Wireless networking at home starts with a good router. In our Beginner’s Guide to Wi-fi we’ll go over a few good choices in wireless router starting with a D-Link offering.
There are a few popular choices on the market when seeking out a quality router. In case you’re unfamiliar with the task your router performs, it essentially takes the information fed through your telephone line and transmits it, through the air, to your network card. Don’t ask us how’s it done (this isn’t physics 101). Just know you need one.
D-Link Air Plus Xtreme G
Although its name sounds like a futuristic jet plane, the Xtreme G is a popular option from D-Link, one of the foremost producers of routers.
D-Link Air Xtreme G Essential:
· 2.4 GHz
· 802.11g
· Firewall security and alarm features
· Four 10/100 Mbps ports: For wired connections, if so chosen
· Embedded DHCP server: Immediately and seamlessly assigns IP addresses to nearby wireless users allowed on the network
· About $50-$60
Most of the above options are rather standard for today’s routers, although the general consensus is that this is indeed the fastest router available to consumers at the moment.
Beginner’s Guide to Wi-Fi
Dynamic Mode
That’s especially true if one combines the Xtreme G with D-Link’s PC wireless card. Together, this combo can reach speeds of 108Mbps, which we’ll assure you is pretty damn fast. The entire process is called “Dynamic Mode,” and it also features a default search by the router to find the very fastest speeds available.
How? Well, if you’ve got the D-Link card to match, the pair can actually identify and recognize other Xtreme G wares and link them at the highest performance possible.
Prices for the D-Link Xtreme G vary, especially when considering retailer instant rebates and the annoying mail-in ones offered by the manufacturer. Generally, the best deals for all hardware devices of this kind pop up around September and back-to-school season. Yours truly recently picked up this router for just $50, which is a very reasonable price for a very fast product.
Verdict: Despite its request that you also buy the accompanying Xtreme G CardBus Adapter, the D-Link router is a quick and cheap choice with easy setup.
