Do you use a cheap router?
Tags:
- Polls
- Routers
- Internet Connection
Last response: in Toms Network
How much did you pay for your Ethernet (not wireless) router?
Total: 91 votes (6 blank votes)
- 0 to $10
-
12 %
- $10 to $25
-
15 %
- $25 to $40
-
24 %
- $40 to $55
-
16 %
- More than $55
-
35 %
thiggins
July 5, 2006 9:49:58 PM
ikjadoon
July 6, 2006 2:22:01 PM
Well, I have a Linksys WRT54G that I picked up at Wal*Mart for around $30 or so...I had a little trouble with the installation, but Linksys has a great support department. They went as far as to get on a conference call with Dell, my laptop manufacturer, to get it working. I get good signal strength pretty much everywhere. I will almost always have 'Very Good' to 'Excellent' strength at 54Mbps, even between multiple floors. Good router, good price.
I do have some of the weird connection problems that people are having in the thread below; but I'm not sure if I can pinpoint that on my router...
It is bad for gaming, though. I used to get pings of like 60-70, but with the router it is a "kicked-off-server" high of around 90+, somtimes in the hundreds! More than once, I've just bypassed the router, much to the anger of my family on the laptop. :twisted:
Anybody know of a good gaming router? I'm willing to spend $$$, but only if it is the best thing since sliced bread or of similar importance.
~Ibrahim~
I do have some of the weird connection problems that people are having in the thread below; but I'm not sure if I can pinpoint that on my router...
It is bad for gaming, though. I used to get pings of like 60-70, but with the router it is a "kicked-off-server" high of around 90+, somtimes in the hundreds! More than once, I've just bypassed the router, much to the anger of my family on the laptop. :twisted:
Anybody know of a good gaming router? I'm willing to spend $$$, but only if it is the best thing since sliced bread or of similar importance.
~Ibrahim~
RichPLS
July 9, 2006 1:42:54 AM
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ikjadoon
July 9, 2006 2:39:34 PM
RichPLS
July 9, 2006 2:52:09 PM
ikjadoon
July 9, 2006 3:05:12 PM
mikeyp410
July 10, 2006 3:54:38 PM
Just to add to the topic and to my vote. I have been using a cheap DLink 624 for many years and have recently switched to a Netgear FVL-328. I love the switch and have tons more management over my network now although the DLink was not bad. I guess it just depends on what you need it for. If you are just sharing a Internet Connection and do not need superior security then why not spend 30 bucks?? It works right?
ikjadoon
July 10, 2006 4:07:28 PM
derek101700
July 17, 2006 3:13:24 AM
Quote:
Well, I have a Linksys WRT54G that I picked up at Wal*Mart for around $30 or so...I had a little trouble with the installation, but Linksys has a great support department. They went as far as to get on a conference call with Dell, my laptop manufacturer, to get it working. I get good signal strength pretty much everywhere. I will almost always have 'Very Good' to 'Excellent' strength at 54Mbps, even between multiple floors. Good router, good price. I do have some of the weird connection problems that people are having in the thread below; but I'm not sure if I can pinpoint that on my router...
It is bad for gaming, though. I used to get pings of like 60-70, but with the router it is a "kicked-off-server" high of around 90+, somtimes in the hundreds! More than once, I've just bypassed the router, much to the anger of my family on the laptop.
Anybody know of a good gaming router? I'm willing to spend $$$, but only if it is the best thing since sliced bread or of similar importance.
HEY HEY HEY!! who said this router aint for gaming
me: ping -t 192.168.1.1 (my router)(WPA ENABLED)
THE LATENCY IS 16 ms (8 each direction)
the reason it lags cuz it has to code/decode the data
this test was done thru 2 walls and on intel pentium M wireless b/g connectivity (the network adapter on the p M cpu die)
version 5 might be slower BUT it wont be that slow
remember that your internet connection might be the laggard
ikjadoon
July 17, 2006 4:04:44 PM
What server were you pinging with 16ms ping? I'd love to get that ping. I have Bellsouth Fast Acess 3Mbps up/ 384k down. What I am saying is that I have pings in the 60's and 70's without the router and pings upwards of 90 with the router. The router has to be the problem.
I've heard this thing called QoS. Does this router have it? Did you enable it? How do you enable it?
~Ibrahim~
I've heard this thing called QoS. Does this router have it? Did you enable it? How do you enable it?
