I just ordered the SBC DSL (not sure if it was a good idea, but it was one of the cheapest DSL I could find) and should be available by the new year. Anyhoo, I'm new to all this wireless networking stuff so I was wondering what to get. First off, my wife has a Gateway laptop (XP Home) with a wireless network card built in already... I think. I have a homebuilt desktop computer (which I built myself and will NEVER do that again!) running XP Pro. I was reading some of the threads here about routers and was leaning towards the Linksys WRT54G. Yea or nay? I was also reading some reviews on PriceGrabber and quite a few folks had problems using the installation CD, that's one concern. What wireless card do I need to get for my desktop that would be compatible with the Linksys? I know a lot of questions, but you guys are all knowing and some of the nicest guys and gals around the 'net. Is that enought butt kissing yet? Thanks for the replies!

 

I have a Linksys router and other than a couple problems due to me not reading instructions, its been great. I have our desktop wired because i only have one desktop to deal with, so i just put the router next to it and ran the 5' wire. My laptop is wireless and i get reception all throughout my house and property. Aside from their customer service being a little hard to understand, they were great when i called to figure out what was wrong with my internet, which turned out to be a comcast problem and not a linksys.

I had no problems with installation.

 

Go with Linksys. I had a linksys 54G and it was nice.

 

Any more insightful opinions?

 

Linksys and Netgear are running about neck-n-neck these days. For the 6-7 networks I've installed in the last few months, I literally have been picking the one that's got the best price/rebate thing happening.

Read the directions! The last one I installed was Netgear based, and I found that Netgear now has this auto-setup wizard thing happening on the router. The first attempt at a connection to the outside was met by a wizard that offered to configure the router for me. uh-huh.

It thought that the cable-based connection was static (it wasn't) and thus I actually had to "open the manual" (i.e. read the online docs) to find out how to reset the router and bypass the wizard. Once I did that, life was good.


This is the Netgear box I just used - hard to beat for $40 _shipped_:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...8&loc=101&sp=1

 

Mark, that is the router I am thinking of getting at a later date to replace my Netgear RP614 which looks the same, but is not wireless.

 

it's a nice box Corey, it's got the normal set of features like MAC filtering, port routing, etc. Just keep in mind that if the wizard doesn't figure out your IP assignment scheme, then you'll need to reset the router and bypass the wizard. The manual explains how.

 

I did not use the wizard to set mine up, I did it manually.
My router I own now as seen in other posts here cuts out sometimes.

Plus I want the wireless feature for the laptop to surf from my recliner.
I hate plugging in the 100' cat 5 cable I have for the laptop now.
Not fun having a cable dangling down from it.

 

Mark or Corey: What PCI card would I need for my desktop if I do get the Netgear router? I'm planning to keep it hardwired since it's gonna be sitting on my desk anyway. I'll just use the network cable for it, right?

 

Yep, do you have a network card now in the PC?
Prices are very low on an add on PCI network card.

Generally any brand is good.

I too plan on keeping the two desktops hard wired, only the laptop will be wireless.

The network cable from the PC goes to one of 4 ports on the back of the router.
The WAN port on the rounter is for the cable that goes from it to your cable/DSL modem.

http://www.dslreports.com/pictures

 

This was the first time I saw the wizard, so it may be something new. My point was that if you do swap up into this router, then just beware that you may need to crack the manual. It was a first for me...


Like Corey said. you can use about anything. Look for rebates and sales and go for it. I've used $10 cards and $100 cards. I like to stick to Linksys or Netgear cards, but the technology is really cookie-cutter and you'll be fine with most anything.

And yes, you'll just need a cat-5 cable (standard network cable these days) to get from the PC to the router.

 

Thanks you guys! Very helpful!!!

 

Couple more questions, guys. Do I need to make sure that my DSL modem is compatible with the routers or are they all compatible? Also, what do you think of the new "SuperBooster" routers?

 

Yet still another question... would a Wireless-G USB Adapter be better than the typical router like those stated above in previous posts?

 

I would say that there is a 99.99% chance that your modem will be fine with the router. The only reason that I won't give up the final 1/100th of a percent is that I'm being a chicken-s&*T to commit.

