Wireless Router Reviews
Router is a computer networking device that buffers and forwards the data packets from their source to destinations over the internet. This process is known as routing.
Like wired router devices, wireless router devices are also available in the market, which support different standards and specifications. All the wireless routers might seem very much alike at first glimpse, but the fact is that many of them exist with their own unique set of attributes. Presented here are some wireless router reviews from some very famous wireless router companies like D-Link, Linksys, Netgear etc.
When you go to buy a wireless router, first, you make sure that it will be supported by your internet service provider (ISP). Most of the broadband connections today subscribe to ADSL or Cable standard. Whereas some providers provide broadband connections over a standard RJ11 line.
You have option to choose a router from several different types of network router products. The mostly appreciated types are the 802.11b and 802.11g WiFi models. Just go through the brief review of each standard.
802.11a
Most of the wireless routers support the 802.11a standard. But it offers minimal performance compare to the current newer 802.11g standard.
802.11b
This standard is one of the oldest wireless standards for routers providing data throughputs of 11 Mbps and it is sufficient for internet access and casual browsing.
802.11g
This is the newer standard supported by laptops. This standard is supported by almost all the wireless routers providing throughputs of 54 Mbps.
Super G
The super G or Enhanced G standard use various new technologies like, compression and framebursting to improve the speed and range. There is 20% to 30% improvement in the throughput of this standard over the standard 802.11g product. But for the use of extended range and performance of the wireless router using a standard Centrino laptop you have to buy a PCMCIA card.
MIMO
MIMO is the new standard for getting fastest speed over the internet. This standard uses multiple transmitters and receiver antennas to get higher data throughput, and it uses multiplexing for greater range. All the MIMO products are technically better but costlier than the 802.11b/g products.
Most of the wireless routers won’t have any kind of trouble to secure the speed equal to the broadband, but if you get farther away from the router, the speed decreases. Barriers like wall, doors and floors can block the range. Most of the routers perform very well in a normal home of about 60 feet. For the better throughput and range you have to use an enhanced-g or pre-n wireless router.
Popular companies like D-Link, Linksys and Netgear sell their products with similar and unusually long names. The name of seven products of D-Link start with RangeBooster and other seven starts with AirPlus. Netgear has six products with starting name RangeMax. Dozens of products were produced by Linksys and their name starts with Wireless-G and other three products name starts with Wireless-N. Each and every product has a manufacturer’s model number. Because of that, it’s very important to look for a full model name and number in store, as models with similar sounding names may be different in performance.
The Netgear RangeMax 240 is a pre-n router with MIMO technology which offers fastest speed at short and medium ranges. It works with Windows, Linux and Mac systems.
The Linksys SRX400 WRT54GX4 is a one of the best wireless router for the distance over 150 feet. Also it is cheaper than the Netgear RangeMax 240 router. It uses 802.11g networking standard while the Netgear’s router uses pre-802.11n technology which might have compatibility issues down the road. Linksys wireless routers works for Windows only.
The D-Link wireless routers are compatible with Windows and Mac systems. It is very popular for gaming websites, for its reproducible throughput on high bandwidth applications. It is also best for regular networking but it is more expensive than other routers.
The Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router F5D8230-4 is also one of the best wireless router, but the product is no longer available.
