Belkin Surf N300 Wireless N Router Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)A lot of people have complained about the Belkin Surf F7D230 - the older version of this router sold in a blue/white box. I got the revised version F7D6301, which seems to work just fine for me.
I am replacing my good-ole Linksys WRT54G v1.0 with the Belkin Surf N300 F7D6301. Here are my comments:
* I bought it for $29 at Walmart on Black Friday, otherwise it sells for about $45.
* I did not use the Setup CD that would install a 95MB setup/monitoring program.
* If you have Windows 7, the setup is easy enough, just connect the power cable, hook up the router to the modem and you are set. The only other thing you need to do is to enter the preset password located on a small card on the side of the router. You can later access the router settings by entering http://192.168.2.1/ in your browser and set up a more convenient WPA/WPA2 under "Security" located in the left hand side navigation area.
* If you are not tech savvy, run the setup CD, it pretty much does it all for you.
I then ran a network test on speedtest.net and Belkin Surf outperformed my old router in download speeds Linksys 12 Mbps vs. Belkin Surf 20 Mbps. Upload speeds were exactly the same 1.85 Mbps. Please note that speeds will vary due to your provider and what type of plan you have.
Then I tested the range performance. I walked outside with my laptop, about 150 feet and after connecting to one and the other, I noticed that the signal strength was "fair" for my old router and "good" for the Belkin. Also, the speeds have dropped significantly for both routers, but the Belkin still outperformed the old Linksys; 2-4 Mbps for the Linksys vs. 6-8 Mbps for the Belkin.
Pros:
+ Over all, the router is a great choice for the $price$.
+ No dropped connection issues, signal strength is good all over the house.
+ I can surf the web even 150 ft. away from the router.
+ The internet speed is improved.
Cons:
- Not that it matters, but the router feels like it is made out of cheap plastic. For those who like good looking/feeling things, this is definitely not the best choice. However, if you don't care about visual appeal, tuck this thing away from the view and let it do it's job.
The rest is up to you...


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Belkin Surf N300 Wireless N Router

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Zoom CableModem 5241 - Cable modem - external - USB / Ethernet - 42 Mbps Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I used previosly the modem model 5041 over 5 years already. There were issues with connection at first time, but it was solved when I called to my provider (Comcast by the way). Since then I never had any problems with this equipment. I would keep it till it die of the old age but on Dec 14 2009 Comcast upgraded its network so I had to pick new modem from their approved list of modems for 3 days before of marked day. I checked reviews and picked the ZOOM 5241. I have wireless router (linksys 54G) connected to my 5241.
What did I do for setup.
1. Unplugged old modem from power, coaxial and router,
2. Plugged new modem 5241 to his power adapter, coaxial cable and router (with RJ45 connector),
3. Lunched Internet browser (Firefox or IE),
4. I got Comcast page with instructions automatically (It wouldn't let go for another until setup is done),
5. Followed technician instructions (which not require any special skills),
6. Entered my current account number and Comcast shown me all my data including physical and mac addresses. I did not plug in directly from modem to PC. At first Comcast did not pass linksys. I just ignored it and "run diagnostic" (which is just a button) again. Everything was set up automatically. After too reboots I got perfect connections wire and wireless.
Downloading speed jumped up dramatically.
PS. One week later.
Zoom 5241 works now with renewed Comcast network very good. However once I lost connection but because of the my LinkSys 54G wireless router. After I hit reset button on it I got all my connections back. So it was a linksys issue. Right now Zoom + Linksys work flawlessly. And I noticed that downloading speed went up about 10 times faster (Limewire from 15-24 Kbs to 200-500 Kbs - 250 average).
Well 5041 is useless for Comcast IP for today anyway but 5241 works perfect. I picked mine in Fry's Electronics with described above characteristics for $54.
Good luck

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Zoom 5241 DOCSIS 2.0 Cable Modem 5241-02-00G 54

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