1st Router Purchase - Need Advice

[fritodog]

I need to buy a router for home network and the following equipment:

New Workstation PC (Win ) w/ GigE: hardwired to router
Sony PlayStation 3 w/ GigE: hardwired to router
Older Laptop (Win XP): 11g
New Laptop (Win 7): 11n
Network Printer: 11g

Workstation, cable modem, printer and new router located in home office. Sony PS3 located in family room and connected with 50 foot run of Cat5...will be used for internet access to PlayStation Online Network, streaming Netflix/Hulu and other possible uses. Laptops within 50-75 ft radius of router.

Price isn't top criteria...more interested in:

> Unit that won't become quickly obsolete
> Quiet / Consistent performance
> Firewall / Safety features
> Good software / relatively easy to setup and use

Would appreciate any advice on a few all-around good choices.

 

[fritodog]

Wow, almost 200 views, but not even one reply or piece of advice for someone like me that knows next to nothing about routers...thought gurus and experienced members would be helpful in narrowing down choices to 2 or 3 routers for me to consider, bummer

 

[thiggins]

There are so many of these "help me choose" requests, that people get burned out answering them. Reading through other threads in this section would give you some suggestions.

Top sellers in top-of-line dual-band N routers are NETGEAR WNDR3700 and Cisco Linksys E3000.

 

[fritodog]

Thanks Tim...thought I might have broken protocol...I can understand members getting tired of answering basic questions. Due to my simple requirements was thinking of dropping back from top tier routers to something more basic in the under $80 category.

Any of the routers listed below that you would rank higher than others or steer away from for someone just starting out looking for ease of setup and consistent/stable performance?

EnGenius ESR9850 (~$61)
D-Link DIR-655 A4 (~$71)
Netgear WNR3500L (~$79)
Cisco-Linksys E2000 (~$75)
ASUS RT-N13U (~$57)
Cisco-Linksys WRT400N (~$70 or refurb for ~$53)

 

[Chuckl]

I just ordered two EnGenius ESR9850, that I will hopefully have in time to play with this weekend. I can let you know next week how my experience went.

One will be used as a bridge for my TV and consoles, and the other will replace my router.

 

[Rellet]

How are you liking the ESR9850? I'm on the verge of buying one myself to put next to the TV and give a) wired connections to a TiVo, AppleTV, and Xbox; and b) give WiFi to the family's laptops and smartphones.

Like you, I'm also considering the ASUS RT-N13U and the D-Link DIR-655.