Wi-Fi Routers Video

Wi-Fi Routers Video Transcript

I'm gonna (hazardy?) guess, you don't get quite asa excited about a wireless router as you do at Smart phone or tablet do you? But that's the point. If you get a good router, it's boring in the best way. Easy to set up and it does works. Yes, there are such things in tech. I'm Bryan Cooley with the top 5 wireless routers according to Cnet review scores. Number 5 is the TRENDnet TEW 692 GR. Oh, they've all got sexy names. This guy has the much desired 450 megabit speed on both the 2.4 and 5 gigahertz band you've been studying. Though it works better on the 5 gigahertz side. It also has gigabit ether netports on the back with a wired connection and an easy to use web interface that set this thing up. Now it's a little dated and that it lacks support for IP version 6 or for storage or for print server abilities, all those kinda bells and whistle. But in $120 street price, it's also about the cheapest on our list. Number 4 is the Netgear WNDR3800 N600. Great wireless speed. Even though it doesn't have that latest 450 megabit technology. And it ranges really good too. A lot of folks write us with problems in that area. It's got dual band, 2.4 and 5 gigahertz. IP v6 which is great future proofing. Parental control, that's interesting. And cloud based storage support. Though it's performance when you attach a USB harddrive to it for storage on the network, it's a little weak. But the price isn't bad at $129 street. Number 3 is the Linksys E4200 Maximum Performance. That's laying quite a claim. Luckily, this guy pays off. It's got the 450 megabit technology when you're connecting to 5 gigahertz band devices. But not for 2.4 gigahertz. It's got gigabit ether net ports on the back, the fastest wired connections, and has really good wireless through put as they call it and range. It will reach your house pretty well. It also functions well as a network attached storage device when you plug in a drive. It does have a limit of 10 guest users at a time though and it's got this clunky wall warp power adapter. So prepared to also go to FC, for a little felted cozy to hide that part. About $155 street. Number 2 is felt and stylish. And yes, I'm still talking about routers. It's the ASUS RTN56 U. If you gotta install your routers somewhere around your place where it's gonna show, this could be the one for you because folks won't come over and say wow loser, you got this gear all over your place. Stellar is the word we also used to describe it's wireless speed and its reach, specially when it's on the 5 gigahertz band. It's USB ports do a really good job of turning in an attached drive into network and pr cloud storage and it even create the cool on screen map of all your network assets. Neat to look at and makes it easier to figure things out. About $124 street price. Number 1 may sound like there's an echo in this piece but there's not. It's the CISCO E4200 but version 2 and 900 model. The latest version of our number 3 router. It actually rates slightly below the ASUS I just talked about, but that's because this guy is so new, the bar has been raised. Our router king Dong Ngo tells me this is the one he'd buy for his place. Let me tell you something. It's got dual band concurrent 450 megabits radios, gigabit ether net port, excellent storage support, and really hot throughput specially when connecting to 5 gigahertz devices. It also looks kinda good. But it's the priciest at almost $200 street price. Now if you need help understanding all these specs we went through when it comes to buying a wireless router, check out some of our links over at top5.cnet.com where you also find more top 5 videos like this. I'm Bryan Cooley. Thanks for watching