Which wireless router should I buy?
If you have more than one computer in the house, or you have a laptop in the house, you may have thought about purchasing a wireless router. Here’s a guide to help. I tried to write it simplified, without too many “geeky” terms.
What is a wireless router, and what good would it do me?
Basically, in plain English, a router enables you to share your high speed Internet connection with more than one computer in your home or office. There are wired (make sure you get a wireless router if you want to surf wirelessly in the house) and wireless routers, with wireless routers being the most common. A wireless router would enable you to be able to put computers anywhere in your house (within range – basically as far as a cordless phone would work) and surf the Internet without the hassle of running network cables everywhere. That means, if you really want, you could surf the Internet in your bathroom if you wanted. It also allows you to take your laptop on your back porch with your morning cup of coffee if you want to sit out and read the news first thing in the morning.
There are so many different brands and types, and the prices vary so much, which is best for me?
Routers have come a long way in the past few years. You’ll hear of 802.11a/b/g/n when you start looking.. You won’t hear too much about 802.11b anymore, as that is the older technology. For home use, you won’t hear much about 802.11a, as that technology is used more in corporate environments. You will hear mainly about 802.11g and 802.11n… 802.11g is pretty much the standard nowadays, although 802.11n is new, and the latest and greatest.. If you’ve already got a laptop and have had it a year or so, there’s really no need in spending the extra bucks to buy a 802.11n router, although if you plan on upgrading your equipment soon, go ahead and get it – it’s faster and has a broader range. It is also backwards compatible, so even though your laptop might have a 802.11g wireless card, it will work with the 802.11n router. To make things simpler, 802.11b is old, slow, and the range isn’t that great. You won’t find 802.11b in the stores anymore, unless it’s a second hand store. 802.11g is newer, faster and has a broader range. 802.11n is the newest out right now, and is the fastest, and offers the largest range, plus it’s less likely to interfere with your cordless phone, but if your pc doesn’t have a 802.11n wireless card, you won’t get those capabilities, although it will work with your equipment.
As far as router brands go, Linksys by Cisco is one of the most popular, and it is one of the better routers out there. If you need to contact their technical support, plan on speaking to someone who speaks little English though, unless you’re extremely lucky. I haven’t heard of anyone that has spoken to a person very fluent in English with Linksys. D-Link and Netgear are 2 good brands as well, I would consider Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear to be among the best of routers. Then you have Belkin, which isn’t bad, but they’re not the best…Consider them to be the generic brand of routers. If I had to rank the different brand routers in order of best to worst, I would say Dlink and Linksys tie for #1, Netgear with a close #2, Belkin with a #3, and the others, well, I’ll leave them out as far as routers for home use go. These are the most common and most easily supported routers you can find.
I gather that 802.11G and 802.11N are the newer and better, but which should I pick?
If you’re going to upgrade your computers on a regular basis, go ahead and get a 802.11N (Wireless N).. If you’re a little tight on money, or don’t see the need in upgrading computers anytime soon, 802.11g (Wireless G) will work just fine too. Your computer with an 802.11N wireless card will work with the older routers, and the older wireless cards will work with the newer routers. That’s a good thing about them.
Where should I buy my wireless router?
Walmart is fine, you can get the same thing as what Best Buy or anywhere else has, except you’ll leave with a few more bucks in your wallet. Don’t worry too much about the “Speed Boost” features, they’re just gimmicks that, unless you’re a geek, won’t mean much to the average Joe.
