Little help on a new PC tech folk

[deadcoyote]

My ibuypower computer is 9 years old and very sad. I am going to purchase another one, likely from I buy power again. I figured I'd upgrade my modem and router while I'm at it. Ibuypower doesn't sell modems, so here's my embarrassingly stupid question: do people still use stand alone modems and routers or are there combo devices now? Please be gentle, I am tech retarded.

[SonofWWIIDI]

There are router/modem combos available all over the place. Which one is best for your situation I couldn't say. Undoubtedly someone will be along who knows more about the tech stuff.

I have comcast tv/internet and comes with a combo that was very easy to set up and use with my PC and iPhone. For whatever that's worth.

[Iknownot]

I don't like cable co routers or modems. They are pretty low quality. Get a Motorola surfboard modem and a good router. I happen to really like the netgear nighthawk series but there are several other highly rated Routers from other companies.

A side benefit is eventually you'll be saving a bit of money a month as you won't be sending the cable co the monthly rental fee for the gear.

[deadcoyote]

My company doesn't provide the gear, we bought and own our old kit and will buy this stuff too.

[Zorba]

I recommend D-Link, although NetGear is good stuff too. Whatever you buy, plug it into a surge suppressor.

Oh, avoid Belkin at all cost.

[fishmonger]

My ibuypower computer is 9 years old and very sad. I am going to purchase another one, likely from I buy power again. I figured I'd upgrade my modem and router while I'm at it. Ibuypower doesn't sell modems, so here's my embarrassingly stupid question: do people still use stand alone modems and routers or are there combo devices now? Please be gentle, I am tech retarded.

some cable companies still only offer modems and some will charge for a wifi router. ask the cable company first see what they will give you. if you have to rent it its best to buy your own.

[deadcoyote]

The Cable company we use doesnt rent modems, they sell them. I appreciate the fact the are located next to a Costco, and openly advise you as the customer costco has better modems for half the price and recommend you go to costco. I just figured I'd piggyback my router/modem purchase onto my ibuypower order.

[OutlawStar]

For the average person, the modem/router combos are decent, especially when you buy from a good company like linksys or netgear. Is there a reason you would like the router and modem to be separate devices?

[UEDan]

http://www.statestreetdeals.com/view-product/en/38

Modem I use and where I bought a few from already. I don't have any issues if its some where well ventilated.
For a router, Linksys Router with DD-WRT:

http://www.linksys.com/us/c/special-deals-and-refurbished/

Never cared for modem/router combos.

[the86d]

http://www.statestreetdeals.com/view-product/en/38
Modem I use and where I bought a few from already. I don't have any issues if its some where well ventilated.
For a router, Linksys Router with DD-WRT:

http://www.linksys.com/us/c/special-deals-and-refurbished/

Never cared for modem/router combos.

How are the "802.11N" routers with DD-WRT?

ALL of the "802.11G" I tried had REALLY SLOW PROCESSORS and I couldn't get even 1/2 stated bandwidth throughput through the 100mpbs WAN port due to said procs.
The Verizon FiOS Actiontech I put DD-WRT on had better WAN port throughput (faster proc...), but the lag in the web interface made me never really use it.

[deadcoyote]

The only reason I would want it to be separate devices is if it resulted in higher performance. My house is 3600 square feet and the signal gets a little janky depending on where you are in the house

[ExtremeX]

Moderm - Separate (Motorola)
Router - Separate (Fortigate), no junky DD-WRT flashing here. Hardware accelerated performance.
Wireless Infrastructure - Separate - Multiple Access Points (Ubiquiti Networks)
Switching with POE - Separate (HP Procurve)

[UEDan]

How are the "802.11N" routers with DD-WRT?

ALL of the "802.11G" I tried had REALLY SLOW PROCESSORS and I couldn't get even 1/2 stated bandwidth throughput through the 100mpbs WAN port due to said procs.
The Verizon FiOS Actiontech I put DD-WRT on had better WAN port throughput (faster proc...), but the lag in the web interface made me never really use it.

I'm surprised they still even sell those G routers. At home I have an older E3000 works for me. 100% stable and I'm getting all the bandwidth I'm paying for. All 50mb of it.

With 100mb+ connections, I have had great results with newer N routers. Stable. The GUI I'll admit is iffy at times but I like the features and options so I deal with it. Plus its its set and forget.

@deadcoyote you need access points with dedicated cable drops. A high end router isn't going to fix your range issue.

[ExtremeX]

Anyone with any network savvy could/should be buying older enterprise hardware instead of consumer gear and flashing firmware to try and get more function out of it.

Go get a used Fortigate, Watchguard, Palo Alto, Cisco off ebay for dirt cheap... high end quality firewall/routers that used to cost $1000-2000 can be had for $100

Last thing you would be worrying about is speed. My Fortigate 60C cost me less than $100 and it can actually pass gigE traffic across subnets.

In addition to that, you actually get a lot of features... hardware based IPSec and SSL VPN, policy based firewall, routing, multiple WAN ports, 2 factor auth... all including / free without licence or subscription...

[ray415]

deadcoyote,

Do you have a certain price range for what you're willing to spend for the modem/router?

My recommendation would be to get something like this: http://tinurl.com/he5hnfx

It's a modem/router combo and very easy to set up. It also supports newer WiFi standards. I am not suggesting you get this exact model, but something close to this. You can call your ISP and ask them for suggestions as well. When I moved a few months ago, I brought over my old setup from my old place and planned to use that equipment but after talking to my ISP, I went with equipment that they suggested and my speeds went through the roof!

Yes, you can buy a modem and a router separately but when it comes to consumer equipment I always like to keep it simple. Also, The less equipment you have, the less of a mess you have on your desk - space wise and wires wise.

My ibuypower computer is 9 years old and very sad. I am going to purchase another one, likely from I buy power again. I figured I'd upgrade my modem and router while I'm at it. Ibuypower doesn't sell modems, so here's my embarrassingly stupid question: do people still use stand alone modems and routers or are there combo devices now? Please be gentle, I am tech retarded.