Hi, I want to buy a new wireless ADSL router but I have some specific requirements which are difficult to look for, so I'm hoping some of you can help me based on you're own experiences. What I want is a wireless router with the following: ADSL2+ modem G/N WiFi (preferable N) Must have WEP encryption as an option. More modern encryption like WPA would be a bonus. On-board 4 port switch, gig would be nice. Must be Xbox Live compatible. Must be DS-Lite compatible. Must have a decent on-board SPI firewall. Must be good quality and look nice. Must be reliable and fast. I currently run an old SonicWall TZW which doesn't work with my DS-Lite or my laptop, is only B Wi-Fi, requires a separate modem and looks a bit ugly. I'd like something of a similar quality if possible but hopefully no more than £100. My SonicWall retailed at about £350 when new, luckily I got it free with training course. It's mainly the DS-Lite and XBox compatibility I need but that's the tricky part. If anyone knows of any nice routers that can fulfil my requirements, please let me know. Cheers.
The Netgear DG834 series is what basically everyone in know has. Mine has never put a foot wrong, i use it with my gaming PC (with port forwarding for those backwards games that don't sort it automatically - yes Sins of a Solar Empire, i mean you!), two laptops, my DS, PSP, and iPod touch. The DG834N has everything you listed on it. If thats too much then the DG834G is a solid alternative if you don't need N-wireless.
Hi Carbon_Arc, sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I had a look into the DG834N and it sounded like a decent router overall but I did read a few bad comments. While I was doing this I noticed that several people had recommended the Billion 7300N router as possibly being slightly better quality. So after some pondering I decided to give the Billion a try, based on the comments I read and the fact that I slightly preferred the look of it. I'll hopefully get a chance to set it up over the weekend and see if it works with my DS Lite and iPhone, unlike my Sonicwall. I don't have Xbox live yet though, so I'll just have to hope that works when I get it. Cheers.
Just in case anyone else is looking for a router that provides these features, I can confirm that the Billion 7300N Wi-Fi works with the DS Lite and the iPhone 3G. I haven't got an Xbox to test XBL yet but I'm sure it will work. This router was also very simple to setup. It's compact and appears to have good build quality. Be warned though that my unit didn't come with a micro filter. I can't comment much on ADSL or Wi-Fi speed or range yet as I've not had it long enough but it's certainly not worse than my last router. I also wanted to mention how good Billion UK have been in answering my questions. I emailed them earlier in the week and they were good enough to test out DS Lite compatibility etc. It's very rare to find a company that can be bothered to be so helpful.
