routers

Can anyone advise me on a decent router which is Vista compatible (HP DV9500T)? Thanks.

 

Compusa is having 85% off on networking. http://www.compusa.com/specials/sales/sale82607/default.asp?prod_group_category_id=3247&pfp=aug26
The TRENDNet 54Mbps Wireless Firewall Router, 802.11g, b is only $3 which is probably worth it (If your entire network runs on 802.11g)

 

linksys wrt54g is a nice line......they are quite durable, I have spilt syrup, dropped it and plentiy of smoke up in it.....only fried when I accidently pluggled it into the wrong adapter

plenty of documentation out there though, its a bit more than that $3 thing....but well worth it as far as expandability and options

 

I'm on my second Linksys router and I must agree these things are the best there is. First one was a wired BEFSR41 and is still working fine after 7 years. The second one is a wireless WRT54G and works just as well. Signal is good troughout the house and never cuts. The only problem I faced was with my old 2.4Ghz wireless phone, both devices interfered with each other.

 

Routers are OS independent. I would not recommend Linksys since a nice one I have (BEFSX41) had instability due to bad capacitors, which required me to replace the existing capacitors with oil-frees to get it working well again. I also had to oil the CPU fan as it started sticking. ($80 for a router that will require capacitor replacement and a lube job in a few years is not worth it!) In addition, the newer Linksys routers have unstable firmware.

Look for a router with a user replaceable antenna if you're looking for range.

 

Thanks to all who took time to respond. I guess at this point I'll keep looking and hoping, but keep recommendations coming.

 

As a networking noob, I went with the Linksys WRT54G. It had some decent reviews and was $50 at BestBuy. After one abortive setup attempt, everything went fine. Even with the problem, it took me less than 30 minutes to set up and I am using it as I type.

 

Just avoid the v5 and above of the WRT54G. The older ones (as well as the WRT54GL) are said to be good.

 

I use the 54GL without any problems for almost a year,flashed it with wrt 3rd party software. The best price I could find http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202046565&dcaid=17873