Who is your broadband internet provider? Rate them?
drc13, would you mind explaining about the trendchip modem/router?
I second that question!
Thanks for all your help, everyone. I think we will give the TPG 6 month contact a go.
drc13, would you mind explaining about the trendchip modem/router?
Yeah no worries.
In very simple terms there are 2 main consumer based chipsets Broadcom and Trenchip.
Generally speaking Trendchip achieves higher sync speeds than Broadcom on good quality shorter lines (less than 2.5km) and Broadcom tends to perform better stability wise on longer/noisier lines. So in my case I’m around 1km from the exchange so use a Trendchip based product while I setup a Broadcom based configuration for my parents who are over 5km from the exchange.
Now that’s pretty simple so the next step is working out what kind of setup you are actually after.
Do you want an all in one modem/router? (probably what most households use) or do you want a seperate bridged modem + router setup? (what I use, it’s a little more complex to setup but gives you more flexibility and removes the problem of having one point of failure).
Do you need wireless, gigabit, usb, voip, QOS etc. That will all help determine what would be a good choice for you.
Results from http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/ :
You are 827 m from BOND as the crow flies.
Estimated cable length of 1323.2 m.
Estimated speed of 18666
Zone 1TPG’s 6 month plan is looking rather appealing right now.
TJ, I checked out Internode. They seem expensive? Would they be that much better than TPG?
If you are that close, I’d just go with it…
I’m only slightly more than that and get great speeds. The only issue with TPG is that if something goes wrong, you’re better off calling a friends to help you fix it than their helpdesk.
Results from http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/ :
You are 827 m from BOND as the crow flies.
Estimated cable length of 1323.2 m.
Estimated speed of 18666
Zone 1TPG’s 6 month plan is looking rather appealing right now.
TJ, I checked out Internode. They seem expensive? Would they be that much better than TPG?
If you are that close, I’d just go with it…
I’m only slightly more than that and get great speeds. The only issue with TPG is that if something goes wrong, you’re better off calling a friends to help you fix it than their helpdesk.
I suppose Nacho can be on speed dial for that!
Thanks again, drc13. Great info there.
I was actually wondering about how I wanted to set it up so I’m glad you asked. I’ve previously had a separate modem and router but the idea of having an all-in-one sounds good to me.
Basically we have one main computer which everything is connected to. Then we have a few laptops around the house which will need to connect to a wireless network. Nothing complicated is needed. As long at the desktop is connected and the laptops wirelessly, I think that’s all we need.
Any suggestions?
All in one will do you fine. How big is the house? and how new are the laptops?
If they are new, then get the N wireless, it is stronger and in a decent sized house will allow you to still work anywhere. If they are old, they will only work on G anyway so there is no point paying the extra money at this time.
Stay away from D-Link and Linksys, both have a whole bunch of shoddy products that will likely break.
My favourites are Netgear and TP-Link as I havent had any issues with either model.
That’s why I’m happy with SpinTel!!!!!
When ya ring Tech Support, ya can actually understand each other!!!!!
Cheers TJ. Medium sized house, two storeys. My MacBook Pro is less than two years old. Michelle’s is several years old. I’d like to have a strong wireless signal but I’m guessing Michelle’s computer won’t work?
All in one will do you fine. How big is the house? and how new are the laptops?
If they are new, then get the N wireless, it is stronger and in a decent sized house will allow you to still work anywhere. If they are old, they will only work on G anyway so there is no point paying the extra money at this time.
Stay away from D-Link and Linksys, both have a whole bunch of shoddy products that will likely break.
My favourites are Netgear and TP-Link as I havent had any issues with either model.
Yeah Netgear and TP-Link is good!!!!! I used to have a Seimmens on ADSL1 years ago that never missed a beat!!!!!
Whatever ya do, don’t buy the shit that Harvey Norman sells (can’t remember the name atm)!!!!! I had the guys on Spintel runnin around like mad with a connection problem, until they sent out a test modem to swap over with Gerry’s brand new one, and guess what!!!!! Took it back to Harvey Norman and the guy at the computer dept admitted that they were shit, and that they get heaps back!!!!!
Cheers TJ. Medium sized house, two storeys. My MacBook Pro is less than two years old. Michelle’s is several years old. I’d like to have a strong wireless signal but I’m guessing Michelle’s computer won’t work?
It will work, but only on the G signal and therefore will be much weaker when you hold it next to yours.
Thanks again, drc13. Great info there.
I was actually wondering about how I wanted to set it up so I’m glad you asked. I’ve previously had a separate modem and router but the idea of having an all-in-one sounds good to me.
Basically we have one main computer which everything is connected to. Then we have a few laptops around the house which will need to connect to a wireless network. Nothing complicated is needed. As long at the desktop is connected and the laptops wirelessly, I think that’s all we need.
Any suggestions?
No worries.
Ok seeing as you want an all in one you will be pretty limited in trendchip options and will probably need to go for a broadcom based setup.
From what you have described I would definitely recommend wireless N (not much more expensive and future proofs it a little bit) I can’t live without gigabit but seeing as you will only have one desktop connected via a physical cable standard 10/100 will be perfectly adequate (your wireless speed will be your bottleneck)
I think a unit like the Billion 7800nl would be your best choice for an all in one http://au.billion.com/product/wireless/bipac7800nl.php
I agree tplink is also a good budget option (I personally run a tplink 8840t bridged to a tplink 1043nd router running 3rd party gargoyle firmware)
I would personally avoid netgear for modems. They make a decent router (especially when combined with 3rd party firmware) but their modem chipsets leave a lot to be desired.
Here’s a link on WP which discusses recommended all in one units with wireless N http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1268327
Whatever ya do, don’t buy the shit that Harvey Norman sells (can’t remember the name atm)!!!!!
Belkin??
Yeah, that’s the brand!!!!! Wouldn’t use it for land fill!!!!!
Yeah, that’s the brand!!!!! Wouldn’t use it for land fill!!!!!
Yep horrible units at a premium price!
I’m with Telstra. We pay around $89 a month for 100GB usage and my local calls are free. My download speed ranges from 800-1500kb/s. But it’s Telstra. So theres always stupid problems.
In our situation, would there be any benefit in getting a separate modem and router? It’s the setup we’ve previously had so I have no problems with it. I just thought an all-in-one might be easier.
So Michelle’s computer will be able to connect to the wireless N?