Wireless Router Options

[zompton]

I have always hated using router, the firewall blocks everything and its a pain dealing with all those ports just to get your internet to function like normal. I am about to buy a router for a computer i am going to build and cant decide between these two.

D-Link DGL-4300 IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless Gaming Router
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16833127158

LINKSYS WRT54GL IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless-G Broadband Router
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124190


I like the first one because its made for gaming and im hoping i wont have to forward a million port to get my games to work. The second one seems solid and is cheaper, so i cnt decide which to get. What exactly makes the gaming router soo special to justify the extra money. I will be using this for a xbox 360 on xbox live and my computer which i use to browse the internet, play games, make websites, and programming.

 

[zompton]

I also noticed the first is up to 108Mbps and the second is 54Mbps. Does your average cable internet run over 54Mbps?

 

[zompton]

Any suggesstions would be helpful, please.

 

[brw02005]

Ok first welcome to the world of wireless and second the number printed are not the actual throughput. 108 Mbps and 54 Mbps are usually 40 Mbps and 26 mbps in real life. Most cable doesn't break 10 mbps and even if it does most internet servers only do 1-3 mbps so unless your downloading torrent there is no gain. 108 Mbps is accomplished by using super g atheros chipsets. So you need both an super g atheros router and wireless adapter for it to work. I use the super g stuff with a DI-634M and had good results.

I would suggest
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833181218
has the same chipset as DI-634M prolly have better range and throughput than your gaming router with an older atheros chipset.

The one advantage the dlink gaming router has is that it has a gigabit switch for faster file transfers with wired connections.

The linksys is a good router too since it can be hacked by installing the DD-WRT alternative firmware giving it the features of a $600 router although it will have lower short range throughput it might win for distance. DD-WRT will also void your warranty. This router is also more expandable since you can buy two and have them use WDS to expand your network.

Now that you are more informed choose your router based on what you want it to do. There is also draft n stuff that has the best throughput but is still really expensive and requires draft n adapter for it to be worth it.

 

[zompton]

Hehe, thats a detail response thanks. I really just want internet to my xbox and computer and will most likely not even use wireless, i just like to have the option there. The main concern im having is port issues. With my old router i always had problems with my FTP program and im just looking for a router that avoids most of these problems, even better if it had no firewall at all. I like the router you linked so far and i will definatly read up on it. Thanks for the help.

 

[brw02005]

Well basically by definition of a router there is usually no way to get around port forwarding for FPT. A router sets up a NAT and assigns each client an address using dhcp. When a signal is send to your router such as an FTP request it usually has no idea on which computer to send it to unless you set up a port forward.

Ways around this are setting up the computer as a DMZ (basically virtually sets the computer outside of router) or getting a really smart router (although I have yet to see one smart enough). Let me know what you find out. I usually dismiss the software most routers come with as garbage and direct login so maybe that's why I never get extra features.

I generally find the security outweighs the annoyance since port forward only takes a couple seconds and is good unless you update the firmware. I also find it's easier to portforward with a router that make you way through the computers firewall in most cases (which you have to do anyway).

 

[zompton]

Well that D-Ling boasts some gaming technology crap thats suppose to make the connection run smooth for games so thats probaly my best choice. Thanks again for the help.

 

[brw02005]

Yeah it's called qos (quality of service) that was one of the first routers with it but now it's nothing new. Most modern routers have it. The main reason for the price is the gigabit switch.