What is the best wireless router to get? (Link to Circuitcity.com if possible)?

My current wireless has stopped working and I was planning on getting a new one. There are many different ones (maybe 100) on Circuitcity.com, and I was wondering if I could get some help deciding. I'm not that savvy on wireless routers and what features are good (I don't know what Wireless-G, or Super-G, or 801.12g means), so if you could narrow it down for me, or tell me good/best features, that would be great. Also, I'd like to make it easy to set up and be secure, because people tend to like using it and making it slow, and it's a hassle to set it up sometimes. So... yeah. Thank you kindly, sirs (or madams).

2007-07-10T22:27:03Z

Also, I don't trust Linksys anymore. My last modem was Linksys, and it died in like 2 years. And the router that just stopped working was Linksys. So try not to suggest those.

2007-07-10T22:46:39Z

I also KNOW that the router doesn't work because even the ethernet jacks don't work.

billys_office2007-07-10T22:16:41Z

Favorite Answer

The best router to get is an older Linksys WRT54G and apply the 3rd party firmware upgrade.
This router is now sold by Linksys as the WRT54GL ( l stands for linux)
The newer Linksys WRT54G were cheapened by Linksys to reduce costs and increase Linksys's profits.

http://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRT54G

http://www.sveasoft.com/

http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/ddwrt.php

Very easy to do.

Unless you are transferring large amounts of data within computers on your network the numbers thrown around are absolutely fantasy island and of no relevance .
Even older b routers are faster than any internet broadband connection.
Speeds drop off rapidly with any distance after 30 feet as well.
The biggest problem with wireless internet is neighbour's wi fi signals drifting in from great distances. You will have a good signal from your router but no internet . Simply change the channel. Channels 1 and 11 are the next best picks. But it may trial and error.
Make sure the router is high and unclutted.
A very useful program is network magic

http://www.networkmagic.com

http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Cisco-WRT54GL-Wireless-G-Broadband-Compatible/dp/B000BTL0OA

http://search.ncix.com/displayproductdetail.php?sku=17408&vpn=WRT54GL&manufacture=Linksys

I do not know about the n ( pre n) routers but to get the benefits you will need to have matching cards ,and older g cards may bring the speed down to g levels

have fun

As for people having trouble with Linksys
The older WRT54G was the standard product.( version 4 and before)
The newer ( version 5 and onwards) Linksys WRT54G routers are different and absolutly terrrible routers no matter what people do
The idiots at Linksys marketing actually said "We are selling hundreds of thousands of these things . How can we reduce costs and increase profit.
How can we reduce ram onboard .
Good. We will need another operating system to do this.
We will buy one and the reduced ram will pay for that cost and make us money down the line.
The OS was changed to a non Linux one.
The router can not be upgraded ever with the 3rd party firmware for the advanced features ( in this case much higher power) and the newer wrt54g ( and gs ) and just plain terrible routers.
Due to demand ( cannot figure out why) Linksys sells a version of the older , good wrt54g.

It is called the WRT54GL ( linux) model

Anonymous2007-07-11T05:39:12Z

I am surprised you have problems with Linksys. I have had more problems with other brands 4 to 1. The WRT54G has been the most reliable since Cisco has started running the company. The security of all routers is the same for set up and not any easier. The support software that comes with the Linksys will give you a step by step guide. When my wireless quit working I found it was caused by a cordless phone establishing its security code and happened to scan channel 6. Try setting the channel to 11, set up MAC filtering for your computers, and turn off the SSID broadcast after everything is set up. Change the login password for security reasons. This should give you years of service with no problems.

nate2007-07-11T04:54:07Z

wireless N, sorry no link..