Does anybody know the best router?

[HelghanEmperor1]

Does anybody know the best router to buy, that is very good quality and relatively cheap, because I have been searching for a new one, and each seem to have their faults, does anyone know a very reliable one that I could purchase as my one I own now is in need of replacing? Thank you in advance

[gss03]

Depending on your needs a Draytek 2830, 2820 or 2710 - but your question is too open to narrow it down to any one model. These are however not cheap (if you compare it to Belkin cr*p).

[watercooled]

Depending on how tech savvy you are, and on your budget, m0n0wall/pfSense running on an ALIX board is worth considering.

[Stoo]

It depends on a whole range of factors unfortunately:

• Line length/quality
• Type of hardware in your exchange (DSLAM - several different brands, types specifications in use)
• Geography (related to line quality, condition of cables/conduits)
• Local radio conditions (interference)
• How your home is constructed (wi-fi reliability)

Very broadly speaking, the Netgear DG834G/GT V4/V5 and the 2Wire routers are generally good on longer lines, but the 2Wire has been known to have iffy wi-fi range unless unlocked, the Netgear has a nasty habit of over-heating (I ended up attacking it with a dremel and installing a heatsink/fan to keep it cool)

Some people swear by Draytek routers, others swear at them, I've personally tried Linksys, 3com, Netgear, Billion, D-Link, and Cisco (proper Cisco, not the rebranded linksys rubbish) and none of them can really cope with a sick line.

Unfortunately you won't win against BT, I've tried and tried, and pretty much given up now. I've heard first hand from BT engineers how they basically aren't allowed to do a proper job any more - for example, we know that the main phone line bundle which supplies my road, and a few of the surrounding roads has major issues.

The proper solution would be to replace the bundle with a new section, but they're not allowed to, instead, they have to guess where the fault is, dig the cable up at that point, cut into the line and replace the small section. Unfortunately, the more joints that are added into the line, the more likely a fault is to occur (crosstalk, water ingress, reflections from bad joints etc etc).

There are only a handful of pairs in the bundle which are working correctly now, and all that BT will do, is move the pairs around when someone complains enough... which means, yup, you can go from a perfectly working line, to one which falls over every 15mins because your pair has been moved to someone else..

In essence, if you have a good line, you can pretty much use any router you like (yep, even the crappy belkin) and you'll have no/very few issues. If however, you have a bad line, there is very little you can do, and it's a matter of trying a few different models until you can find one which works better than others..

[Kovoet]

cable or what

[Zak33]

Draytek as gss says

Quality and "Relatively" Cheap... because, relatively.. it's amazing for it's money.

[Stoo]

Yup, but if you've a long/noisy line you'd be better off with a cheapo netgear DG834G/GT or a reflashed & unlocked 2wire HGV2700 (BT homehub), depends on the line

[gss03]

Back in the old days of Vigor 2600's they Draytek used to be able to give you a custom firmware for poor lines - I am not sure if this is still the case tho'. So as Stoo says - if you've got a bad line a cheapo Netgear is as good as any, but saying that you could probably pick up a 2600 off ebay for the same monies.

[Stoo]

It's not so much about them being as cheap as any, it's more about the chipset they use which has a greater compatibility and fault-tolerance.

I've seen a fair amount of posts on broadband forums which suggest that the long-line firmware on the Vigors does make things more stable, but the Netgear and 2Wire can squeeze more sync out of the line.

Although the Netgear will try to melt itself in summer, and the 2wire will randomly reboot itself once a week, lol

[Dareos]

It depends on what you want: wired or wireless? Also it depends on your location. I would suggest to go with D-Link router. They have best and reliable router at reasonable cost.

And I would disagree with this statement wholeheartedly having to deal with D-link routers on a regular basis and having had 3 myself within a year.

[killie99]

Yup, but if you've a long/noisy line you'd be better off with a cheapo netgear DG834G/GT or a reflashed & unlocked 2wire HGV2700 (BT homehub), depends on the line

Totally agree. I'm on a long line and use both of these routers - DG834PN during the winter (although it's still connected just now as the weather has been crap - it syncs slightly better than the HGV2700) and the HGV2700 in the summer as the higher temperature makes the netgear go a bit wonky. Both cost me less than £10 from fleabay.

[OilSheikh]

Netgear or Zyxel.

[zaphox]

I've been using the ZyXEL P-660 range and have been pleased with their performance/ease to setup etc.

[Bugbait]

Draytek as gss says

Quality and "Relatively" Cheap... because, relatively.. it's amazing for it's money.

+1

Not "nominally" cheap but my Draytek is the best router I’ve owned by a mile. Was worth the extra I to me anyway.

[Jay]

My 2820 has been fantastic as have all the Cisco 1841s I have worked with.

[peterb]

I use Drayteks and have been very pleased with the performance.

BUT there is no such thing as the "Best" router - if there was, thetre would only be one made as none of the others would sell! It comes down to your criteria - best value for money, best performance for your budget, best reliability of firmware, best for modifying - and so on.

It would help if we knew what your budget is.