Good CHEAP router, wireless too!
Written: Sep 02 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Installation: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
|
|
|
Pros: cheap, secure, fast
Cons: has to be reset once in a blue moon
The Bottom Line: cheap, secure, speedy, great all around router for home networking
|
|
|
| godzthunder's Full Review: Compaq CP-2W Wireless Access Point and Router |
I have an Averatec notebook with a built in wireless 802.11g card installed. This means that I can get on the internet without any wires or cords, or at least I could if I had a wireless base station, something that my cable modem plugs into that broadcasts my internet connection over radio transmission. This is where my Compaq router comes in. This router broacasts at 802.11b & g which is a very fast connection. It also promises to mask my IP address by making its own, this prevents security issues such as hacking into my hard drive. ALSO, it acts as a type of firewall to prevent hackers from watching you surf the web.
These features of security make a router much different than a connection hub or switch, which can be cheaper but expose your PC easier than just a direct connection to the internet.
This is why I fully reccoment a router and the compaq router is the one of choice, it provides excellent protection, gives a great fast transmission (so if you have DSL or cable you will not lose any speed).
There are four NIC connectors to connect four computers in this router it also claims to have the ability to carry 200 wireless connections at once but I cannot verify that as I only have two computers, one a standard NIC connection. I will say that it does an excellent job of routing information between the two computers so that both can surf the internet at the same time with no congestion or slowness. This router brings much speed and joy to the home network. The two most important considerations in a router are speed and security, this one handles both just as well as the high end models on the market.
MY CP2W cost me only twenty dollars on Amazon, making it very affordable considering the typical router, wireless router, costs over seventy dollars.
The only problem I have is if I rapid surf, that is surf the internet going to many sites (trying to search for specific information)...say twenty sites in under a minute...then the router will stop and will have to be unplugged for a moment to hard reset. BUT This is because I research, I am sure the typical surfer will never have to worry about such things.
As for installing the device, plug your modem into this device and then the device to your computer (OR if wireless you just turn on the wireless card and let it detect the network). Windows 98 and above fully understand routers and networking...All you have to do is plug it in and access it (open the web browser and type in its IP address, which is shown in the instruciton book (illustrated for ease of use). You type in the word ADMIN (default setting) on the password screen and put in no password (unless you want one in the future) and hit the refresh button. There may be a step or two more but this depends on your ISP (person whom you get internet from, mine is Comcast). they will guide you through the rest of any needed setup on their end. Then you surf the internet!
This is a fully reliable and secure router for a single PC or a wireless network
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 20
Driver Availability: Windows only
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
godzthunder
|
|
Location: Augusta, GA
Reviews written: 57
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Southern Baptist Pastor, Teacher
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.