Not buying a Netgear.
20:27 Sunday 6 Jan 08
I have a NetgearDG834PN - a wireless modem/router. It’s okay, it works, doesn’t get overly hot (unlike the Belkins I’ve owned) and at some point since getting the PS3 I’d read that they don’t play nice. I was being signed out of the PSN constantly and the download speeds were terrible. Couple of days ago I was having more connection problems than I wanted so I rang Zen. Turned out my wiring was slightly off and in the end the wired and wireless experience was almost identical.
After watching Casino Royale (on Blu-ray, so the PS3) I sat back with the laptop. Same distance from the Netgear as when I talked to Zen. I could barely ping the router. Rebooted router, restarted machine, network settings, renewed lease - did everything. Then I saw the disconnected PS3 controller. So I hooked that back to the PS3 and instantly the signal improved. I could get the net but it wasn’t that quick. So I turned the PS3 off - and it all got even better. I tried several settings in the PS3 Network menu and nothing would improve matters. Checking the Sony forums found lots of people with the same situation and both Netgear and Sony were doing nothing. So, some choices:
- stick with what I have
- buy a long cable to wire it up (about 20ft)
- buy something that does not have “Netgear” written on it.
At the end of January Linksys will be getting some of my money. I’ll stick until then and cable doesn’t appeal so much (why are the necessary sockets always on the other side of a room and there is a doorway involved?). I can’t game online unless I’ve got a better connection and the problems would explain some (but not all) of the Ridge Racer problems I’ve had). Actually, I’ll post to the Zen forums and see what is recommended there - it may well not be Linksys. I’ll not be buying a Netgear again though.
1
I use a Zyxel router now. Had them at my old work, a few fell into my bag and I’ve used them for other folk I’ve set up wireless for.
22:26 Sunday 6 Jan 08
2
netgear’s consumer stuff seems to be pretty crappy. their pro stuff is decent enough for the small offices i’ve worked in, though. linksys is better, but not by a lot.
01:14 Monday 7 Jan 08
3
Terry - zycel is a new make on me. Haven’t even seen that while looking for a replacement.
Adam - you are saying what I have seen looking around since I wrote the above. It’s like I win a bit on one side but might lose a bit on the other. Makes wires look more tempting..
02:44 Monday 7 Jan 08
4
Not to sound like a broken record, but when my linksys died I got an Apple Airport Extreme, and it’s the best router I’ve had -not a huge amount of configuration on it, but I don’t need it :)
19:18 Monday 7 Jan 08
5
AJ - you? apple? Nooooo ;)
I’m probably right in thinking that it’s a bit pricey.. there’s ‘good’ and ‘expensive’. But when the time comes all things will be examined :)
15:55 Tuesday 8 Jan 08
6
I don’t think it was much (if any!) more than the competition, though online it’s listed as ‘not available’, so maybe it’s getting upgraded next week?
22:33 Wednesday 9 Jan 08