Which router is best for me?

[apav]

Hey all,

I am getting a router for my father's house, which I will be living at since he is closer to my school. My Dad.... is not that technology literate, so needless to say I will be the only one using the wireless in the house.

My room is directly above the office room where the modem/new router will be.

Besides schoolwork, I will be primarily gaming and downloading fairly large files (Skyrim mods and such). This will be done through wireless since we have no way of routing an ethernet cable up to my room. I want a good connection in which I can get good reception all throughout the house. I don't want any drops in connection, and good latency while playing games online.

I have already bought this wireless adapter for my pc:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704045

That being said, I'm looking at 2 routers at the moment, 1 budget router and the other one is more expensive, both very good reviews:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166064
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704038

These are both Wireless N I believe because I am told that's the way to go. Obviously the TP link is better than the Rosewill, I could tell from the price difference, but is the TP Link overkill for my needs? Is the TP Link only marginally better? I just don't want to waste an extra $30 for features I don't need.

Side question. Does 150 Mps differ that much from 300? Since I will never achieve either of those speeds I assume not.

Thanks guys!

 

[thobel]

I have to say I hate hate hat ewireless I never seem to get good performance out of it for anything more then web/email etc now I'm sure other people have had better experences then I BUT since your room is right above the main router it should be a simple drill hole away from a direct link?

 

[apav]

I have to say I hate hate hat ewireless I never seem to get good performance out of it for anything more then web/email etc now I'm sure other people have had better experences then I BUT since your room is right above the main router it should be a simple drill hole away from a direct link?

My Dad's house, his rules. He does not want me to route a cable up into my room, he just renovated the place.

 

[thobel]

My Dad's house, his rules. He does not want me to route a cable up into my room, he just renovated the place.

ahh how about a powerline adapter? I never used it but I hear they work better then wireless?

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=294&name=Powerline-Networking

 

[apav]

ahh how about a powerline adapter? I never used it but I hear they work better then wireless?

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=294&name=Powerline-Networking

Interesting concept! I already bought a wireless adapter for my rig though. If I can't get a good wireless connection I'll get a recertified one.

Data through a powerstrip, really?

 

[thobel]

yeah I would love to hear from someone who has used them. I just bought an Access POint to get better signle into the only room in my house not cabled. Says Im getting 130MB but movies still load slow as all hell

 

[Pinky]

Powerline doesn't work so well, hit/miss depending on factors out of your control. No sense even risking the purchase since wireless N has broken through most distance barriers.

I'd go with the gigabit. You will likely want the extra wired bandwidth at some point, and if the router lasts long enough you'll be happy you spent the extra $30. Not sure about the Rosewill router. $20 seems awefully cheap for wireless N.

Have you looked on ebay? Routers can be had there for pretty cheap. Can also explore picking up a used Linksys/Cisco that will accept the ddwrt firmware... http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index We have an old Linksys router at the office I flashed with ddwrt and it's been rock solid.

 

[shadin]

I've had fantastic luck with my Buffalo router. They come with DD-WRT from the factory, and the range is good enough that it streams Netflix to the PS3 on the second floor with the router being in the basement.

I have this one currently - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833162033

 

[petteyg359]

The TP-LINK is decent. No idea about Rosewill.

EDIT: "No ieda" beyond the fact that Rosewill is a cheap crap brand for when cheap crap is sufficient. If the device is more complicated than a cable, Rosewill should probably be the last thing you consider.

 

[TollhouseFrank]

rosewill is 'store brand' of a more expensive brand, with Rosewill being the NewEgg "store brand". It is probably a basic linksys router.

 

[Oulse]

I've never been disappointed by Rosewill products. My Rosewill router needs a restart about once a week, but for $20 is worth the price. Any wireless router will be accessible throughout the house (and probably across the street).