Wireless Routers Advice Please

squelchy69

My brother has given my son a PC which we have put in his bedroom upstairs. Its wireless compatable but out other PC (linked up to broadband via a wire) is in the kitchen downstairs. I have been advise that I can get a wireless router so that my son can use the internet upstairs and that it would cost about £20. When I went to PC World they told me that a cheapish one won't be any use as it won'n be powerful enough to go upstairs. He then advised me to but a netgear one for £90. I don't really understand all this specification stuff. All I want is a cheap wireless router so my son can use the internet. Does anyone have any advice for me on which I should choose or where I should get it from? (Please keep answers simple as I'm a bit dumb when it comes to computers......lol)
Thanks in advance.

knowledgeman

squelchy69 wrote: »

My brother has given my son a PC which we have put in his bedroom upstairs. Its wireless compatable but out other PC (linked up to broadband via a wire) is in the kitchen downstairs. I have been advise that I can get a wireless router so that my son can use the internet upstairs and that it would cost about £20. When I went to PC World they told me that a cheapish one won't be any use as it won'n be powerful enough to go upstairs. He then advised me to but a netgear one for £90. I don't really understand all this specification stuff. All I want is a cheap wireless router so my son can use the internet. Does anyone have any advice for me on which I should choose or where I should get it from? (Please keep answers simple as I'm a bit dumb when it comes to computers......lol)
Thanks in advance.

Even a cheap one should have that sort of range, the main problem is they are extremely sensitive to cross over and cutting out, especially at peak times.

If you want your son to have continous high speed unbroken access you should be looking at a premium model such as netgear, however £90 does seem dear

You can pick up reconditioned warranty covered netgear extended range models on ebay for £30 to £40 which would be my suggestion

Make sure your modem is upto date enough to be connected to a router (ethernet cable normally) otherwise you will need a modem router which will add another £20

As for the PC world advice, whilst technically correct they are certainly selling you an expensive model

cajef

Nothing wrong with a Netgear DG834G modem/router but for goodness sake do not buy one from PC world when you can get a brand new one for £44 including delivery here from Amazon

squelchy69

Thanks so much for the advice. I don't mind paying around £40 so a netgear one looks my best bet. I'm not sure about the modem being up to date though. How will I know? The PC is quite old, probably about 5 years now.
Thanks again.

cajef

The Netgear DG834G comes with its own modem, you will not need your existing modem, just make sure your PC has an ethernet card fitted, you should have a socket on the back of your PC that is shaped like the one shown >>here<<.

I am assuming you connect to the internet using your telephone line, if you are on a cable connection then you will need a different type of router.