Which router to get?

[Gotham33]

I'll have 2 computers connected. I don't want wireless. I want something cheap and I want them networked as well. How come wireless routers are cheaper than regular ones?

 

[Matthias99]

Does it matter? Buy a wireless router and turn off the wireless. Voila! Wired router.

Also, they're not cheaper. Newegg lists a number of wired-only off-brand routers starting at $25, whereas the cheapest wireless router they have is $31, and the cheapest brand-name one is $40. However, from the brand-name vendors, the price difference is pretty minimal.

 

[CraigRT]

I have this one

It was like $40 Cdn... works perfectly fine, like every other router, I have to reset it maybe once a month or less, but I've had no troubles with it otherwise.

 

[phisrow]

It's pretty much because wireless is becoming the standard, and doesn't cost all that much to put in. Thus most wired only routers are thus either older, less common, or are actually pretty serious VPN endpoint, IPsec handling, etc. home office jobbies. That being said, I've never run into a wireless router where you couldn't turn off the wireless component, so you would probably be safe to grab the cheapest one that doesn't have horrible reviews and then just turn off the wireless component(if you are feeling really jumpy, or you somehow get one where it cannot be disabled in software, a suprising number of access points actually just have wireless PC cards being run in AP mde. Pop that sucker out and you won't have wireless(and you will have a little something for ebay)).

 

[Budman]

I like D-link very much,I had a linksys before that needed to be reset once in a while because of lost connections but this D-link 514 is very reliable.

You can probably find a used DI-514very cheap and turn off the wireless part off like I did.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

I'm on my second DI-604 - it's been good.

First thing to do to make sure you got a good one is download something over Bittorrent and set your upload stream to Unlimited. Guaranteed way to make a subpar router eat itself.

- M4H

 

[Gotham33]

hmm so wireless routers can be wired. interesting. they're cheaper because i always see them have rebates on wireless and never normal routers. i've seen some wireless for like 10 bucks after rebate. will it be as fast as a wired router though? does it have to be 10/100 or whatever?

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: Gotham33
hmm so wireless routers can be wired. interesting. they're cheaper because i always see them have rebates on wireless and never normal routers. i've seen some wireless for like 10 bucks after rebate. will it be as fast as a wired router though? does it have to be 10/100 or whatever?

Yes they are the same a a regular router but have wireless,you can probably pick up a wireless B router for cheap.

Mine has 4 wired ports like a regular router and an antenna for wireless but i turned that off,if there's not off option you can always remove the antenna if you're afraid of unwanted access.

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

is it possible to use the wire/wireless simultaneously? like if you have a wireless device to connect and you also connect 2 computers via wired?

EDIT: also when you buy a wireless router does it come with wired cable? and long length?

 

[WobbleWobble]

Buy a router with a built-in print server. That way you can easily share a printer within your network.

is it possible to use the wire/wireless simultaneously? like if you have a wireless device to connect and you also connect 2 computers via wired?

Yes

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: SuPrEIVIE
is it possible to use the wire/wireless simultaneously? like if you have a wireless device to connect and you also connect 2 computers via wired?

Yes; if it ONLY had wireless connections, and a wired uplink, it would be a WAP (Wireless Access Point). Hardly anybody sells these at the consumer level, and if they do, they're often almost as expensive as a full wired/wireless router (and so buying one is generally pointless).

EDIT: also when you buy a wireless router does it come with wired cable? and long length?

It might come with one cable, generally not a very long one (usually just a 3' patch cable to connect it to another hub/switch/router or a cable/DSL modem). It might not come with any.

 

[Gotham33]

Originally posted by: SuPrEIVIE
is it possible to use the wire/wireless simultaneously? like if you have a wireless device to connect and you also connect 2 computers via wired?

EDIT: also when you buy a wireless router does it come with wired cable? and long length?

do you guys have any specific recommendations? i thought any router can do this

 

[Gotham33]

what do you guys think about this:


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[wetcat007]

On Linksys routers i believe there's a distro of linux that u can use as a redplacment firmwire... I know that overall linksys is the most supported brand, but they should all work fine, ive been using a dirt cheap netgear for years, has given me way less problems than some of my friends expensive complicated ones... But then again it's not very configurable either...