New Broadband router

[Highrisedrifter]

Hi all

I am currently with BE Broadband and using their Thomson Gateway TG582 router, which is rubbish.

I know next to nothing about the ins and outs of networking hardware so I thought i'd pick the collective brains of you lot, if I may?

I need a router with about four ethernet ports (two wired computers, one NAS and one redundant in case it's needed). It needs to have a good, fast wireless connection with a good range as it will be situated in a home office. Ideally, as future-proof as I can get it too would be useful.

Most of all, I need it to not need rebooting every hour, like my current POS (mind you, it is getting on a bit now).

Budget is circa £100 but I would prefer to pay as little as I can, taking into consideration that sometimes the amount you pay directly correlates to the quality of the item you buy.

If anyone can offer me any advice, I would be grateful please.

[Flibb]

Been happy with my Billion BiPAC 7700N, running BE at 16 meg. Wifi seems pretty stable. They also offer a model with gigabit ethernet thats around your price range.
BiPAC 7800(N)

[Sputnik]

Buy a secondhand Sky branded Netgear 834GT and flash it. You'll get one on Ebay cheap.

[Highrisedrifter]

Thanks guys. I've put a bid on a couple of Netgear 834GT's on Ebay. I like the Billion though so I will check that out if I don't with either of the routers.

[Highrisedrifter]

Thanks Sputnik, managed to purchase a Netgear 834Gt as suggested. I'll see how it goes.

[abaxas]

speed, stability and feature set

Choose 2 out of the three.

[dave87]

speed, stability and feature set

Choose 2 out of the three.

or DD-WRT and get all three

I went through exactly the same considerations (also on BeThere, also fed up with the standard modem/router) and based on the advice of the HEXUS populous - http://forums.hexus.net/networking-b...ct-router.html - went for a TP-Link WR1043ND.

4xGbE, Wireless N 300 (2.4ghz, doesn't do 5ghz), DD-WRT compatible (yet to try that - next on list).

Works fine with the BeThere modem/router in bridge mode. Only issue (as will be with any modem in bridge mode/router combination) is not being able to get to the Modem's status page without plugging directly into it. http://forums.hexus.net/networking-b...ter-modem.html

DD-WRT offers a method of doing so, the standard TP-Link may be able to, but I've yet to work it out - though the last suggestion in the thread is promising.

[Sputnik]

Thanks Sputnik, managed to purchase a Netgear 834Gt as suggested. I'll see how it goes.

If it has not already been flashed to standard netgear firmware have a look here http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/skyDG834GT_flash.htm on how to do it.

Alot of Bethere customers (including me) were using the 834GT when I was with Bethere.

[abaxas]

or DD-WRT and get all three

I went through exactly the same considerations (also on BeThere, also fed up with the standard modem/router) and based on the advice of the HEXUS populous - http://forums.hexus.net/networking-b...ct-router.html - went for a TP-Link WR1043ND.

4xGbE, Wireless N 300 (2.4ghz, doesn't do 5ghz), DD-WRT compatible (yet to try that - next on list).

Works fine with the BeThere modem/router in bridge mode. Only issue (as will be with any modem in bridge mode/router combination) is not being able to get to the Modem's status page without plugging directly into it. http://forums.hexus.net/networking-b...ter-modem.html

DD-WRT offers a method of doing so, the standard TP-Link may be able to, but I've yet to work it out - though the last suggestion in the thread is promising.

DD-WRT has an amazing feature set of things you dont really need. But a crap one in things you do.

QOS?

[bledd]

Get the 7800N

Broadcom chipset = best speeds

[dave87]

DD-WRT has an amazing feature set of things you dont really need. But a crap one in things you do.

QOS?

I've yet to try it - the standard TP-Link firmware seems to be fine for what I need atm.

Will probably have a play when I have some more time

[shaithis]

DD-WRT has an amazing feature set of things you dont really need. But a crap one in things you do.

QOS?

I find DD-WRT to be truly amazing.

It seems to make a router robust. The no 1 feature I want is a router I can trust to just keep going. Every single router I have ever owned, from Zyxel to Draytek, has had to be rebooted on some kind of schedule. Some were better then others, some by a mile.....but still they were not robust enough to forget about.

Switching an ADSL modem to bridge mode and slapping a DD-WRT router behind it give me that level of complete confidence.....and that's before we start talking about all the features and improved UI that DD-WRT brings over most stock routers.

Hell, I even dragged a very old Belkin F5D7130 out of a box several months ago where it had been for donkeys years (was never very stable) and managed to flash the micro build of DD-WRT on it.......solved all my brothers connection issues and it hasn't needed rebooting once.

Personally, I find it to be an absolute god send.....and there are a number of £10 routers it can be loaded on....