Most Reliable Wired Router/Firewall Under $100?

[Blue Bomber]

I'm a noob at this stuff, so bear with me. 😉 I'm looking for a good router/firewall for under $100 to split my Optimum Online cable connection between two computers (one with WinXP, one with Win98), that won't compromise internet speed (I host Halo games every now and then 🙂 ). I've been doing some research and asking people what they prefer, and I always get "Linksys and D-Link". However, when I read online owner reviews of their products, 50% of them are complaints, mainly either the router losing the connection unexpectedly, or just resetting. :disappointed: Makes it hard to pick one over the other, since you potentially have a 50% chance of failure either way. Is there anything decent out there?

 

[NetRyder]

You can easily get very good wired routers for under $100 these days. I'd say anything from Linksys, Netgear or D-Link would be your best bets.

If you do a lot of online gaming, video/voice chat, or file sharing, I'd also recommend getting a router with UPnP support. It'll save you the hassle of having to set up port forwarding for each of these services.

 

[Henyman]

personaly i'd recomend linksys 😀 , but everyone you ask will say one of the top majoir brands 😛


found my linksys to be 100% reliable and very easy to setup.

 

[Blue Bomber]

Hmm, from online hardware reviews, I was thinking about picking this one up:
D-Link DI-604 - http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=62

My friend (who is very knowledgible about networks) recommended this one:
Linksys BEFSX41 - http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?prid=433&scid=29
He also hates D-Link and Netgear routers. 😉

 

[Electronic Punk]

I have a D-Link something, was basically a 4 port switch until today as my local exchange was broadband enabled.

 

[Khayman]

Netgear DG834, never had a problem.

Also note that people who complain tend to be more vocal then people who are satisfied and as such it can skew any online mentioning's

 

[Weasel]

An old PC running m0n0wall. That or a D-Link DI-604 which is a much higher quality product than the Linksys equiv with much more advanced features.

 

[Blue Bomber]

Picked up the Linksys and it's working fine on both computers for now. 🙂 Had to tinker with the ports to keep AIM from randomly disconnecting, but otherwise, no significant problems. I may have actually gained download speed somehow (5400kbps before up to 8800kbps after :suprised: ), but it could just be reduced usage in my neighborhood, so I'll be continuing tests. 🙂

 

[ShepsCrook]

I've used Linksys for about 6 years now. Love their products. But D-Link and Netgear are both very nice competitors. I've just personally never used their equipement before. The only other router I've ever used was a Hawking, and that only lasted about a month.

 

[VenomXt]

I'd also recommend getting a router with UPnP support.

what exactly is this. I have to constantly deal with port forwarding for p2p and remote desktop. mind explaining it alil if you know anything about it netryder.

 

[LeeJend]

For $20-30 on sale, w/rebates you can get D-link or Netgear with or without wireless G capability, for $29-49 on sale, w/rebates you can get Linksys.

I have a Linksys wired and a Netgear wireless (used as an access point) and some Dlink gear. I think the Linksys is easier for the newbie. The Netgear is crammed full of great, fancy features that can create problems for the beginner.

I'd recommend Linksys 1rst, Netgear 2nd, Dlink 3rd.

Airlink works ok, but will have shorter range and possible quirks. Since you have $100 to burn skip Airlink.

EDIT
Ooops, have a Dlink in the junk box too but never used it.

 

[NetRyder]

what exactly is this. I have to constantly deal with port forwarding for p2p and remote desktop. mind explaining it alil if you know anything about it netryder.

UPnP = Universal Plug and Play.

Basically, to take advantage of UPnP, you need two thing:
1) A UPnP-capable router (like the Netgear MR814v2, for example)
2) UPnP-aware applications (like MSN Messenger, BitComet, Azureus etc.)

In short, here's how it works. Normally, to get the best possible speeds over BitTorrent, you need to foward a series of ports to your computer in the router config. When you finish downloading the file, incoming packets to these ports are still forwarded to your computer, forming a potential entry point into your system unless you go back into the router config and remove them. Plus, if you want to use another computer on your network to download something, you have to change the port forwarding or assign new ports.

With a UPnP system, the application (your BT client, for example) knows that the router is UPnP-aware, so you don't have to go through port forwarding manually. When you open up the app and start downloading, the app automatically opens up the ports it needs on the router, downloads the file and closes the ports when it's done. 🙂

My example involved BitTorrent, but the same thing applies to any UPnP-aware applications that require port forwarding.

 

[VenomXt]

thanks netryder. will be looking into this for a new router. is remote desktop UPnP supportive.

 

[NetRyder]

Not a problem, sraycoz. And yes, Remote Desktop does support UPnP. 🙂