My router is toast. The old black and blue linksys WRT54G just couldn't push on any longer.
Looking for a new router... thinking airport extreme.
Any other suggestions or comments on the airport extreme specifically?
Thanks.
My main issue with the Airport lineup is the non-standard configuration software (ie, you have to have software, it doesn't have a web interface) and the fact it restarts itself every time you change any setting at all. Other than that, they perform well, are very reliable, and are nicely designed. Also pretty price-competitive right now for the feature set.
Airports are nice, your biggest negative is that it only has 4 external ports. 1 for WAN (DSL or cable modem) and 3 for the rest of your network. If you have a few wired devices, you're more likely to add an extra switch to it. It also tends to be more expensive than competitors, mostly because of the Apple Tax. The Airport also doesn't lend it itself to running open source firmware, like some of the Linksys do.
Positives. If you own a lot of Apple gear, set up is a bit easier. The newest dual band versions are nice because you can run 2 simultaneous networks at 2.4GHz and 5GHz, including making one a 'guest' network and separating it from the rest of your network for security. If you have to run more than one router in the house, Apple's setup is a little easier to do.
Ken, I didn't know about having to use the apple software to set up the airport extreme... I prefer web access, although that would not be a deal breaker.
Henry,
I actually stumbled onto the Linksys E4200 when searching for other options online. It just came out and is priced at $179.99 but is on sale for $149.99 at bs4est buy. I think I'm going to go pick one up. It doesn't have many user reviews yet buy got a good review by Cnet.
I am running a Netgear WND 3700, It has been much better than the Linksys WRT310N it replaced.
I've been using the E3000 and it seams to be working just fine, despite my best efforts to screw it up.
Picked up the Linksys E4200 and got it set up. Setup was a breeze and everything is back up and running.
I will plug in my External USB hard drive later and give that a shot. Not sure how the UpNP media server works, if It can stream FLAC files or not, etc.. It will be nice having access to my external HD from our laptop when our desktop is off.
For now I set it on WPA2 security. My older Wireless Gaming adapter that is connected to my denon 3808 only accepts WEP security so I may have to change that back until I get a new wireless gaming adapter (or just hard wire things in the living room). I can set it to WEP security for the 2.4 gHZ channel and WPA security for the 5 gHz channel so that is cool I guess.
When we move (sometime this year- maybe late spring or early summer?) I will consider changing things up so that I can hardwire from the router to my 360, denon, and PS3 and let the wifi service the desktop, laptop, iphones, and any guest devices.
The separate password for guest devices is a neat feature too.
So far I am very satisfied. However, anything that would get all of my devices back on the net would probably make me happy right now. I'm just glad that it took no more then 15 minutes to get everything set up (including entering new security keys into devices).
Overall I think I got more features for less money compared to the airport extreme.
I recently picked up a Netgear WNDR3700 and so far so good. Much better range than the Belkin N1 that I had.
Scott