Choosing a router

Yok · December 15, 2015

Hello,

my parents want to buy a router to install in my grandmother's house. I don't know anything about networking/routers/modems and that kind of stuff, but since I'm a programmer I'm the go-to person for anything that is remotely tech related for the entire family.

They don't really have a budget, but she definitely doesn't need something high-end, the internet where she lives is already not-so-great.

Is there anything I need to look for, compatibility wise? At the moment there is a modem (a cable goes from it to the wall, and a blue ethernet cable goes to her computer), I'm assuming that I just have to connect the router to that and then the router to her computer (or just from the modem to the computer directly), and then after a bit of messing around and setting up it should work?

I see a lot of numbers that mean nothing to me, like "802.11b, 802.11g", "10/100 Mbps", what do these number means and do they matter?

I live in Canada, and don't mind ordering from anywhere, we're not in a rush.

Thanks for the help.

beneficialq · December 15, 2015

MBPS means "megabites per sec" which is how fast the data is moved from the router to your computer. 1 megabyte=8 megabites. This speed can vary depending on your connection, where your router is placed and other variables. If your grandmother is ONLY using eathernet you do not need to worry about what 802.11b or 802.11g means.

millerb415 · December 15, 2015

four questions. are there a lot of networks around her (if so get a "dual band")?

how many devices are being hooked up at once over the wifi normally and a max?

how old is the modem (if extremely old it could be bottlenecking what she pays the cable company)

not as important but what company does she have?

as for the standard 802.11n is what i would get for her it has been surpassed by the newer 802.11ac but is just fine for her needs and since it is an older generation it will cost less.

royalcrown · December 15, 2015

Okay, first off:

Wireless G sucks for EVERYTHING period. Get wireless N at the very LEAST. N and AC have not only more speed but features that matter if there is other networks around to help with interference and to get along with other nearby WIFI.

10/100 is the speeds of the ethernet ports on the back in Megabits, if you divide by 10 that is roughly the speed in Megabytes/sec that you see in your OS when downloading or transferring. A 100 Megbabit (Mbit) port has a speed of to MegaBYTES for instance. The units are always expressed as per second also, but we just skip the last part because it's assumed by us in the know.

TP-LINK makes Netgear and they are both dependable routers, Asus is more cutting edge sometimes but finicky as far as firmware, Linksys...ok, Belkin is garbage.

asiancorruption · December 15, 2015

Hello,

my parents want to buy a router to install in my grandmother's house. I don't know anything about networking/routers/modems and that kind of stuff, but since I'm a programmer I'm the go-to person for anything that is remotely tech related for the entire family.

They don't really have a budget, but she definitely doesn't need something high-end, the internet where she lives is already not-so-great.

Is there anything I need to look for, compatibility wise? At the moment there is a modem (a cable goes from it to the wall, and a blue ethernet cable goes to her computer), I'm assuming that I just have to connect the router to that and then the router to her computer (or just from the modem to the computer directly), and then after a bit of messing around and setting up it should work?

I see a lot of numbers that mean nothing to me, like "802.11b, 802.11g", "10/100 Mbps", what do these number means and do they matter?

I live in Canada, and don't mind ordering from anywhere, we're not in a rush.

Thanks for the help.

Just buy any router with 802.11 ac on it and that has good reviews, a decent amount of ethernet ports and decent range.

royalcrown · December 15, 2015

MBPS means "megabites per sec" which is how fast the data is moved from the router to your computer. 1 megabyte=8 megabites. This speed can vary depending on your connection, where your router is placed and other variables. If your grandmother is ONLY using eathernet you do not need to worry about what 802.11b or 802.11g means.

We leave off the E in the US and go with BITS just FYI, IDK about Canadia

Daveeede · December 15, 2015

Asus AC1200 would get my vote. If it's too expensive look at something n600.

AC, N, B, G, etc refer to the WIFI standard revision, with AC being the most recent. It does offer many benefits but for simple internet usage (ie. no file sharing between network devices) a wireless N router will be good enough. All the revisions are backwards compatible with each other.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/asus-asus-dual-band-wireless-ac1200-gigabit-router-rt-ac56r-rt-ac56r/10303444.aspx?path=c67b0fd455f29886667a42608f89815den02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/netgear-netgear-wireless-n-dual-band-router-n600-wndr3400-100pas/10168301.aspx?path=a9a8f2b6adcf8d02657dff4ddb0958eaen02