $179, the price is certainly comparable.

[vicariousrider]

I've been using one of these for about two weeks now, no problems as of yet:

Newegg.com - LG-Ericsson WBR-3020 Wireless Broadband Router IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g/n

Might not be Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, or Cisco, but I figured that LG and Ericsson might know a thing or two about wireless data transmission

NOT dual band though, so avoid this one if you're looking for dual-band broadcasting.

[Cobra348]

I've had Linksys 4-port units for years and never a problem.

[aggoodin]

Originally Posted by dirtyblueshirt

Two things to consider:

- Get a router with Gigabit Ethernet, if you have any wired devices

- Make sure you get a router with dual radios (5GHz and 2.4GHz). the reason is that if you connect mixed devices to a 2.4GHz-only router, the bandwidth for all devices will throttle down to the lowest speed, so your N devices may be running at G or even B speeds. with the dual bands, you can ensure the N devices connect to the 5GHz band (the G and B devices are 2.4GHz only) and they'll get the full bandwidth.

That being said, I'd recommend the Linksys E3200.

Perfect advice.

Almost exactly what I run. My new stuff connects on 5Ghz N and my old stuff on the 2.4Ghz B/G and my wired device is on the Gigabit connection. Xbox 360 has to be wired unless you like getting your ass kicked by everyone seeing you first on call of duty.

I do it with a Netgear but I have had no issue with Linksys or D-link products in the past.

[Audrey]

I've hard my D-Link router for 3+ years and am quite happy with it, but it sounds like Linksys is the band to go with right now. I think another D-Link would be fine too.