~Ibrahim~
mikeyp410
July 18, 2006 2:30:33 AM
dt
July 18, 2006 5:47:50 AM
mikeyp410
July 18, 2006 9:12:33 AM
ikjadoon
July 18, 2006 1:58:32 PM
sukard
July 18, 2006 8:33:39 PM
ikjadoon
July 18, 2006 9:57:01 PM
infornography42
July 18, 2006 11:38:51 PM
I got the Cisco SOHO 91 Router. Mostly because I was learning CCNA at the time and I could play with the IOS on it, and it had a partially implemented version of the Cisco PIX firewall built into it.
I didn't really need a router, but I DID need a good stout hardware firewall.
That weighed in at $200 after shipping.
I didn't really need a router, but I DID need a good stout hardware firewall.
That weighed in at $200 after shipping.
mikeyp410
July 19, 2006 1:46:31 AM
infornography42
July 28, 2006 4:20:55 AM
Quote:
Now that is a good deal. How was the CCNA test? Was it hell? Im too scared to take any cert test'sWell I failed it the first time because I was told there would be no switches on it. Got it the second time after studying catalyst switch commands.
CCNA is easily the hardest cert I took and possibly the hardest I ever will take. CCNP from what I understand is easier, mostly because you already have to have your CCNA to try for it. Microsoft exams are a joke.
If you are interested in getting a Cisco router for home, just keep your eyes open on ebay. The Cisco SOHO series are pretty good and actually have a web based configuration tool if you need help getting it going and the command prompt is proving difficult.
Now I've taught CCNA about 5 times to various classes so everything makes a lot more sense now than it did when I was first studying for it.
The two fastest ways to learn IT are Tech support and teaching.
mikeyp410
July 30, 2006 12:39:28 PM
amdx2
September 29, 2006 7:52:23 AM
I've owned many routers over the last many years since we've been online. First it was a Linksys 1 port cable dsl router the BEF or something that just was one broadband port and one lan port. Then I went up higher because it just didn't do anything at all. So since then I've had several over $100 routers. Honestly all have been over $200 retail except I didn't pay that for all. Currently I'm on a Sonicwall TZ170W which is over $500 retail for the hardware itself. Then I'm using the subscription service for gateway virus, intrusion protection, content filtering which is the categories you get to select to block etc and some other stuff. Those alone are retail over $325 for all of it pert year, but my sonicwall reseller is cheaper. Then they have SonicOS Enhanced which makes it do more stuff. That is $500. I got it for free because of some issues I had with the units I've owned from Sonicwall so my reseller got it for me free.
I find no soho device does anything close to what I like. So to get what I like you gotta spend a ton,
and even then it won't do everything I'd like. So currently I'm looking for something else maybe.
I find no soho device does anything close to what I like. So to get what I like you gotta spend a ton,
and even then it won't do everything I'd like. So currently I'm looking for something else maybe.
atarione
September 29, 2006 6:45:17 PM
my router is an old HP Kayak WS w/ 3 NICs and a IDE to CF adapter w/ m0n0wall running off a 8MB CF card.
I have my wifi and wired computers on seperate interfaces and then the wifi clients can gain access to the wired LAN via a Radius athenticated VPN.
my wireless router is a old linksys BEFW11S4 (B) router
and I have a sixteen port netgear FS516 switch for the wired pcs.
works very well...
at some point in the future I will probably get a WRAP board / enclosure for the m0n0wall for reduced power consumption vs. the Kayak but for now everything works pretty nice.
I have my wifi and wired computers on seperate interfaces and then the wifi clients can gain access to the wired LAN via a Radius athenticated VPN.
my wireless router is a old linksys BEFW11S4 (B) router
and I have a sixteen port netgear FS516 switch for the wired pcs.
works very well...
at some point in the future I will probably get a WRAP board / enclosure for the m0n0wall for reduced power consumption vs. the Kayak but for now everything works pretty nice.
LVDAX
January 25, 2007 10:49:21 PM
ikjadoon
January 25, 2007 11:53:58 PM
I forgot about this thread!
Well, I made my $35 router into a very expensive one. I've added VOIP, QoS, and a thousand other settings that I don't know a tick about. You want to know how? Modded firmware. Turns out my router uses a version of Linux and Linksys distributed the code. Many coders made some very nice firmwares. It is truly great, I love my Linksys WRT54G!
~Ibrahim~
Well, I made my $35 router into a very expensive one. I've added VOIP, QoS, and a thousand other settings that I don't know a tick about. You want to know how? Modded firmware. Turns out my router uses a version of Linux and Linksys distributed the code. Many coders made some very nice firmwares. It is truly great, I love my Linksys WRT54G!
