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I've been a long time linksys fan, but when i went to best buy today to pick up some wireless gear i noticed the only linksys stuff they offered was the 54mbps 802.11g hardware. they also had this speedbooster crap that i knew was bullshit because it said it required 2000/xp which means it's some software crap. then i look over and i see some netgear hardware that is still 802.11g but is 108mpbs.



according to the know-it-alls (hah) at best buy this is a hardware speed rating. maybe i'm just outa the loop, but this is the first time i saw the 108mb speed rating. i haven't really kept up with the wireless technology advances as of late but i do see linksys offers a 108mb setup as well, best buy just didn't have it.



so i have two questions: a) what are others experiences with netgear stuff? and b) should i actually wait until i can find the linksys stuff, or buy it online if it's going to be a better product? i have already purchased the netgear router, laptop card, and desktop card since i was there and thought they would be alright, but i haven't opened them.



-syn

Netgear isnt a bad brand. I've owned switches and network cards producted by them and i've had no problems or complaints. If all else fails and your not happy, return it.

Netgear has their shit together! I've replaced all my linksys stuff with netgear stuff. For some reason when cisco purchased linksys... their stuff went DOWNHILL drastically. Their routers can't handle sustained cable modem speeds at all.. I went from a NEW linksys router to a NEW netgear router (614) and my cable speeds increased 2x's JUST with replacing the router. Not to mention linksys has a problem when people start pinging it like crazy... it just freezes.. oh and port forwarding? wtf did they do to that... it crashes the router when you update stuff.... lame.



Their wireless stuff is topnotch... but if you want to get those 108mbps transfer rates you need to replace all the wireless cards to that standard (not worth it unless you do heavy local network stuff, not to mention its probably 108mbps in a 10 foot radius... then it drops like a rock). I have a wired router with a wireless access point that I located away from all my electronics... increased the range by a bunch when I did that.



I used to be hardcore linksys until I got tired of unplugging the router every morning and plugging it back in so I could use the internet for the day.

Netgear has their shit together! I've replaced all my linksys stuff with netgear stuff. For some reason when cisco purchased linksys... their stuff went DOWNHILL drastically. Their routers can't handle sustained cable modem speeds at all.. I went from a NEW linksys router to a NEW netgear router (614) and my cable speeds increased 2x's JUST with replacing the router. Not to mention linksys has a problem when people start pinging it like crazy... it just freezes.. oh and port forwarding? wtf did they do to that... it crashes the router when you update stuff.... lame.



Their wireless stuff is topnotch... but if you want to get those 108mbps transfer rates you need to replace all the wireless cards to that standard (not worth it unless you do heavy local network stuff, not to mention its probably 108mbps in a 10 foot radius... then it drops like a rock). I have a wired router with a wireless access point that I located away from all my electronics... increased the range by a bunch when I did that.



I used to be hardcore linksys until I got tired of unplugging the router every morning and plugging it back in so I could use the internet for the day.



Agreed, I have a cheap piece of shit router, but I wanted better so I bought a new linksys. this thing was a bigger piece of shit than my $49 router. I might have well been on dialup instead of cable, because my speeds were slightly about dialup.





Syntax, dont even bother with Linksys, it's not worth the "over" price nor the headache involved. I haven't tried Netgear, but maybe I'll buy oe today :D