Can anyone tell me!!

atro1

I need a router to run two desktop pcs via cables and one laptop wireless!
Can anyone tell me the difference in all the routers out there? They differ in price from £20 to over £100!
The Belkin at £29-99 does all that I require [I think]. I am on virgin cable BB.
Is there a great benefit from buying the more expensive routers. We are not gamers,just normal day to day stuff on the pc's.
Are the new/refurbished routers on EBay any good or are they fakes?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated, many thanks

withabix

What would a fake router be then?

Routers are a cheap piece of kit and (for some reason) some people change them regularly. Hence lots on eBay.

'Refurbished' usually just means they've had the Mr Sheen and a duster to it...

Just get a cheap 'cable' wireless router of the same speed rating as your wireless cards, which are probably 'g' (as in 802.11g). Just make sure it has security, however this is not a substitute for security software on your pc.

As you've got 3 pcs (2 + laptop), be aware that the router will slow its speed down to the rating of your slowest card, so if you've got two running at 54mbps (802.11g) and one at 11mbps (802.11b), the whole lot will run at 11mbps.

I will probably get shot for saying this, but if you've got a PCWorld near you, check them out, as they seem to have a lot of router equipment on clearance at the moment (look for the yellow SEL with prices ending "£xx.97").

esuhl

withabix wrote: »

I will probably get shot for saying this, but if you've got a PCWorld near you, check them out, as they seem to have a lot of router equipment on clearance at the moment (look for the yellow SEL with prices ending "£xx.97").

PC World are fine so long as you know exactly what you want before you go in, ignore ANY advice they give, and know the market value of what you're buying so you don't get ripped off.

The main differences in router are:

* Cable or ADSL (a few routers are compatible with both connections).
* Wired only or Wired+Wireless
* Ethernet speed (the maximum speed of wired connections) - usually 100MB/s or 1GB/s.
* Wireless speed (802.11b, g or n): Essentially n is faster than g, which is faster than b. The speed is only important if you share files between PCs, however, since Internet speeds are a lot slower than the slowest wireless speeds.
* Wireless security: WEP is easily hacked, so ideally you should use a router with WPA security.

Netgear and Linksys are respected brands - my Netgear DG834G router has performed perfectly for the past 4 years or so.

Hope this helps.

PaulyB71

You can get a belkin one from argos for about 25 quid. Just make sure you get a cable router and not an adsl modem router (as you're using virgin media cable)

free4440273

...the other difference to point out is that not all routers necessarily have a built-in adsl modem: some are just routers with an RJ45 port available for you to purchase your own adsl modem. For simplicity, I'd suggest buying a router with built-in adsl:)

PaulyB71

free4440273 wrote: »

...the other difference to point out is that not all routers necessarily have a built-in adsl modem: some are just routers with an RJ45 port available for you to purchase your own adsl modem. For simplicity, I'd suggest buying a router with built-in adsl:)

But not if you are on cable broadband as you will already have a modem

exup

whichever one you go for - have a good look around the browser setup page.
The supplied instruction manual should explain how you access it through internet explorer (through one of the PCs with a wired connection).
just so you know how to access the router setup if you have a wireless problem (can happen now and again)

buyitall

I rang up Virgin yesterday, and they are sending me one for free.

atro1

buyitall wrote: »

I rang up Virgin yesterday, and they are sending me one for free.

How? Now that would be nice!!

DCFC79

atro1 wrote: »

How? Now that would be nice!!

hes a customer and they can send you 1 out if you want 1, i keep on meaning to call them and ask for 1 myself

buyitall

The first time I rang up, the girl said they were £40 but as a 'loyal customer' I could have it for £20.
I said I'd think about it but when I rang back about half an hour later the guy offered it for free without me even having to ask!
It has arrived today and is a NetgearWGR614. It seems to be a fairly basic G one which retails for around £30-40, but better than nothing and you can ring Virgin up for technical help if you need it - I'm going to set it up later today.