~Ibrahim~
dobby
June 1, 2007 8:03:40 PM
cheap router, all the options on the lsit where cheap, i wouldnt dream on buying non brand bargain bin goods, i have all separate Units, ie Modem Firewall, Switch, access point, that way when one part goes out of date i can replace the part not the lot for cheaper, and it all faster and easier to trouble shoot.
thepustule
June 19, 2007 9:07:01 PM
Just for fun, I stopped using my linksys router and switched to my Linux server, hooking it directly to the internet with a secondary 10/100 NIC and using it as my router. For most stuff, the performance was identical (this server is dual opteron with 2G of RAM) but I was amazed at how much better bittorrent worked. For applications that have many connections, a powerful box like this makes a big difference.
(and no, I don't download music. I use bittorrent for knoppix downloads and such)
(and no, I don't download music. I use bittorrent for knoppix downloads and such)
ikjadoon
June 19, 2007 10:43:00 PM
PM-Performance
November 20, 2007 1:22:55 PM
I always used Linksys stuff. I had a cheap Microsoft router at one time too with no problems.
One thing I noticed from supporting home based users though is to check functionality of your router if you work from a remote office.
Some of my remote people got these cheap D link routers and cannot route VPN traffic. I googled the issues and found out a certain range of D link's are known for this.
Never any troubles from Linksys's though to date.
You can use some OS's as a router. I know Server2003 you can, and I think some Linux as said above. Problem with that is processing power it might take up maybe? Also I think that could run into security issues. I read something in this networking book the other day where they mentioned to stay away from that function if possible. I think it was more on a business level thing though
One thing I noticed from supporting home based users though is to check functionality of your router if you work from a remote office.
Some of my remote people got these cheap D link routers and cannot route VPN traffic. I googled the issues and found out a certain range of D link's are known for this.
Never any troubles from Linksys's though to date.
You can use some OS's as a router. I know Server2003 you can, and I think some Linux as said above. Problem with that is processing power it might take up maybe? Also I think that could run into security issues. I read something in this networking book the other day where they mentioned to stay away from that function if possible. I think it was more on a business level thing though
I know this thread is about wired routers, but it's also possible to make laptops share their WiFi connection, in effect acting as routers when sharing Internet connectivity. Not sure if file transfers are possible under this setup though. So in effect, that's another way how OS's can become routers.
Anyways, regarding wired routers, I always kept it as cheap as possible and always stuck with Linksys. I guess the most trouble I had with the wired lifestyle was making sure those damn Ethernet cables were crimped properly!
Anyways, regarding wired routers, I always kept it as cheap as possible and always stuck with Linksys. I guess the most trouble I had with the wired lifestyle was making sure those damn Ethernet cables were crimped properly!
nashlofer
October 12, 2009 7:07:41 AM
Just to add with the comments, IMO, you have to look at the specifications of the routers you like to buy. Being cheap can sometimes lead to disasters and other future problems. On the other hand, you don't have to buy expensive ones just to get the best quality.
I would say that it should be a balance, but the first priority in my list is quality. I don't care if it is expensive or not.... as long as I won't get a headache down the road.
I would say that it should be a balance, but the first priority in my list is quality. I don't care if it is expensive or not.... as long as I won't get a headache down the road.
xxxdahulkxxx
November 5, 2009 12:04:09 AM
C00lIT
November 5, 2009 12:06:15 PM
My last wired router was a SOHO Hotbrick... It's a soso product... lack of VPN flexability if you add it to an existing network but fine if it's the main router...
My latest router is kinda built manually...
RouterOS running on a mini desktop compaq P3 700, 256Mb Ram + 80Gig IDE Harddrive..., 2x Lan cards, 1x Atheros Wireless.
You can do ANYTHING with that !!!
http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/MikroTik_RouterOS
STRONGLY Recommend it for any networking requirements.
It does not have to be a PC, They have a mad amount of models such as this one for example.
http://shop.ens-al.com/images/uploads/RB493%20With%20In...
My latest router is kinda built manually...
RouterOS running on a mini desktop compaq P3 700, 256Mb Ram + 80Gig IDE Harddrive..., 2x Lan cards, 1x Atheros Wireless.
You can do ANYTHING with that !!!
http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/MikroTik_RouterOS
STRONGLY Recommend it for any networking requirements.
It does not have to be a PC, They have a mad amount of models such as this one for example.
http://shop.ens-al.com/images/uploads/RB493%20With%20In...
Zinosys
November 8, 2009 2:21:55 AM
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