Hello everyone. I am going to end up having to buy (although I dont want to) a wireless router and and card for my laptop computer. However I dont know anything about these accessories. I went to the usual places like Best Buy and Circuit City and looked at some and they were both about the same as far as I could tell and both costed about the same after rebates. (about $100 or so)Anyway I was checking out walmart.com and decided to look and see if they had anything that would compete with the prices of these other stores and to my suprise they have quite a few options to chose from. They have some for as little as $39. Wireless routers at walmart.com / PC Cards at walmart.com Anyway if im going to have to buy this stuff I would prefer (obviously) to spend as little as possible, yet I want to make sure that I get what I need, so I dont have to spend anymore money on this junk in the future. So my question is do these wireless routers and PC cards all do pretty much the same thing? Some of the ones listed mention gaming and stuff like that. All I need to do is get wireless connectivity to both a desktop and a laptop computer. If anyone could offer advice or information I would appreciate it greatly! Thanks in advance!
Joe
Posted by Phil Feet (Member # 6423) on :
Hi
You can't go far wrong with Netgear wireless router and card.
I work with Netgear, Belkin etc every day and the Netgear range gives less problems.
Don't forget that you can position your router next to your PC and hard wire the PC into the router so you only need a PCMCIA card for your laptop.
Hope this helps
Phil
Posted by rockbass (Member # 6012) on :
I also have experience with Netgear and love their stuff. They'd all work but Netgear would be my recommendation. However definatly stay away from D-link because I had the hardest time setting up their stuff! So youll need a router and a network card if you want to use it wireless
Posted by Ben Del Amitri (Member # 2724) on :
This is interesting.
Thank you so much for that input, rockbass. I had problems with D-Link also and I thought it was just me being stupid (ended up returning the equipment).
I also had an external hard drive that was terrible, back when they were doing those (they make "central home drives" and "network storage drives" now).
Posted by mynamesinuse (Member # 483) on :
Thanks a lot for the help. Can anyone tell me what the differences between the wireless "B" and the wireless "G" routers are? And which is better? Im curious if it has anything to do with the speed you will get out of the router.
Posted by rockbass (Member # 6012) on :
Wireless-B is the first version they came out with and Wireless-G is the latest technology. Wireless-B can get up to speeds of 11 MB/per second, while Wireless-G can reach speeds of 54 MB/per second. However no cable connection you'd be getting at a residence will be even close to reaching 11 MBPS. Infact about the highest you'll be able to get is 3.5 MBPS, so much more would be overkill and a waste. So all in all Wireless-B is absolutely fine. The Wireless-B is cheaper than Wireless-G and should be great for your use.
And Ben I'm glad to see I'm not the only one as well that thinks D-link is horrible. I got their router first and took it back within a week...got a Netgear and have had no problems for 2 years since owning it.
Posted by mynamesinuse (Member # 483) on :
Cant thank you all enough for all the great information and help.
Joe
Posted by Ben Del Amitri (Member # 2724) on :
Hello mynamesinuse -
Isn't it great, all the excellent advice you can get in these forums from such a range of people?
Mr. Rockbass - You know, that's still a puzzle to me; D-Link is so huge and they've been around long enough, why do they have a history of unsatisfied customers and a repuation for shoddy equipment? Funny, but it's true. I've had at least three, maybe five different people at work with their own "D-Link stories" to tell and you don't have to search very hard or long to find others.
Posted by rockbass (Member # 6012) on :
Yeah I agree...There is always someone around to help one another out and that's awesome about this forum for sure! BTW mynamesinuse let us know what you end up getting and how it works for ya.
That is crazy Ben. I for sure will never buy anything from them again I know that. It's a wonder how they are still in business ya know? It'd be interesting to see a timeline of their stock price to see how well they've been doing lol
Posted by mynamesinuse (Member # 483) on :
I certainly will. I will be buying something this week. And I knew Id be able to count on all the people here at wu's to help me out. One of the reasons I love this forum.
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