What's a good router these days?

[Miner]

I have been researching the same question at the OP. The difference in my case: Not looking for wireless, just wired router, (and I'm not a network admin during the day, so I don't have experience that comes with that).

I've read some recommendations on a Zyxel "P-334 Broadband Router with Firewall". Never paid attention to Zyxel before now. Any opinions on that router and Zyxel's reputation?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I've read some recommendations on a Zyxel "P-334 Broadband Router with Firewall". Never paid attention to Zyxel before now. Any opinions on that router and Zyxel's reputation?

Pretty solid products. Back a few years ago...when Netgear was under "Bay Networks"...their products were solid. Zyxel is somehow related to the same family back then...they appear to have stayed solid..while Netgear sorta branched out on their own and IMO/IMExperience...dropped in quality when they broke out from Bay Networks.

 

[thiggins]

Pretty solid products. Back a few years ago...when Netgear was under "Bay Networks"...their products were solid. Zyxel is somehow related to the same family back then.

Zyxel actually was the OEM in those days.

 

[Miner]

Great insights. Anyone have experience with that specific wired router?

I'm finding that using a wired-only router puts one clearly in the minority these days. Seems almost all home users go for a wireless-router. In fact, I haven't found any other wired-only routers targeted for home use (definition: less than $150, with four LAN ports, ... hopefully in the $50 range.) besides two Linksys models -- BEFSR41/81 and BEFSX41, and this one from ZyXEL.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Great insights. Anyone have experience with that specific wired router?

I'm finding that using a wired-only router puts one clearly in the minority these days. Seems almost all home users go for a wireless-router. In fact, I haven't found any other wired-only routers targeted for home use (definition: less than $150, with four LAN ports, ... hopefully in the $50 range.) besides two Linksys models -- BEFSR41/81 and BEFSX41, and this one from ZyXEL.

DLinks DGL-4100 (higher performance), EBR-2310 (basic), and DIR-130

 

[Miner]

Thanks, have never looked closely at D-Link. An interesting device, a wired-only router with four GiagBit LAN ports.

Still hoping someone with usage/opinion on the ZyXEL P-334 chimes in here.

 

[bigclaw]

I almost bought a DIR-655 the other day to upgrade my existing network to wireless N. It seemed a very logical choice for me. My local Costco is selling these at $94, which is pretty competitive price-wise, especially considering its liberal return policy and warranty support.

Re-reading the DIR-655 review, however, slowed me down a bit. My home is a townhouse, and I typically see 6 to 8 other base stations in the 2.4GHz range. It seems that the DIR-655 will suffer a lot in performance if there is G traffic on its extension channel, which is pretty hard to avoid in my case.

For this reason, I'm leaning toward the Linksys WRT600N (or 610N) at this point. Unfortunately, it's significantly more expensive than the DIR-655.

What do you guys think?

 

[thiggins]

What are you looking for by upgrading to draft 11n? If it's speed, how much?
Don't expect range expansion from draft 11n.