Need Some Advice On Purchasing A New Home Router

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avirup2008

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Hi everyone!

I plan to purchase a router for my home within a week and I need some advice from all the networking pros out here regarding the best model to suit my needs.:yes:

An early warning: I am a complete router/networking n00b and not ashamed to admit it.:lol: The terminologies like Wireless-N or ADSL and ADSL+Modem confuse me so I will just state my needs as detailed as possible so you guys can help me out.

My primary need would be to connect to my broadband internet. I have using a wired Ethernet 1 Mbps internet connection (Wishnet Broadband, if anyone from Kolkata lurking here :yes:). There is no modem required and I simply plug the RJ-45 Ethernet cable into my PC to get the connection.

My router should serve the following purposes:-

1. Give me wireless connectivity to my devices (I'm assuming Ethernet jack would connect to back of my Router) and a good steady signal range around the house (around 1200 sq ft)

2. Allow me to use the same Wi-Fi connection with my two other devices, my Samsung Galaxy S II and my iPod Touch without any hassles.

3. My old laptop and one more which I am planning to buy soon should also be able to join in as part of the network as and when required.


I don't want to end up making the wrong purchase that doesn't work with my configuration/setup or gives me undervalued results. I am relying on you networking gurus to make my entry into the wireless life a lot easier.:hail::hail::hail:

I would really appreciate any kind of advice/help/suggestions that I get here. For anyone suggesting a model, it would be awesome if you could link me to the model on Flipkart as I plan to make the purchase online from Flipkart itself. Again, thanks in advance for taking out the time to help:yes:

Finally my budget is around 3.5-4k. I am open to each and every suggestion. Based on my little knowledge, I heard that Cisco and ASUS are the ones to take bets on.:D

If there is any confusion, please let me know, will try my best to clear any doubts. Hopefully, I will solve my dilemma here!
 
YashBhatt said:
As per your requirement you just need a Wireless Router which would suffice your need for the Wifi connectivity in the house
The best Wifi Router than you can get at an afforable price range is Asus RT-N10E
Check this out : Asus RT-N10E | Router | Flipkart.com
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for taking time out to reply Yash, appreciated :yes:

However, looking back I believe I unintentionally skipped out on one small albeit important detail.

I have to log in with my ISP account username and password for the internet every time. I believe that I would have to configure PPPoE in my router. I am not sure if my ISP has MAC bindings too, in which case I have to clone my PCs MAC id to get my router working successfully.

I had a look at the Asus RT-N1OE but one review in particular stood out as extremely worrying:

Negative PPPoE review

I have also been looking at the Cisco Linksys E900 that seems really tempting! It also has the clone PC MAC Id which can come in handy later :23:

Cisco Linksys E900 (Flipkart)

What do you think?

Any other alternative suggestions/opinions are also welcome.:hail:
 
avirup2008 said:
Thanks a lot for taking time out to reply Yash, appreciated :yes:

However, looking back I believe I unintentionally skipped out on one small albeit important detail.

I have to log in with my ISP account username and password for the internet every time. I believe that I would have to configure PPPoE in my router. I am not sure if my ISP has MAC bindings too, in which case I have to clone my PCs MAC id to get my router working successfully.

I had a look at the Asus RT-N1OE but one review in particular stood out as extremely worrying:

Negative PPPoE review

I have also been looking at the Cisco Linksys E900 that seems really tempting! It also has the clone PC MAC Id which can come in handy later :23:

Cisco Linksys E900 (Flipkart)

What do you think?

Any other alternative suggestions/opinions are also welcome.:hail:
Click to expand...

Well,that is one thing that hasn't worked for PPPoE user but i haven't tested that router myself so really can't comment on that issue
Just like you i have a PPPoE login setup done in my router(D-Link DIR-600) and it doesn't give me any problems,I believe you are on Cable ISP ??

The Cisco router is good but expensive for just a Wireless Router
Also consider this - D-Link DIR-600L | Router | Flipkart.com
 
YashBhatt said:
Well,that is one thing that hasn't worked for PPPoE user but i haven't tested that router myself so really can't comment on that issue
Just like you i have a PPPoE login setup done in my router(D-Link DIR-600) and it doesn't give me any problems,I believe you are on Cable ISP ??

The Cisco router is good but expensive for just a Wireless Router
Also consider this - D-Link DIR-600L | Router | Flipkart.com
Click to expand...

