ok folks, finally getting broadband and hopeing to set up a small home network to share the connection. the isp is aol
i will have 1 wired pc
and 1 wireless laptop, already with a belkin 54g wifi card.

aol have recomended the Thomson Speedtouch 570 modem/wireless router
BUT
i have found a Belkin model that does the same job. (ebuyer)
i know that the belkin will run at the 54mbs speed and the Thomson only at 11mbs.
i know that the belkin costs more and that their tech support is excellent

my question is : do i spend about £80 on the aol supported Dsl modem OR take the plunge and spend £120 on the belkin and rely on their tech support instead???

any help much appreciated
cheers

speed does matter, but tech support might not be the issue is the hardware is good. so check around for cheaper hardware such as netgear i have a 4port wired router which does wonders. but i only spend about 40$. If your going wireless there alot of holes that can open. such as people can steal your cable or internet connection so you might think of adding password to you connection. Also check dslreports.com they have good service there about internet.

Your problem is making sure that your router is compatible with AOL. Go to AOL Broadband info page. They have some recommended models. Then check the info pages of the routers that you are considering, especially the FAQ's about AOL. (The login procedure for AOL is different than other ISP's. Each AOL user can only be logged in once. If you use the same login name on another machine your first log in will be disconnected.)

I would go with an AOL recommended router.

Hi,

It doesn't matter how many PCs you connect to the router. Its the router that is logged into AOL, then the connected PCs log into the router. So, for all AOL knows there is only one PC logged in.

So, do as someone else suggested. Check the specs and make sure they are the same between what AOL tells you to buy and what you would like to buy.

Lastly, and if you want to take it one step further, contact the manufacturer of the router you want to buy and ask. Usually presales is very responsive.

Good luck!

yeah thanks for the advice.
i phoned belkin tech suport and got straight through to the pre-purchase tech support, very impressed with that.
i checked the compatibility and they said it was fine with aol.
also properly looking into protecting the wireless network, although aint too worried as my neighbours are all old dears anyway. no snotty little 14year olds!

if ive got the extra cash i'l prob stump for the belkin as the 54g speed is really tempting,

cheers everyone

The router will support up to 253 users in the local lan, AOL will only support the number of registered AOL user names. (Assuming that they are using the same set up on your side of the ocean. It has been running that way in my household for over a year.)

The 54g speed will not make any difference in your AOL connection. The DSL speed will probably be some what less than 1.5 mbs.

i have the speedtouch 570 and 120 ... on the pc with speedtouch570 internet works fine but the one with speedtouch 120 does finds the speedtouch 570 and connects to it , but does not allow me to connect to the internet on the other computer with speedtouch 120... what can the problem be ....need help