Which Wireless-N Gigabit router?

[jasperjones]

first poast

I'm looking for a new router. Wireless-N and gigabit ethernet is required, budget is $150 (but the lower, the better).

I live in cozy (i.e., small) Manhattan apartment. That has two consequences: (i) My devices will always be in close proximity to the wireless router (without walls or other obstacles); (ii) at least on the 2.4GHz band, all channels tend to be pretty crowded.

The router will be used with three devices: the first is a laptop with Intel 3945abg, the second is a Nexus One (wireless b/g), and the third is a new laptop with Intel Advanced-N 6200 (abgn). Possibly I'll throw in a small NAS later down the road.

Any suggestions? I'm not even sure if I need dual-band and/or two-radio.

 

[BBurgDave]

I am looking for a new router myself, so I have been researching them pretty extensively recently. My first thought, based on what you said, was the DLINK DIR-655 ($90-$100) (it is really good at close range and has Gigabit ports), but the fact is it does not support 5Ghz, just 2.4, and you might need 5 given what you said (to lessen interference from others).

My next thought was the Linksys WRT-400n ($120-$140) (which has simultaneous dual-band and good reviews), but it does not have Gigabit ports.

So, at least for the routers I have been looking at, the best candidate would probably be the Dlink DIR 825 (about $129) which has dual band (simultaneous) and Gigabit ports plus it has port sharing (you did not mention this really, but lets you share a printer or USB drive on the network). This router can handle both your N and b/g devices, has decent reviews and is a reasonable price. If you look at the charts at this website or CNET, you will see it is very good at close range, less so at long range, but long range should not be an issue for you where you live.

That's my opinion, I'm sure there are others out there!

Dave

 

[rcberg3]

for about $120 you can pick up a netgear wndr 3700 which is the best router for its price range. i have both a d-link dir-825 a1 and a wndr 3700 and the 3700 is better by far. in fact, the 825 is now relegated to AP mode. the 3700 handles the dual-bands much better than the 825 (which needed constant restarts when running both bands) and the usb hdd sharing is much better, including ftp and server sharing options built in. if you don't believe me, check the stats in this site. the 3700 is the best hands down.

 

[BBurgDave]

So where can you get a WNDR3700 for $120??? Everywhere I look at it is $159!! (e.g. Amazon, Buy.com).

Dave

 

[jasperjones]

I understand by now that a dual-band, two-radio router makes most sense. My phone can only use 2.4GHz but for my laptops 5GHz makes so much more sense (2.4GHz is totally congested--I see ~35 wireless networks, more than a dozen on Channel 6 alone).

So I suppose it comes down to DIR-825 or WNDR 3700... and the $40 price difference.

Thanks for the suggestions thus far!

 

[BBurgDave]

Out of curiosity, why do you need Gigabit Ethernet? If that is not really needed, another router that you could consider is the Linksys WRT400n - it would meet all your other requirements, is a very good router (see Tim's review here) and it can be purchased for about $120 right now.

Dave