New Router

[Scot]

Hey guys, at the moment, my router has been having many issues and is annoying the **** out of me.

I currently have this: Belkin : N1 Wireless Modem Router

And am wondering:

A) is it better to go for the wireless modem router, or get a modem and a wireless router if I do not have a computer connected straight to the router.

B) Whatever the answer to A, can someone recommend any good wireless modem routers, or good modems and routers?

Thanks guys.

[Masaq]

In my experience you're much, much better off going with a wireless modem/router.

Many ADSL modems also include routing functions even if they're not wireless (they'll take several ethernet connections, often). If you end up purchasing both a routing modem and a dedicated wireless router, you then land yourself in heaps of fun trying to stop both the modem and the router from assigning different IP ranges etc to everything attached to your network.

Assuming you're wanting a setup at home for many two or three computers at most, a wireless modem/router that does all-in-one can save you a potentially massive headache. I've with my last two modems I've ended up having to use Telnet to log into the modem and reconfigure it within its BIOS before I can use it with a router as the accursed thing hasn't had an option in the GUI interface to use bridging mode.


And no I can't rec as I haven't bothered looking at the market for a long time... I've generally found both Belkin and Thompson both to be reasonable. If possible try and match up your modem/router to the brand of network card you're using. In theory it shouldn't matter a damn, and it may well not thesedays... but certainly when I first started using 802.11b, there were some pinickity issues using cross-manufacturer hardware.

[Brummy]

Can recommend Linksys .

[Scot]

So I'm torn between these two:
LINKSYS WAG320N Dual-Band Wireless ADSL Router at cheap prices | PC World

and

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/netgear-r ... 9-pdt.html

Both seem pretty decent, but I personally don't know a difference, can anyone recommend?

[VoXiNaTiOn]

Psst, you linked the same one twice .


With certain Linksys routers you can flash the firmware with dd-wrt, vastly increasing the features of the router. Not done myself, but I'd say from what I've head, it's worth a look.

[Scot]

There we go, linked the right one now

[SocketMan]

Router is basically a computer with cpu,memory,storage,and most importantly an
operating system (firmware).When Linksys (back in the draft G days) released their
wrt-54g router they decided to go with Linux as an OS.
Linux=source code that anyone can modify,and people did just that.

Anyway, ddwrt is the way to go because:
You spend 50$ on the router,erase the half-baked OS from the Linksys,and install DD-wrt
O.S. and the difference in features and stability is like Windows 3.1 VS Windows 7.

Check here for the compatible models:



Router Database | www.dd-wrt.com




edit*
Looks like the netgear WNDR330 is supported,so might as well get it.Might even work fine without flashing ddwrt,but it is always good to have that (future) option.