wireless router dilemma

[moondust]

I'm about to buy a desktop from dell, and need some info on wireless routers. I have broadband at my home in the living room, and need to set up my new computer in a different room therefore need a wireless router. I have spoken to dell about ordering one as part of the package but different staff I talk to have given me conflicting advice. One said it would be better to purchase the wireless router from my internet service provider(UK online) as it would be more compatible with frequency of the broadband. Another said it didn't matter and that the one dell supplies(Belkin) would be fine. I contacted UK online to see if I could purchase theirs but they have a weird policy that customers can't buy anything from them once they've already signed up! They gave me the make of the one they sell (Actiontec) but I can't find this one sold anywhere. has any one got any advice on this?

[FunkyNige]

Any router will work fine, not sure what they mean by 'frequency of the broadband' - I've never heard of this before. There are different frequencies of wireless connection, but a new computer and a new router will talk to each other without any problems at all.

[moondust]

thanks for that, has put my mind at rest. I think I might have meant frequencies of wireless connections rather than broadband - my mistake!

[toni896]

moondust said:

They gave me the make of the one they sell (Actiontec) but I can't find this one sold anywhere. has any one got any advice on this?

www.actiontec.com/sales/index.php

[bogie]

in this modern day, when ADSL has been around for 10 years there are STILL interop issues between modems and DSLAM chipsets.

This is why its nearly ALWAYS better to get the modem/router approved and supported by the ISP - they should have tested it extensively on their network.

When BT owned all the UK infrastructure it was much easier for manufacturers - just pay a few grand, run it through BT labs, fine tune for the UK market and away you go...now with all these LLU guys, some of which choose cheap DSLAMs/whoevers doing the best deal this month then it can be hit and miss, depending on which chipset is on the DSLAM linecard and which one is in the modem.

...a lot of the stability issues/poor performance reported by end customers is due to interop issues ...with new cheap chipset vendors coming into the market I personally would only go for a router that has a Broadcom or Texas Instruments chip..and from a well supported manufacturer.

Look at what is given away by BT, AOL, Sky etc ...yes there still may be the odd issue reported on forums etc...byt when you think that there are 5 million plus in use then these are a safe bet IMO

[kemp]

The thing you need to get right is the distance from where the router will be to your pc and how many floors/walls are in the way. Wireless doesn't like going through sold objects so your speed rating will drop the further away you are. Make sure you but on that will go further than you need. Also remember that the internet will only be as quick as your supplier supplies it and not how fast the router can send the data to your PC. If I was you id go for a Linksys or Netgear. I prefer Linksys I use one at home and it has been fairly reliable and went it broke they exchanged it very quickly.