Looking for a good 5 port (or more) Router

[Thonger]

I am looking for a router to replace my hub, I need at least 5 ports. All machines are running XP. All print to one printer which is hooked up to 1 of the computers.

I would like it to have the built in firewall, also I need it to be very easy to open ports, as I do a lot of different things that require different ports to be opened. Also I do a lot of LAn and online gaming so I dont want any interfernace.

I would like to spend under $80 for it.

[reboot]

You don't want much do you? ;)
I think you can probably get the Linksys BEFSR81 for just under $80.00
It's an 8 port, and has the features you want.
Do a search on www.pricewatch.com or www.nextag.com

[Thonger]

lol, I really dont know what they run, price isnt that big of an issue. Thanks for the suggestion. :)

[piasabird]

Best time to buy routers is Christmas. I bought a 4 port linksys from www.amazon.com and they had free shipping. Amazon sells lost of networking stuff; them and best buy too. Best Buy has an internet site too.

Another site is http://www.personalhomenetworks.com/

It is run by the people at

http://www.homenethelp.com/web/howto/HomeNet-start.asp

[mjkovis]

Just look around. There really isnt a bad router out there anywhere. I just went to different electronics and computer stores and checked prices. Found a good deal for wireless for like $120. See what happens. Everyone else who has replied has the same idea, but I did my work without a computer! :-)

[Thonger]

has anyone ever heard anything good on the Dlink DI-604. even though it is only 4 ports, thats the min I need. it is price very nicley and have read some reviews and it said it was a good pick.

I am asking does it do everything I asked it for a router to do.

whats that thing where like the router displays a different IP than what your machine is. Like an ip filter or proxy or somthing?

Thanks

[reboot]

It's as good as the Linksys, or SMC, and better than Netgear and a few others.

[Thonger]

Does it do that thing where it (for lack of a better word) changes your IP address and makes it appear difference to the rest of the net?

Forgive me for my stupidy, I can build and computer but when it comes to the network side of things I am not very bight.

Thanks for your help so far. :)

[brassman]

Yes


when your computers are set up as DHCP clients, the DHCP server in the router can assign IP addresses to the computers on your LAN,or private network.

[mattg2k4]

What I think you're talking about is called NAT - Network address translation.

What that does is it means your router has your public IP address and is connected to the internet. Then all of your computer connect to the router using private IP addresses, which are not accessible from the internet. It creates a certain level of protection from hackers, since they cannot connect to any of your computers unless they slip it in under a currently established connection, or if you have ports forwarded to any of your computers. Port forwarding means that unsolicited public traffic on that port will be forwarded to a certain computer on your network, typically a server.

[glc]

If you want a 4 port router with a print server, the price on the D-Link DI-704P can't be beat. That way, you can take the printer off the computer and everyone can print to it without a "host" computer having to be on. The router actually has a parallel port.

D-Link is my second pick after Linksys, and Linksys doesn't have a router with a print server yet. SMC's costs more than the D-Link.

All routers sold for home use have NAT.

If you need more ports, you can uplink the router to your hub and use those ports too.