You are correct Yash, I am on one of the Cable "wallah" ISPs :5da69969:

Actually price is not my concern. I remember my network engineer friends telling me a long time ago that Cisco was the creme de la creme when it came to routers or any other networking solutions. One distinct comment that stuck with me is-" It's the Apple of the networking industry, overpriced but it just works everyime!" :bigok:

I am looking at a combination of longevity, brand value, customer support and minimum configuration and post configuration hassles considering I plan to include multiple devices as part of the router network (Phone, iPod, laptop and the likes)

In short, I just want something that is touted as the best out there and just works. Price right now is secondary, been saving up to get a good model :P

Thanks again for the feedback though, informative. Will include D-Link to my watch list too!
 
avirup2008 said:
Thanks a lot for taking time out to reply Yash, appreciated :yes:

However, looking back I believe I unintentionally skipped out on one small albeit important detail.

I have to log in with my ISP account username and password for the internet every time. I believe that I would have to configure PPPoE in my router. I am not sure if my ISP has MAC bindings too, in which case I have to clone my PCs MAC id to get my router working successfully.

I had a look at the Asus RT-N1OE but one review in particular stood out as extremely worrying:

Negative PPPoE review

I have also been looking at the Cisco Linksys E900 that seems really tempting! It also has the clone PC MAC Id which can come in handy later :23:

Cisco Linksys E900 (Flipkart)

What do you think?

Any other alternative suggestions/opinions are also welcome.:hail:
Click to expand...

I have the Asus RT-N10 albiet not the RT-N10e version but its almost same except for looks and too have the Cable ISP, wherein a coaxial cable from outside goes to the modem and from modem a Ethernet cable to router.
While this one is pretty solid router and I really liked the interface, I have some times(only little) run into problems with the login part. It does have the setting to enter the login and password credentials but sometimesit drops connections out of nowhere, and then its pretty tough to make the router get IP address from my modem until I refresh my modem and get a new dynamic IP address from my ISP

You can take a look at the TP-link entry level 150mbps model which gotten rave reviews(about some 200 of reviews), I am getting that one too
 
allrounder799 said:
I have the Asus RT-N10 albiet not the RT-N10e version but its almost same except for looks and too have the Cable ISP, wherein a coaxial cable from outside goes to the modem and from modem a Ethernet cable to router.
While this one is pretty solid router and I really liked the interface, I have some times(only little) run into problems with the login part. It does have the setting to enter the login and password credentials but sometimesit drops connections out of nowhere, and then its pretty tough to make the router get IP address from my modem until I refresh my modem and get a new dynamic IP address from my ISP

You can take a look at the TP-link entry level 150mbps model which gotten rave reviews(about some 200 of reviews), I am getting that one too
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your views Allrounder:yes:

I don't have any modem in my setup scenario. The RJ-45 ethernet cable simply connects to the back of my PC for the connection. Keeping that view in mind, I'm not exactly sure if I would face the dynamic IP issue you have been facing with the login. That said, the connection drops are a bit worrying :23:

I will look at the TP-link entry level router too, thanks! However, as I said, I am looking for the best options with money not being that much of a driving factor, do you have any alternative suggestions as well which can perform better, although they might rank as more expensive?:P
 
avirup2008 said:
Thanks for sharing your views Allrounder:yes:

I don't have any modem in my setup scenario. The RJ-45 ethernet cable simply connects to the back of my PC for the connection. Keeping that view in mind, I'm not exactly sure if I would face the dynamic IP issue you have been facing with the login. That said, the connection drops are a bit worrying :23:

I will look at the TP-link entry level router too, thanks! However, as I said, I am looking for the best options with money not being that much of a driving factor, do you have any alternative suggestions as well which can perform better, although they might rank as more expensive?:P
Click to expand...

As written about PPPoE, I too have to use the same I am guessing you also have to use the same

Now as budget is not the problem I would then suggest you the Asus RT-N13 B1, it doesnt suffer from the dropping issue, and has more feature printer server, torrent downloading through USB port etc its available for 3K
 
allrounder799 said:
As written about PPPoE, I too have to use the same I am guessing you also have to use the same

Now as budget is not the problem I would then suggest you the Asus RT-N13 B1, it doesnt suffer from the dropping issue, and has more feature printer server, torrent downloading through USB port etc its available for 3K
Click to expand...

I checked on Flipkart and the closest I could find to the model is this

Asus RT-N13-U|Flipkart

Is this pretty much the same? I could not find any torrent downloading features mentioned in description/reviews of this one.
 
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