What is a good router for my needs?

Hey guys,

I'm in need of a router. I'll be living in dorms come this fall, and I'd rather have a router for wireless internet than drag around a 25ft ethernet cable around my room. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about routers, so just ignore anything I say that sounds completely stupid lol.

My wireless card:
Intel® Centrino® Ultimate-N 6300

What I need:
- Speeds as fast as a direct ethernet cable connection, if possible
- Moderate/wide range
- Good security
- Cost between $0-$70

Usage:
- Little to no data transfer over networks
- Possibly up to 10 people will share this connection, so hopefully something that won't slow down when people are sharing the wireless.
- Easy set-up with a wireless printer, albeit not necessary
- Light gaming (CS:S, TF2)

I saw some Linksys routers at Target and they advertised "dual-band n" or "n wireless" connections, and something about really high speeds like 300mbs. Is this in reference to the data/file transfer over the network rather than the actual speed of the internet? And what exactly is a dual-band router?

Anyways, suggestions please!

 

Dual band = broadcasts on 2.4ghz and 5ghz, both have different advantages. I find that 2.4 penetrates walls better and generally has better range (in my experience). You need a card that picks up both bands to make use of them. The 6300 is capable of this.

I don't think you will find speed of the internet to be an issue. Any modern router should be able to handle internet speeds just fine.

If I were gaming, I'd plug in directly, though it isn't entirely necessary. I only buy gigabit routers for the sake of file transfers, though that won't make a difference as far as internet speed goes.

You mentioned speeds as fast as direct cable connection? Do you mean as far as internet or network transfers? Internet shouldn't be an issue. You certainly won't get wired speeds over wireless with network transfers. Regardless of what the companies claim (what is it, 400mbps now?), you will not achieve that... not by a long shot. And even if you did, wired would still beat it. I have a router that claims 300mbs over N that never achieved anything near 100. If you need wire speeds, then use wire.

I'm sure all routers now support WPA2. Any password can be cracked, but last I checked, no one found a good way (a consistent, easily used method) to crack WPA2 without brutefocing the PW. I use a 63 character password.. most people could spend a lifetime trying to break it... though using CUDA and many gpus has proven to be very quick.

I cannot really recommend a router.. I've had everything and they've all blown in less than a year. I'm sure this has more to do with me than with the routers... I have never found any to be completely superior over another. For your purposes, I am sure most anything will do. I usually like getting something that can run DD-WRT.

 

well a cheap off the ebay Apple airport MC340LL A1354 is what i am using...u can have the speed of 5Ghz or the range of 2.4Ghz independently (with the proviso of Gb ports and air-disk (for what ever that's worh) or you can buy the excellent NETGEAR 450/300Mbps routers