Computer gurus: Need to get a new router. Which one?

[homebrewz]

We've been running a Netgear Router MR814 v2 purchased in 2004. Its been bogging down lately slowing down the data speed considerably. I reset it and its fine for a few days. I'm figuring its time for an upgrade.

What we need:
-Ability to have a few computers and smartphones run off it at the same time.
-Broadcast throughout the entire house and 100' away to a small cabin. We get this with the current router and I don't want to loose this.
-I have a 4 year old Macbook running the original OS 10.4.11 system it came with. In the store I'm seeing on boxes that I need at least Leopard to program it? Is this correct? It seems I should be able to program it "wirelessly".

As an amateur radio operator, I understand wireless signals very well. I'd like to stick with a 2.4Ghz so as not to loose the signal range. There isn't a lot of heavy data use, just the occasional video uploaded, etc.I do have a vague understanding of the b, g, and n stuff. Not sure what n draft is, but read somewhere that I should avoid it?

Thanks!

 

[PapaDave]

All you need to "program it", is to open a browser and point to the ip addy of the router, or am I misunderstanding what you're trying to "program".
Are you sure it's the router and not the machines on the network? Have you upgraded the router firmware recently? That might have caused some speed problems.
N a nutshell , N is faster.
I took a pic of the family when most of them were here for Thanksgiving a couple years ago. EVERY single person in the house (9 of us) was on some sort of device connected to the router.
I thought it was pretty funny.

 

[begreen]

I have a newer Netgear for about a year now. It has been great. No issues to report.

 

[homebrewz]

BG, which model do you have and how is the range?

 

[PapaDave]

Netgear N here too. I put the latest firmware on it, and started having connection problems.
Reverted to an earlier firmware and now no issues.
I can get a signal in the pole barn, which is probably about 150' from the router. I should take the laptop out there and see how strong the signal is, but I know it degrades a bit.

 

[DriveByWire]

I can't tell you which one to buy but I can tell you what I learned when I bought my Netgear WNDR3800 4 weeks ago.

It's important that you have wireless cards that can take advantage of 802.11N other wise you'll only get wireless G rated speeds. You'll also need to make sure the wireless card matches your router speed. Some only support 300 Mbs on each band so there's no value buying a 450 Mbs per band router. On top of that, most of the new routers come with Gigabit switches so if you have wired devices that aren't capable of 10/100/1000 network card speeds you won't get the benefit. Bottom line is that your purchase should include network cards (wired and wireless) that support your new router.

The best wireless security uses WPA2. A lot of new routers come with WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) however there is a hole in the design that can cause a security breach. Make sure your router can turn off WPS until they get the design fixed.

You are right about Draft N. It was an early design and has been improved upon since then. Understanding wireless signals, you are aware of the distance limitations of 5 Ghz however it's benefit is that it's not as crowded and in close range seems to have better throughput.

Aside from my router, I purchased a Gigabit card for my desktop and an Intel 4965AGN wireless card for my laptop. The wired card and the router work perfectly. Getting the wireless card working properly (in my case) was not for the faint of heart. Make sure that your devices say they support the cards you're planning on buying. Sorry, don't know anything about Mac's.

Hope that helps.