So my D-Link, probably three or four years old now, seems to be pooched. It will work for those Macs which are physically tethered into it (and then into the cable modem) but the wireless aspect seems to be toast. We fired up our laptop to check on the wireless capability (not generally used much by us, especially in the winter months) because we're expecting house guests soon and want them to be able to use their laptops via wireless. No go. Not even detecting a signal... zero bars for signal strength. Tried rebooting both router and cable modem, to no avail. Went to router control via Safari and while I can get in, every time I click on the wireless tab to see what's up it never loads. So I guess I'm in need of a new router. I'm told they do go in time.... well, doesn't everything.

What's currently hot/reliable/economical/dependable? Which brand name should I be going with? Linksys? D-Link? Appreciate being steered in the right direction.

D-Link or Linksys/Cisco is fine. If you need Static DHCP (DHCP reservation, where your computer or networked printer always get the same DHCP address) the new Linksys routers don't have that for some reason, D-Link does. If you don't know what Static DHCP is you probably don't need it.

Linksys have internal antennas, looks neater, cooler design.

To save money though, if you're not doing serious file sharing over wireless, or if your machines are not capable of wireless n protocol, there is no advantage to getting a wireless n capable router, they are more expensive. In order of the speed chain low to high you have b, g, and n. Wireless b is more than fast enough for internet. I don't think they even sell wireless b only anymore, they are all b/g or b/g/n.

If you do a lot of wired file sharing look for a gigabit ethernet option, but like the n option it's more expensive.

You can find these for probably around $30 US or so online.

Same here.

Reboot, you are the man. Thank you for all that info. I was going to ask about the N routers and what advantages they offer. No, I won't be doing massive file sharing. It's really only to enable everyday kinds of traffic loads - a bit of email, a bit of surfing, a bit of youtube, that sort of thing. Sounds like a D-Link b/g is the ticket.

Thanks again, Reboot.

You can probably get a D-link DIR-615 (my current box, even though my machines are g only) on the cheap, just in case you want n capabilities in the near future. Also, n has much less interference issues than b or g.

True, only if your equipment is n capable though, and true dat, the future n is something to consider too.

OK guys.... gives me some ammunition when I go out to replace the router. Cheers.

Yeah, what the bozo said too. The DIR-615's can be found cheap.

Grab the DD-WRT and throw it on your current router *if supported. Who knows, it may be a hardware issue.

What speed were you looking at for the router? G? N? I've been running DD-WRT'd Linksys routers and have had nothing but good luck (knock, knock).

I second DD-WRT. It's not only made every router I've put it on more functional, but usually faster and more stable too.

Some of them do. Like this one. I'm considering this as a replacement for my failed Airport Extreme. Its cheaper than the airport and has more functions.

The interface is the same as the old G models, and according to the manual it does do DHCP reservations. I'm doing my homework this time!