You'll be fine.


The SuperBooster stuff is... an interesting concept.

Remember that if you're looking at a -G router, then the wireless side of the connection is 54mbps, which is probably 50 or even 100 times faster than the DSL feed into the house. So what you end up with is being able to wait for data from the line a whole lot more often - since your PC<->Router connection is so much faster than the Line<->Router. Now add the "SuperBooster" stuff in there and you're waiting even more often.

The Super/SpeedBooster (the name shifts depending on who's marketing hype you're reading) is basically a compression mechanism for the wireless connection - there's no improvement on the wired side. Also, to make use of it, you'll have to have a network card in the PC/Laptop that will support it as well.


As for USB connections for networking... stick with a network card. The USB bus can get pretty busy these days when you start sticking memory card readers, desk lamps, aquariums, disk drives, soound cards, etc. on there. I much prefer to have my network traffic on a dedicated piece of hardware that can grab hold of the system bus when it needs to say something ("bus mastering").

 

Mark and Corey:

Thanks for all the help. You have now made me a more informed consumer. Hope I can repay y'all in the future. Thanks again, dudes!

 

my .02 cents...

I've been running my linksys wireless wrt54g for about 2 years and its been great. A couple problems here and there usually user error. Other then that its been great. Netgear has there 108g out and its really nice too, although I never played around in the setup the Netgear has AWESOME reception. I like to drive around at work and use other peoples unsecure wireless networks (make sure you secure if you dont want someone like me using it from outside the house) and I've notice I get the best reception on those new netgear 108g routers, sometimes I've been park a good distance from the house I'm using it from so no one will ever be the wiser.

I'd definately go with either Linksys or Netgear, if my Linksys were to die today I'd get a that 108G netgear. But if/when my Linksys dies and linksys offers the 108g I'm gonna go with that for sure.

As far as the PCI card they all compatible with each other I assume, because I can drive around in my truck and get a netgear in one place then drive some more and get on a linksys or motorolas or d-link...but they have to have the same letter, ex if you get a wireless g router your adaptor has to support g....if you get a router the supports only g and a adaptor that supports b and g that will work fine but the adaptor has to support one of what the router has, imo G and Super G are the what you should stick with....

 

OK, guys, I finally got around to setting up my DSL and my wireless router. Just a couple more questions if you don't mind for all you wireless gurus . I've got the AVG 7.0 antivirus, Zone Alarm firewall (free version) and the hardware firewall from my Netgear WGT624 v.2 router.

1) Will that the above mentioned items suffice as a firewall from hackers?

2) Do I need to update the firmware on the router?

3) Can anything be done to prevent others from using my wireless connection?

Thanks again guys and gals!

 

1) yeah thats pretty good protection for a home user

2) updating the fimeware is always a good idea, they work out alot of bugs and security problems if there was any...

3) if you didnt enable WEP or WPA encryption then other people with wireless laptops or computers will be able to log into your router too use the internet...although most people that use others internet are only out too use the internet and not hurt anything in the process. But they COULD mess up something if they wanted too....

Although I dunno how to set up WEP or WPA on Netgear here are the basics just to kinda let you know whats happening. WEP and WPA basically requires a password to be entered to get into the router, in lamens terms. What you need to do is set up WEP or WPA on the router, then record your password if its encrypted. THEN click save or accept or OK or whatever netgear says. You'll be disconnected almost immediately since your computer doesnt know this password (you entered into the router)...then goto network settings and open your wireless connection and enter the same WEP or WPA into the provided fields....

Look at the routers directions too see if it came with a how-to enable wep or wpa. If not get on netgears site and find something and print it out before messing with any settings.

Another thing WPA is a little bit more secure then WEP. WEP can be hacked through with software easily obtained from the internet. But hacking through WEP requires a TON of wireless traffic...that being said it would probably take a week or more for you to transmit enough data for someone too be able to hack into your network (they would have to be monitoring that the entire time)....so its extremely unlikely if not impossible for someone to hack into WEP...its alot easier to hack into WEP that a business is using, since there is alot more traffic.....good luck

 

Ran accross this on Maimum PC's site just now.
http://www.maximumpc.com/how_to/reprint_2004-01-05.html