So, I'm not new at wireless networking or setting them up. I know what to look for and what not. My problem is that I've gotten a lot of faulty routers in the past. So much so that I refuse to go to my local computer store without consulting any of you here on Bit-Tech. I used to have the WGR314v9 by Netgear. It was ridiculously slow and dropped connection. So I figured, "Hey, I'll go buy a new wireless N300 router". I chose the DLink DIR-615. It supposedly had great range and speed and gaming capability. Well that was wrong in my case. I constantly use Ventrilo and play Guild Wars. (Vent is used as a third-party program to communicate with guild members) I have experienced an INSANE amount of lag and ping in the 15,000 range. It spikes like crazy. So I'm returning it. FYI: My PC, (read signature) is only about 30 feet from the router. I can almost see the router from my desk chair! I know anyone can tell me what router has good specs and great reviews; However, What I would like to know are personal experiences you all have had with your home router. How far away from the router is your device? What games do you play online? Do you experience lag? Does your connection drop? And more importantly, What (if any) problems have you experienced from your home router? Can you recommend a Wireless N router used by friends and family? Thanks in advance. I know I'm asking a lot but I'm just sick of driving to CompUSA only to return what I just purchased. Gas is expensive here in the US.
My recommendation is to get a Cat5e cable and connect that between your PC and router, wireless is crap for gaming.
+1. I work in a store that sells various networking solutions (amongst other things) and there really is no substitute for Cat 5. Perhaps Cat 6. We have tried every router out there from pretty much every brand in an effort to find one we can recommend for anything other than normal web surfing but it's hopeless. The sad truth is, for gaming, heavy torrenting, media streaming and every else more bandwidth intensive than facebook, you need copper.
what about home plugs ? they should provide better pings than wireless but they are not better than traditional cat5 which if pings are important you should be using.
Okay, coming from a networking background as well I have to admit that I've had little success when it comes to wireless, HOWEVER, there's two products I've had fantastic luck with, the first being the D-Link Gaming Router (multiple friends use it and swear by it), and I personally run (believe it or not) an Apple Airport Extreme Base Station, and multiple people in my apartment game on that sucker with no problem.
Moda, I assume your lag problem isn't experienced just on GW? I play it regularly and have noticed lately some really bad lag spikes, both in European and US districts. ps if you want to look me up on there, I'm usually on with my mes, Racing Snake
@adam: Pings are very important as Ventrilo and Guild Wars rely on ping to communicate quickly with the servers. @Malketh: The D-Link DGL-4500 Xtreme N Gaming Router is 184.99. I don't know about you but wireless gaming isn't worth that much money. With all the money i save playing Guild Wars instead of WoW that would equal all those subscription fees i never paid! @wormy: Well it's definetly not GW because I bought a 75 foot cat5e ethernet cable and all my lag spikes have gone away. Ventrilo runs perfect also now.
+1 for the HomePlug solution. Buy yourself a £30 router and then a £40 twin pack of homeplugs. Plug one into the mains near your router, and one in by your PC, string ethernet cables from them, and you're done. I've used 85mbps homeplug for years and years and I've 100% never had a problem with them. FWIW I play WoW, and the only lag I ever get, is when my guild gets it too
I agree, Homeplugs are great. I put in a system for someone where one was wired to a router in a downstairs office in a big farmhouse and the other acted as a wap upstairs on the landing. Worked fantastically and it's so easy to set up. You could also plug in a lan cable, too. I think (iirc) they were made by Solwise and bought from broadband buyer. Ah, they've brought out a new one!
Yeah Solwise ones are good, I bought mine direct from here: http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-pl-85pe-mk2.htm I have the twin pack, albeit in MK1 version which is black. These MK2 ones are slimmer and white, which is nice.
