Should I buy a Router for Cable Modem?

[Stu2]

I would like to know if two computers are connected to a cable modem through a router, and both computers are surfing the internet, is the connection speed for each computer slowed down considerably? Is the degradation in connection speed similar to that with ICS (which I haven't gotten to work yet)?

Thanks.

 

[Spanker]

While both machines will be able to surf you'll probably only notice slowness when DL'ing files. Depending upon your connection and those on your node it may not be much of a difference. I've got DSL but going to my bro's with cable we both get mp3s at rocket speed. My 384k DSL & multiple PCs can suffer slightly when all are accessing the net. Skip the ICS if you can afford the router.

 

[kingofslack]

I have a cable connection through Comcast's @home service, and I use the linksys besfr11 1-port router, which doesn't have a built in switch, but if you already have a switch it will save you $50 or so. I can't say enough for the router, it is incredible. I run 2000 Avanced Server with DHCP and DNS server enabled, but if you don't want to deal with assigning IPs to all of the computers on your network, the DHCP functionality built into the router is awesome. I got mine at Outpost.com, which was a bit pricier than most places ($99 instead of $75-80), but they promise next day delivery for everything they sell, which got the router to me in about 16 hours on a Saturday morning. As for speed, if you have enough bandwidth in the first place, the connection wont suffer. I find that even with 5 computers on the network, all running Napster, so people are always downloading from us, that the connection is still quicker than what I need, and I'm a bandwidth junkie. Hope this helps, I like to give back to the Anandtech community that has been so helpful for me in the past. Slack on...

 

[Quickfingerz]

I'm using two routers in my apartment, the Linksys 4-port and the SMC Barricade. both work p erfectly fine altough the SMC is considerably slower in ALL aplications. I should have just went with either two linksys or two netgears. every once in a while I connect the two routers together so us 6 can share files and play some LAN games.

 

[Rifter]

You could always buy a 486 and run Fresco or whatever that free linux distro is that acts as a router.

 

[blstriker]

I use both the linksys router and ICS in w2k and both work at about the same speed.