Can someone recommend me a good router?

Credible01 · 03 Mar 2013

I have used the Linksys wrt54g for many years. Apparently its a G router and its very old and everyone uses an N router. Looking for a router with good range that extends.

I see there are routers that are 150mbps, 300mbps, 450mbps and 600mbps and even 900mbps.

For someone that would be streaming movies and netflix... what is the minimum that is needed? Someone said any router that is 150mbps is going to be a cheap router. 300mpbs would be intermediate level and 600mbps would be high level.

My internet is Road runner and im on the 15mbps standard plan. Does that mean anything much?

So having the 600mbps needed to stream movies without lag?

Also which company should be avoided? I still like my linksys wrt54g router a lot so should i stick with a linksys N router? Some ppl say avoid netgear and dlink. Is there a reason for this? They said their support is very bad.

Can someone recommend me a specific wireless router? I assume its better to pay $100 for a router with better mbps than a cheap router thats like $50 and 150mbps? I want to make sure the router is a good one.

chev65 · 03 Mar 2013

The latest routers are using a new standard 802.11ac which are capable of up to 1.4Gbps, they use channel bonding of multiple channels in the 5Ghz frequency range to achieve this. I haven't tried any of these newer routers so can't really give a recommendation on them.

You would also require a newer 802.11ac NIC, either PCI or USB, in order to obtain all the WiFi speed of these new routers.

As for wireless streaming without issues, you can easily do this using the older 802.11n standard at about 300Mbps, there are many routers for under 100 dollars that can do this.

I use the D-Link DIR-655 which is still one of the best routers ever made but there are many choices in this range.

Your roadrunner plan doesn't effect the LAN speed of your network so wireless streaming will work fine.

linnemeyerhere · 03 Mar 2013

I'm a Belkin fan and have only leaned on the the lifetime warranty once ! Also the support after purchase is outstanding and worth the money for it alone !

RSextonFL · 04 Mar 2013

chev65 is correct. The latest standard is way above what everything else will do, but having devices with built in networking cards that support this new AC standard will be a long road before this is "standard" however, going that way now could prevent an upgrade in the future. This is still a "draft" and subject to change, but you can find many used draft N devices for cheap.
Personally, I just updated my own from G to N and picked up a Netgear N600 on Craigslist for 50 bucks! I am very happy with the purchase, but from what I know there are none who will offer great support. These companies target large business and consumers and thier problems are a problem for them. However, linnemeyerhere said that support from Belkin is good, and they did just purchase the Linksys brand from Cisco.

I was previously streaming fine with wifi-g, but I do like the faster 300mbps with the Netgear. The throughput will matter if you have multiple wireless devices sharing content with each other so it really depends on your needs.

Once available on all devices like tablets, tv media streamers etc., the AC standard will be the way to go, or whatever is behind that one.

Lurry · 05 Mar 2013

Check out http://www.wirelessrouterhome.com/be...router-review/