which wireless access point is the best?

[king_of_rally]

Hi,
i am a newbie to wireless. Currently, what i am thinking is setup a wireless network for my house and i am hoping to get a accesss point which allow me to access the network any part of my house. So, i wonder which access point work the best for house with 3 floor. Moreover, which acccess point work the best and have a reasonable price.(less than $100)

Thanks
KR

 

[Spazholio]

For the price range you've specified, I'd recommend most of the consumer grade router/switch/APs that you'd find in any electronics store. Specifically, I've use the Linksys BEFW11S4 with minimal difficulty. You did mention that you have a 3 story house though, and that could cause problems. How old is the house? If there is plaster in the walls, forget it. Plaster tends to absorb the wireless signals and severely limit the range. If it's newer, then provided you put the AP in a centrally located place, you shouldn't have a problem. Some people report problems with 2.4GHz phones and microwaves being used at the same time as the access points, but I've never noticed any problems whatsoever.

 

[upec]

I also have a Linksys wireless router too. Have no problem with it.

 

[Ryan_Plus_One]

Linksys is overpriced. I reccomend Netgear.

<font color=red>Proudly supporting the AMD/Nvidia minority</font color=red>

 

[Unolocogringo]

Linksys costs a little more tthan Netgear but the ranges on linksys is also greater. When I bought my wireless setup. Linksys has the greatest range.1100 to 1500 ft for the linksys and 750 to 1100 for the netgear.

I aint signing nothing!!!

 

[Take_Out]

Check out the Tim Higgins articles at Tom's about the newer Dual-band Tri-Mode cards and routers and APs. He says that the newer Athero's radio in these devices is much better than the original single mode operation. The story is http://www17.tomshardware.com/network/20030506/index.html in Tom's Guide to Networking. It is a "need to know article:Second Generation 80211.A"
Good Luck,
Take-Out

"We killed OUR Hitler" - attributed to Paul McCartney (If so, then well done, sir)

 

[Cloaked]

well make sure you get a 802.11b router, not an "a" or "g" as they will cost more, although they are faster.
I have accually expirenced interferance with a 2.4 ghz phone, but that was only when i held the phone about 10 inches away from the router

 

[ycs46241]

i would use these in combination


1)etherFast Wireless Access Point + Cable/DSL Router w/ 4-Port Switch
2)WSB24 Wireless Signal Booster, 802.11b
<A HREF="http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=282388&pfp=BROWSE" target="_new">http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=282388&pfp=BROWSE</A>
<A HREF="http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=300378&pfp=BROWSE" target="_new">http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=300378&pfp=BROWSE</A>

 

[king_of_rally]

Thanks for all your comment and i really appreicate it. But i do have another question that how is the compatiblity of netgear or linksys router with a intel pro 2100 3b mini-pci card which is install in a t40 thinkpad? I have this conern because i found that other people have compatiblity problem with their pcimia card. So, i wonder if any one have encouter problem with the intel wireless minipci card.

Thanks,
KG