Need a new router

ashim8813

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Aug 3, 2012
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Hey all :)

I was thinking of buying a new router, as my current one seems to just crash out when there's more than 2 computers, the LAN almost never works properly.

Next week a bunch of friends are coming, and there'll be about 5-6 computers, so a router that can support that many computers with ease would be preferred, otherwise, I have 3 computers at home, 2 laptops, 1 desktop.

It needs to be secure of course, but nothing too high-tech, all I need is a stable router that is reliable, and value-for-money. The purpose is that it should easily support LAN sharing (files over the LAN network), and of course, LAN gaming :D

I have no idea about whether I need to do anything with the modem , all I know right now is that the setup I have is provided by my ISP, and I'm fairly certain it is a modem + router combined device, 'Beetel 450BXI ASDL2+Modem'
Thanks :)

P.S. If you need specs of something, please post em below, and I'll edit this message to accommodate them

Internet speed:

Ping w/ reference to LA:

'Local' ping:

As you can see, it's terrible, so if there are any solutions to this, I would really appreciate them (I live in India, and I am very skeptical about there being any solutions to the ping problem TT_TT )
 

RealBeast

Titan
Moderator
Your poor latency is likely due to your ISP.

If you connect several computers by Ethernet cable to the modem/router do they both connect? In other words is the problem the wireless radio or the modem itself?

If the problem is with the wireless, it may be the router or it could be a lot of local interference. A new router will not fix the interference problem, but you can change radio channels -- download inSSIDer and run it on one of your computers to see the local radio signals by channel.
 

ashim8813

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Aug 3, 2012
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Well I've tried connecting my current laptop (my second one hasn't arrived yet, it will shortly though) by Ethernet to the router, but I don't have access to the internet... should I be able to access the internet straight away after connecting the cable? Or do I have to do something in control panel before that happens?
 

RealBeast

Titan
Moderator
You have to set up the router configuration -- see the manual, and you also have to set the computer to automatically obtain an IP address. If it won't even connect with a cable it may well just be that you need to set it up properly. Don't use any automatic button or CD junk -- set it up manually so it gets done correctly.

There is a lot of setup advice for that modem/router and even some by carrier here:

http://www.indiabroadband.net/reliance-broadband/33759-setting-up-beetel-450-bxi-adsl2-router-reliance-broadband.html

http://www.indiabroadband.net/bsnl-broadband/29767-airtel-beetel-450bx1-adsl-2-router-modem-settings-bsnl-full.html
 

ashim8813

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Aug 3, 2012
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Just in case though, if you had to recommend a wireless router that is good (and value-for-money), which one would you recommend?
 

ashim8813

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Aug 3, 2012
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I also found out that my current laptop supports dual band, do you know any routers that are dual band for a good price? Would it be worth the investment? Just in case, my card is: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN

I am pretty sure my new laptop also supports 5.0GHz, it's the Lenovo IdeaPad Y580
 

john-b691

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Sep 29, 2012
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The key benefit to a dual band router is that you can use the 5g band to avoid interference. One of the reasons it is less susceptible to interference is that signals from your neighbors do not penetrate your walls as easy. BUT this also means the signals do not penetrate YOUR walls as easily to. So if you do not have a interference problem you are better off using 2.4g to get better coverage in your house.
If you get dual band router a dual band router than actually has 2 radios in it and can run 2.4 and 5 at the same time is best. Some cheaper ones only have a radio that can switch back and forth.

It depends on your budget. If the difference between say $65 and $125 matters then stay with 2.4

You will not find a lot of difference between major brands of routers as far as how well they perform. Most the difference are in software feature such as firewalls or QoS. I tend to prefer routers you can load dd-wrt on but that is only because I like the advanced software feature it provides.
 

ashim8813

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Aug 3, 2012
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Ok so I'm buying the new router because my old router needed to be replaced anyway apparently. I had a question regarding installation though, does the DIR-655 just work by me replacing my old router with the 655 (and entering my username and p/w supplied by the ISP)? How does the installation work? Thanks
 

RealBeast

Titan
Moderator
Look in the current router configuration pages and note all the settings, including the gateway address that your current router uses. Then with the new router open the configuration pages and set it up the same, including the user and password if you are using PPPoE that is common for DSL.

If your computers are all currently set to automatically obtain an IP address from the gateway you should be good to go.