While I agree with only upgrading if necessary (ie, I'm still using a Q6600 in my main machine and loving it), I think having a good router is generally undervalued. For years I went with the Apple routers and they ended being rock-solid, while at the same time I went through 5 different routers at my parent's place trying to find one that wouldn't lock up when the family came home for Christmas. The biggest difference was that the Apple router was relatively expensive ($150 or so) and my Dad kept insisting on paying less than $100 for his router and went with a series of the random ones you find at Best Buy.
Increasingly we are putting more and more wireless devices on our home networks, all of which rely on a good router to connect to the world. There are a lot of ways in which an older or sub-standard router can quickly become a bottleneck in that scenario. Maybe it has too big of a buffer, or maybe it can't handle more than a few devices, or maybe it doesn't allow for QoS determinations to prioritize certain services or devices. Maybe it has some significant security holes. Whatever the case, over the last couple of years I've morphed from someone who used to consider routers a commodity and bought whatever to someone who considers it a piece of hardware worth putting some time and effort into researching and some money into making sure it's a good quality product that has the features I need. --------- Brian On Fri, Jan 4, 2013 at 2:54 PM, Greg Sevart <[email protected]> wrote: > Well, I was really partly trying to get at a bigger point--we've reached a > point in computing where it's sometimes hard to justify upgrades for > practical reasons anymore. Does Windows really get _materially_ faster > upgrading from a Q6600 to a 3750K? I would posit that the answer is > generally no--the use cases that are seeing material improvement (gaming, > video encoding, etc.) are ever shrinking. We've reached an age in which > hardware that is 3-4 years old, once an age considered far too old to be > remotely useful, can actually still chug along. Put another way, I think > we've reached a new age in computing in that yesteryear's tech is still > able > to cope with many of today's loads in a way that just didn't used to > happen. > > I think the advent of multi-core processors at an affordable price and > cheap > RAM are the primary drivers here--and I suspect SSD, once made standard on > your typical office desktop or laptop, will take it to an even greater > degree of practical longevity. > > Or maybe we're just waiting on the next killer app. :) > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Anthony Q. > Martin > Sent: Friday, January 04, 2013 12:56 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [H] Router recommendations $50 - $100 > > I took that has a given, Greg. "Because I want to" is good enough for > almost everything that doesn't impact anyone but me. :) > > On 1/4/2013 1:07 PM, Greg Sevart wrote: > > I have decided that "because I want to" is sufficient justification to > > upgrade. > > > > It has to be--I like playing with new hardware, but I certainly can't > point > > to any defensible reason behind most of my more recent upgrades. My most > > recent move was to 2x Samsung 840 Pro SSDs...from 830's that didn't even > get > > installed. > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] > > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Naushad > > Zulfiqar > > Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2013 5:45 PM > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [H] Router recommendations $50 - $100 > > > > Mine has been going strong for over a year and takes everything I throw > at > > it with aplomb. > > > > I still can't find a reason to upgrade. Which is odd for me since I > upgrade > > at the drop of a hat. > > On Jan 2, 2013 1:58 AM, "Bobby Heid" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> I went with the Asus. Thanks for the recommendation. > >> > >> Bobby > >> > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: [email protected] > >> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Naushad > >> Zulfiqar > >> Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 11:34 AM > >> To: [email protected] > >> Subject: Re: [H] Router recommendations $50 - $100 > >> > >> If you don't need wireless n our gigabit then go for the wrt54gl. > > Otherwise > >> Asus rtn56u > >> On Dec 31, 2012 7:32 PM, "Bobby Heid" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >>> I have a friend whose kids have trashed her very old router. Antenna > > are > >>> broken, have to keep resetting it, etc. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> What would you all recommend in the $50-100 range? > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Thanks, > >>> > >>> Bobby > >>> > >>> > >> > >> > > > > > > > >
