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Of Gaming and Routers

Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
Hey there guys, I seem to be having a bit of an issue with my current router, a netgear that I rent from my cable company for a paltry $2 a month. It's constantly warm underneath and recently it has been giving me hell for Warhammer Online. Thing is, I am kind of lost as to what to do with routers. I was hoping we can talk about them some and that I can learn a thing or two because as it stands I don't know too much about routers except for some basic moves.

Let me explain my current set up:

First I have my major uber PC upstairs in my bedroom. I need this computer to be connected with a hard connection. No wifi for a PC.

However, I do need wifi since I have my zune and a laptop as well as guests who may come by so I do need a decent wifi range. Nothing huge mind you, but something to reach downstairs easily enough will suffice. I think that most routers will be able to handle that no problem.

I have Comcast as an ISP and sometimes they suck, most of the times they are quite alright as far as ISPs go. The actual cable box for our house is in our neighbor's yard and it goes underground from their yard to our house up the side of the house, through the attic and into my room. From my room it has a Y splitter that splits the cable. One end goes to a big black telephone modem and the other to a white little netgear box that is my wireless router. The black telephone modem gave me shit about setting up a router before, and I have no idea why-- so I am kinda skeptical about it this time around.

Anyways, I have a modest amount of stuff actually connecting to my internets. So I am looking for a few key features. 1: It has to be fast. Speed and reliability are a must. 2: It has to be easy to set up. I want to be able to set a password and all the funky port business without having to read a 2,000 page tome to get to do. 3: It has to be worth the price. Value is very important to me since I hate wasting money on a flashy bit of plastic that does shit. If it is worth it, I will shell out monies for a premium product, but only if it has a tried and true record.


Any suggestions and/or help? I have been looking at this fellow here. What do you guys think?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127158

Lucky Cynic on

Posts

  • exoplasmexoplasm Gainfully Employed Near Blizzard HQRegistered User regular
    edited December 2008
    I have a Linksys WRT150N and couldn't be happier. Don't buy the "gaming" hype of some routers. It's really just marketing some features that most routers can have with DD-WRT or other replacement firmwares installed. if you spend more than $100 on a router just make a PC (old, or new tiny miniITX form factor) into a router yourself using m0n0wall or something.

    exoplasm on
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  • Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    exoplasm wrote: »
    I have a Linksys WRT150N and couldn't be happier. Don't buy the "gaming" hype of some routers. It's really just marketing some features that most routers can have with DD-WRT or other replacement firmwares installed. if you spend more than $100 on a router just make a PC (old, or new tiny miniITX form factor) into a router yourself using m0n0wall or something.

    See the trouble with that is that I don't know what I should look for when it comes to routers. That and which firmware to run. I doubt I will really be able to set up a second computer as a router though as I don't know how to do that nor do I want another computer in my set up and eating up electricity.

    Lucky Cynic on
  • Desert_Eagle25Desert_Eagle25 Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    exoplasm wrote: »
    I have a Linksys WRT150N and couldn't be happier. Don't buy the "gaming" hype of some routers. It's really just marketing some features that most routers can have with DD-WRT or other replacement firmwares installed. if you spend more than $100 on a router just make a PC (old, or new tiny miniITX form factor) into a router yourself using m0n0wall or something.

    See the trouble with that is that I don't know what I should look for when it comes to routers. That and which firmware to run. I doubt I will really be able to set up a second computer as a router though as I don't know how to do that nor do I want another computer in my set up and eating up electricity.

    The Linksys WRT54GL is all you really need in a Router. And honestly, there are others that are most likely cheaper and just as good. Linksys just has the advantage of an established name in Networking hardware. Netgear, on the other hand, is meh. And like exo said, you should never, ever get something that's advertised as "For Gamers." They're jipping you.

    As for LEARNING about routers and how to use them, it's really quite simple! Simple to go PortForward.com and they'll teach you the basics, even with your router's exact model number!

    Desert_Eagle25 on
  • Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Well it looks like this 'gaming' router is pretty decent. It was reviewed a number of years ago. Almost 4 now... And when it comes for stuff being labelled as gamer hardware, it all depends. Gaming ram is suspicious, but a gaming mice aren't. For the most part, I usually get the gaming stuff because it usually comes packed with extras as well as actually looks cool. I wouldn't mind having something that looks good on my desk and I have to say that Linksys and their purpleness has got me going all :/

    http://www.maximumpc.com/article/D-Link-DGL-4300-Gaming-Router

    So while it was reviewed good, it is considerably more costly.

    Lucky Cynic on
  • Desert_Eagle25Desert_Eagle25 Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Well it looks like this 'gaming' router is pretty decent. It was reviewed a number of years ago. Almost 4 now... And when it comes for stuff being labelled as gamer hardware, it all depends. Gaming ram is suspicious, but a gaming mice aren't. For the most part, I usually get the gaming stuff because it usually comes packed with extras as well as actually looks cool. I wouldn't mind having something that looks good on my desk and I have to say that Linksys and their purpleness has got me going all :/

    http://www.maximumpc.com/article/D-Link-DGL-4300-Gaming-Router

    So while it was reviewed good, it is considerably more costly.

    Yea. It's got great reviews, but for cost/benefit ratio....errr yea.

    Desert_Eagle25 on
  • Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    I am just worried at how reliable this stuff is. I mean, I have had to swap out my router and my modem a few times before, but then again, the ISP just keeps rotating me 'recertified' hardware.

    Plus, it looks like the Dlink is on sale and has a rebate on Amazon. I'll keep it an option while I do more homework.

    Lucky Cynic on
  • Desert_Eagle25Desert_Eagle25 Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    I am just worried at how reliable this stuff is. I mean, I have had to swap out my router and my modem a few times before, but then again, the ISP just keeps rotating me 'recertified' hardware.

    Plus, it looks like the Dlink is on sale and has a rebate on Amazon. I'll keep it an option while I do more homework.

    DLink is another reliable name. And yea, generally the stuff you get after-market is way better than the shit ISP's peddle you. Though some regions of Time Warner distribute Motorola Surfboard modems, which are ostensibly the best cable modems ever constructed.

    But you can trust Linksys and DLink for sure. If you find a good deal, google the model number plus "full review" and you should get dozens of sites offering their professional 2 cents.

    Desert_Eagle25 on
  • Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Heh, I actually had the Motorola Surfboard modem for a while from Comcast. I went through 4 or 5 of them in the past 5 or so years. Not bad. But yeah, again, they were all recertified...

    Lucky Cynic on
  • Desert_Eagle25Desert_Eagle25 Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Heh, I actually had the Motorola Surfboard modem for a while from Comcast. I went through 4 or 5 of them in the past 5 or so years. Not bad. But yeah, again, they were all recertified...

    Yea. I bought mine new off newegg and modified it to give me a slight boost in Down/Up speeds. Pretty amazing stuff.

    Desert_Eagle25 on
  • KrikeeKrikee Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Netscreen 5GT wireless from ebay unless you really want 802.11n (it's a b/g firewall). I use the non-wireless version at my house and I have gone through *many* a routers that were not up to the task of people torrenting. Port forwarding is a bit funky to figure out but I would tell you the exact steps if you get it.

    Krikee on
  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Heh, I actually had the Motorola Surfboard modem for a while from Comcast. I went through 4 or 5 of them in the past 5 or so years. Not bad. But yeah, again, they were all recertified...

    Yea. I bought mine new off newegg and modified it to give me a slight boost in Down/Up speeds. Pretty amazing stuff.

    You have my attention.

    TL DR on
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