Router for 30mbps

I'm switching to 30mbps next week and I have doubts about my current router. It's a DI524. What would be a good router?

 

Any router made within the last 4-5 years can handle 30mbps. It's not that fast. What are your doubts, exactly?

 

The the "in" port only accepts up to 10mbps.

 

I think that's highly unlikely, and after some quick research, that doesn't appear to be the case.

http://www.speedguide.net/broadband-view.php?hw=85

WAN port type: 10/100 Base-TX (RJ-45)

Perhaps you have the port configured for 10 instead of 100?

 

My friend just told me to check so I checked. Thank you.

I read somewhere that the intel3945 + DI524 was only able to do 8200kbps, which I think is not really true since I'm getting ~9mbps at home (I'm currently on a 10mbps plan)

 

Well I think you might be right with your doubts. First of all if you intend to take a full advantage of your connection speed via wireless you need you upgrade to “n”. Theoretical throughput of 802.11g is 54mbps but in reality it is around half of that in transfer speed meaning you don’t get more than 2.4MB/s. Your new connection is going to be capable of around 3.75MB/s.
It may or may not be an issue- depends on your LAN setup.
Second thing is the router itself. It’s one of those cheap D-Links with poor hardware. There are quite a few versions that have nothing in common except for a case but all of them are rather poor.
D-Link DI-524 has 2MB or 8MB RAM in most versions (only one has 16MB- DI-524UP) and probably has rather slow CPU (version B2 has 100MHz- sic!), the best is again DI-524UP with 200MHz.
So if you plan on using P2P networks and/or other more network-intensive applications that tend to create a lot of connection you probably need more powerful router.
To put it in perspective- router is in fact a computer and requires better hardware to deal with bigger loads- standard router has 16MB RAM and a CPU of at least 200MHz (say Linksys WRT-54GL). More advanced routers like Asus WL-500g Premium have 32MB RAM and even faster CPUs- 266MHz in Asus.
Depending on hardware version of your DI-524 you may get away with it (524UP) or most probably not (B2). No rush here- just test it when you get this new connection but don’t be surprised if your current router can’t cope with it.

 

The processor and ram on a router for home use are pretty much irrelevant. I guarantee you his DI524 can handle 100Mb on every single port at 100% utilization and not drop any packets.

If you're suggesting he get an "n" router, he would also need to have a "n" card in his PC, which if it's more than a year or so old, he very well may not have.

Actual transfer rates for 802.11g run between 25-30mbps which should be fine for his 30mbps internet connection. I would be very surprised that even going to "n" if his WAN transfer speeds increased. As it stands he can only get internet access at a maximum of 30mbps. Regardless of if he gets 500mbps with "n", he's still limited by his 30mbps internet access.

Unless he's doing a lot of LAN file transfers, I don't think it's worth going out and spending another $100.

 

Test it if you will- I did it with 3 different routers and neither of them got more than 2.5MB/s of actual transfer (with good WiFi coverage). That would limit his WiFi connectivity to a certain extent- if it evens bother him. As I stated in my post- it may or may not be an issue.
I don't think we understand each other when we are talking CPU usage- I do agree that this (or any for that matter) router is able to work with computers connected at 100Mbps. That was not my point. My point is- P2P networks, VoIP and sometimes internet gaming puts big pressure on CPU and bigger loads of data in RAM because of high number of connections and number of packets. That causes problems for firewall amongst others. I've actually seen D-Link with AR7 150MHz CPU that had to have its firewall switched off or would stop responding due to high load caused by P2P on 1mbps connection.
I'm not selling anything- I just know a bit about network hardware, and I did work with third party firmware that show stats of CPU and RAM usage and number of connections and I know that 8MB RAM and 100/150MHz CPU is insufficient.

 

Perhaps you're right. I'm pretty well versed in network hardware myself, and I'd be surprised if his router wasn't up to par for gaming, P2P, all on a 30mbps connection, but I've been wrong before ( just that one time! ).

I guess my first instinct would be to wait and see before going out and spending more money.

 

That's what I would do too. No need to replace it if it works.

 

I was planning on waiting anyway Thanks guys!
I don't really mind on my laptop since I just got a desktop. I'll be using the dlink usb wireless card that came with the router. If I gotta switch, gotta pay for an n-card and a new router. At least they are giving us the first month free ($75 with taxes).

The cable is coming changing my modem next week so we'll see.

The plan is the same price as the current 10mbps plan I am (but 70GB bandwidth rather than 100)

 

The router in fact does not work well. The speed is OK though (28 wiresd, 15 on wireless g) but the CPU is not strong enough and causes the modem to crash (yeah weird, but when connected to the router, they modem kept crashing, the techs (yes, 1 at my house and 4 on the phones...) were is happening. I'm like the 5th in the region to have this connection installed and they didn't have any training for that.

The sellers at Futureshop recommanded me the Belkin N150 but this thing is utter crap and I'm returning it tomorrow. It can't properly do n and g at the same time (everything is connected through g, even though some support n). If I select n only the signal sucks, only getting ~65mbps @30ft

What would be a nice router? Do I need dual band for g and n simultaneously?

 

That depends on what you need and how much you can spend on it.
There are for example routers with good hardware (fast CPU and 32MB RAM) from ASUS that are supported by 3rd party firmware (i.e. DD-WRT) so you are not dependent only on manufacturer to update firmware to resolve any problems you might experience.
Some interesting features are USB ports that allow you to connect a printer and/or USB memory- HDD or pendrive. The printer is therefore available to everybody on your network. As for HDD/pendrive it can be accessible as FTP server from inside your LAN or if you chose so also from outside (from the internet) for people who know password.
There is also an option to use download manager built in the router that allows for download of files to HDD/pendrive connected to USB port from http/bittorrent with the computer off.
I don’t know if you need such features although these may become useful in future. I also don’t know if these routers are available in your area and how much they cost compared to others but at least WL500g Premium is not very expensive in my area.
Still I’d recommend taking a look:
Asus WL-500G Premium (802.11b/g)
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=8el2DcrRjLoHNdQ8&templete=2

Asus WL-500W (802.11n)
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=nrsjewu78wdDXMOA

If you don't like these I may find sth simpler.

 

Thanks for the input. In the end we took a look at costco and found the Belkin N+ (the model above the one I bought) for $110 with the N+ USB adaptor. We added another N USB for $35. Good deal. The router itself retails fore $90 and the USN adaptor $70.

Works well now. My bro is getting ~75 on his laptop, my dad ~135 on N and I'm getting ~270 on N+ (in my room).

There's a USB port but seems to only be for hard/pen drives. I'll try my printer later.

EDIT: My PSP can now connect to the router

 

Well I would not reccomend belkin routers . The Asus is nice , but so far of all the routers I have tested run WNDR 3700 netgear is great . Connects where my linksys wrt600n could not . Has not had to be rebooted in 2 weeks of constant use . Have 6 comps 2 media servers , voip phone and Nas , transfered D/L over 10 gb in the last 2 weeks .
Rreturn the belkin get the 3700
Getting 40-50 Mbps transfer speed from comp to nas