Need Help with Wireless Router

I have just purchased 2 Dell E1705's with Intel Pro Wireless 3945 cards. I am new to wireless networking and could use your input as to what would be my best choice for a wireless router to connect to my cable modem. I also have 2 desktop pc's that do not have wirless cards. Is there router out there that would handle all 4 systems? Two wired and two wireless? I appologize in advance if this is a dumb question.

 

I'd go with either the Linksys WRT54GL or the D-Link DGL-4300. I just bought a WRT54GL and flashed in the DD-WRT firmware (for advanced users, so you'll probably want to skip that). Avoid the other Linksys routers but the Linux-based WRT54GL has been highly rated. I have not tried the D-Link.

Anyhow, both routers have 4 Ethernet ports for your desktop PCs. The WRT54GL's are 100Mbps, the D-Link's are 1Gbps. Don't forget to order Cat6 Ethernet cables too if you don't have cables already.

 

i use the netgear wpn824. it was much easier to install than my d-link router (forget the model number). i hear that linksys has a reputation for making the better routers, but the set up may be a bit more difficult. anyway, pretty much all wireless routers have lan ports for you to connect to pcs. mine has 4.

 

There are many wireless routers that can handle your needs. I currently own a linksys wrt54g 4 port router hooked up to a cable modem. I've got it hooked up to a desktop, networked printer and wirelessly to my notebook. Plan on adding a VOIP adapter soon. D-link, Microsoft and Netgear also have 4 port wireless routers as well.

With the four port hub (which allows you to hardwire 4 devices) you can plug in your two desktops and still have two open ports for expansion. Wirelessly you should be able to handle the two notebooks easily. Personally I've found the linksys pretty easy to work with and the manual helped with most issues. I haven't used any of the others so I'm not sure how they fair.

You might go through the dell forum to see if anyone has had problems with any specific router manufacturer. Try a search using dell router problems or issues as your keywords there.

As always make sure as part of your wireless setup you use encryption (WPA is usually recommened) or your neighbors may start borrowing your highspeed connection as well as your pictures and files....

 

Thanks for the advice. I purchased the Linksys WRT54GL router and the setup was very easy. I do have one question though. I have both of the 1705 laptops within 5 feet of one another and notice that one laptop loses it's wireless connection every 30-120 minutes. The other laptop never seems to lose it's connection. Both have the same wireless card. In order to get the connection back I have to restart the laptop. Does anyone have an idea why this could be happening? Thanks again for all the great advice!!

 

Sometimes the drivers get corrupted. Try re-installing the adapter. I've done that before and it's fixed my issues. If you haven't done it before, here's directions.

Right click on My Computer and select Properties. This will bring up the system Properties window. Under Hardware select the Device Manager bringing up the Device Manager Window. Under Network adapters find your wireless adapter. Right click on it and select uninstall. Once it's done uninstalling right click on any item in the Device Manager window and select Scan for hardware changes and Windows will re-install the adapter. I've never had a problem with anything not re-installing properly.

Unless someone thinks this is a bad idea that's my suggestion.

 

Thanks KoOni !! Your suggestion seems to have resolved my wireless network issues. I was trying to make it more complicated than it actually was

 

Kool. Glad it worked!