[sraets]

I'm looking to replace my 10 year old Netgear wireless router with something new. Can anyone make some suggestions?

Here's the hardware that'll connect to it:

- three laptops, all PC's, including two that are on throughout the day (for work) and one netbook
- an iPad + my wife's iPhone
- a Wii console
- a wireless Bluray player (which I've never used but hope to start using to stream Netflix etc)

I believe my ISP caps my download speed at 10 MB/s (might be 15), upload at 1 MB/s. My current router doesn't get more than 5 MB/s download speed, but I've been told that's because it's an ancient beast that should put be put down.

I am only vaguely familiar with all the newfangled vocabulary that has popped up in the last 10 years (have no idea what's the difference between wireless N, G, and whatever else; not sure what ipv6 is and whether I need it; ditto for dual band).

So - I'm clueless as to what to buy. I'd like to keep the cost around $100, definitely not more than $200.

Halp?

tl;dr - any recommendations for a decent wireless router?

[Brvsfn01]

Originally Posted by sraets

I'm looking to replace my 10 year old Netgear wireless router with something new. Can anyone make some suggestions?

Here's the hardware that'll connect to it:

- three laptops, all PC's, including two that are on throughout the day (for work) and one netbook
- an iPad + my wife's iPhone
- a Wii console
- a wireless Bluray player (which I've never used but hope to start using to stream Netflix etc)

I believe my ISP caps my download speed at 10 MB/s (might be 15), upload at 1 MB/s. My current router doesn't get more than 5 MB/s download speed, but I've been told that's because it's an ancient beast that should put be put down.

I am only vaguely familiar with all the newfangled vocabulary that has popped up in the last 10 years (have no idea what's the difference between wireless N, G, and whatever else; not sure what ipv6 is and whether I need it; ditto for dual band).

So - I'm clueless as to what to buy. I'd like to keep the cost around $100, definitely not more than $200.

Halp?

tl;dr - any recommendations for a decent wireless router?

OP, the router you have now is probably a "G" router. The latest generation is the "N" router and all routers are backwards compatible with previous routers BUT if all of your gear is "N" compatible and someone brings a "G" piece of equipment into your house the entire network will slow down to "G" speeds.

If I remember correctly the maximum speed for "N" routers is 600 MBps although you will never see that. I just installed a new "N" router and the best I get is approx. 56 MBps which is good. Dual band is a way of increasing speed and throughput since the data to the computers in your house is sent on one channel and data going back to the router is sent on a second channel. Unless you do a lot of movie downloading or heavy gaming you won't need a dual band router but since you mentioned a budget of $100 to $200 you can get dual band routers in that price range so go ahead and get one.

Ipv6 is the new IP protocol and it takes the place of IPv4 which is running out of IP addresses. IPv6 is already being rolled out in certain areas of the U.S. but not all. Windows 7 has IPv6 compatibility built in and most routers made within the last year are IPv6 compliant.

As far as brand I prefer Linksys because for me they are more user friendly and easier to set up but the router I just bought is a Netgear one and I got it because it was on sale at the time I was buying. Either brand is will serve you well.

Good luck and enjoy your new router.

[sraets]

Thanks for your response. My current (ancient) router is actually a Linksys (rather than Netgear, as I mentioned earlier). It's served me faithfully for over a decade, so I'd be happy to buy another one.

I'm currently looking over this list (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st?ke...opularity-rank) and trying to decide which one to go with. I love the visual look of the two Asus ones listed here, but I don't have much experience with the brand.

[sraets]

Sorry to necro this thread, but I just wanted to see if anyone else has recommendations, maybe for specific models? I'm looking at the Asus RT-N66U and RT-N56U as frontrunners now, but I'm not sure if those are overkill for my needs and if they're considered reliable. I'd rather spend a few bucks extra and buy something that's reliable and will last a long time, but I'm so clueless about this and overwhelmed by the choices that I can't make up my mind. If not Asus, the first response here recommended Linksys - what's a good model to go for there? Thanks in advance for all your help.