Best Router for big house

I'm looking to get a wireless router for my mums house. Her house is an old victorian house with thick walls and 3floors. The broadband comes in downstairs and i'm looking for a router that will reach up to the 3rd floor and into our gardn too.

i will be running 2 laptops off the router and also 3 desktop that i want wired in. I will be playing games using my laptop so want something that will be able to handle this - it may be marketing speil but with the netware routers only their 2 latest ones says that it's supported.

On a side note i travel about a bit with my laptop. Is there any type of device that i can just plug into a existing lan network that will send out a wireless signal for my laptop?
thanks

 

I purchased a belkin wireless pre-n router a couple of weeks ago and it gets signal from my basement all the way up to the third floor. Would recommend it.

 

The consensus is that linksys makes the best allaround router. But any such as dlink, netgear, belkin and buffalo make great products. There are also several "extenders" or somethin to that affect that u can use with any router that supposedly increases the range and power of the wirless connection, but I personally have not had any experience with that.

But my dlink g router works great, even my neighbor's house gets a good signal (even tho he is 200 feet away and through several walls of varying thickness)

 

You could go with multiple routers, with the additional router(s) configured as access points (routing disabled, DHCP server off) and plugged into the switch on the first router. Linksys WRT54GL's (my favorite) are cheap and very effective, especially if you upgrade the antennas to those 9dBi "rubber duck" antennas available on eBay, etc. If you can run an Ethernet cable between floors that's a great way to go. IIRC, all you need to do is use the same SSID and encryption keys and your notebook will pick whichever AP it can get a stronger signal from.

You can also set up a Wireless Distribution System with multiple APs, that would save you the nuisance of running cable but performance is not as good. See dd-wrt.com for info on that.

Or... if you're lucky you'll be able to get away with the single router. But it's nice to have options.

 

Go with the N-standard wireless router, which provides increased signal strength and range as well as increased bandwidth.

As for the device to plug into lan networks for wireless, try googling for "portable access point" or "wireless travel router"

 

My advise is stay away from all 11n and MIMO hardware. The 11n is in pre standard releases and mfg are saying they will not beable to upgrade to a std firmware when 11n is finalized. They do not play well with others. MIMO hardware uses chanel bonding which does not play well with other either. Your laptops proably only have 11b/g hardware. So if you were to buy the 11n or mimo hardware, you would be required to buy new hardware for your laptops.And them demand a preimim for the 11nand mimo hardware, aprox 40% higher. Personally I would use a wired router than add a AP. It uses 1 nic port on the router, but the performace is higher. Most any wireless router you buy will have low gain antennas. Seperate AP comes with High Gain. Which make all the differences. Also allow you to centurally locate the AP without all the wires the router has. I like 8 port routers, that way you can add NAS,and printers for every one to share. I can cover 75' on low power with my 11g setup.

Some wireless hardware in notebooks just stink to put it mildly. My factory installed ralink is good for a max of 15 ft. Some Intel boards are just as bad.

As far as distance, all test show they are not any better than a good 11g setup.

If you were to buy a combo (wireless router) they comes with lo gain antennas, replace them with the high gains. The dbi scale is actually a log scale. So as you move from 2 to 5 or 7 dbi your sensitivity improves greatly.

If you buy a linksys WRT54G makes user it is not a rev5. Linksys moved away from linux firmware and killed the performace. The dd-wrt firmware is good firmware. It opens up the capability of the wireless. and other features only found on highend hardware. Netgear and D-Link both make good hardware.

 

Thanks everyone for all your info. I think i'm going to go with teh Linksys WRT54GL, see how it goes and if struggles then upgrad the antennas and look into boosting around the house using other APs.

 

in fact i dont think i can use this one as its not a lan port coming in, it's a wlan so think i may need to get a ADSL version. Is this right? So back to the same question of what's the best one to get?

 

You could run cable from the bottom to the top floor and install a WAP on the bottom floor and top floor (most expensive and time consuming, but best coverage) or you could find a spot on the middle floor that would give the best coverage for the house and then test signal strngth all over the house and see if it reaches the garden. This is the cheapest way, but you may be stretching the signal in the garden and/or certain areas in the house.

 

The Linksys does not have a modem. Just a router with wireless AP built in. You will need to use your existing modem to connect to the WAN port on the router.

I prefer seperate componets. Lot easier to trouble shoot. Then if you have a failure, just need to change the failed componet, and not everything.

 

I'm currently using a lan router. Is there anyway that i can leave that in place and just add wireless signal generators too it?

 

Yes, If you have a un-used lan jack. Just add a AP. Going this way gives you better performance than combo units. Just make sure what ever you get has the high gain antennas.

 

blue68f100, can you recommend any that ahve a strong signal?

 

Linksys I use

I use this as my WAP (wireless access point). All you need to do is wire it to the router and change the IP to the same subent and scheme as your nextwork and bam you have wifi. I also recomend WPA encryption too. I would think this would be a good choice for you, and depending on your house size two may be needed for complete coverage; but I may be wrong.

I agree with using a seperate device for eash network service. I currently use a switch for pc connections a firewall router, and a WAP. 3 boxes and a little more money then the conventional home setup; but alot more robust, secure, and easier to diagnose. Plus it has alot more blicking lights which keep me occupied

 

I use a Belkin N1. I don't have the matching card, but I get great signal all through my house (2000 SQ FT). For $100, they can keep the card and I'll stick with what I've got. The router is expensive ($150) and I don't know if it'll reach the garden.

 

That makes things a lot easier. i've just purchased the linksys one that you have as it's only £32 from amazon and seems like it'll do the job. Reviews on it seem to be pretty solid too.

i've read that i should upgrade the antennas to high grade from ebay? but think i'll wait until i know whether i need it or not in the hosue.

Re getting 2 linksys and plugging them at 2 different points will they detect each other or will i have to fanny about with them to get them to work as 1 network?

thanks

 

I got my belkin pre-n router and card for $115 and free shipping..its gone up a few bux!

buy.com

Belkin Wireless Pre-N Notebook Network Card free shipping
Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days Remove $39.99
Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router free shipping
Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days Remove $79.99



Order Summary
Subtotal: $119.98

 

I feel sad for people that waste there money on the pre-11n stuff. Knowing that it will never meet the standard. And you belkin users have an added feature of lockups and dropped signals.

 

we do? thats news to me....and ill stick with my very extended coverage