Question by btownridgerunner: What is the best deal on a budget wireless router with good performance?
Also what is the best way to set it up? I have a 3 floor townhouse with each level being 512 sq ft. I’d like to have wireless on all floors but the upper 2 are essential. My primary computer is an Acer Notebook running Windows Vista.
Thanks.
Best answer:
Answer by DA-Bents
Linksys WRT54G. Ideally you would want the router on the second floor. I have mine in the lower level of a 3 floor Condo, and have no problems getting a good signal in the entire home.
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i have a linksys and i’m very happy w/ it – simple and affordable.
try it on the middle floor and see if you get signal on all three floors – may depend on what the flooring and sub-flooring is – concrete, steel, wood, etc.
If you need access on all three floors, you’ll need something with a good antenna. You can get a linksys wireless router and replace the stock antenna with a better one to give you much better range. I’ve had same scenario with my home setup, except that I only have two floors, and using cheap wireless routers with non-removable antennas did not give me a good connection. The connection was weak and I kept on getting disconnected. You can also find a router that has MIMO capability, which basically can send data using two channels, basically. This helps to stabilize your connection and to widen the bandwidth a bit. They are pretty expensive if you get brand name like linksys or netgear, but Fry’s Electronics has their own generic brand called Airlink that’s usually on sale for about 30$ for the router and 20-30$ for PCI or PCMCIA cards. There’s also buffalo technology wireless products that work very well for the price. One last thing. Make sure it says that it works for Vista. Some of the wireless products do not work well with Vista, so be sure to buy one specifically designed for it.