wireless routers

I selected the DI-624 router, DWL-G650 card bundle after reading the numerous reviews concerning the easy of setup and encryption options D-Link has. I had a basic understanding of how to set up a network but had never done so and was a little hesitant. I have been pleasantly surprised and how easy it all worked. You always hold your breath waiting for something to go wrong but it didn't here.

I installed the DWL-G650 card first in my laptop and it was installed and ready to go in less than 5 minutes. The instructions are about as straight forward as you get. Insert the CD to install the drivers, put the card in and turn on the laptop. Windows will see the new equipment and complete the installation process. That's it!

Next was the router that would have a direct Ethernet connection to my desktop. The DI-624 has 4 ports for a direct cable connection so I would not need a wireless card for the desktop. In the box were 2 cables to make the connection from my cable modem to the router and then the desktop computer. This was a nice surprise since I figured I would have to buy one and in fact had already done so. The steps to install this were just as easy as the laptop card. You unplug the modem and turn off the computer. Connect the modem to the router, the router to the computer. Turn on the modem, wait about 1 minute for the connection to be re-established, plug in the router, and turn on the desktop. From there you follow the Wizard to set up the network which takes 2-3 minutes and Voila' you're up and running. That's it!!! Total time was about 1 hour and only because I kept reading and re-reading the instructions, the actual work time was about 15 minutes total for both.

The only hiccup I had was the laptop didn't have a connection initially even though it showed the card installed. I had left it running while setting up the router and after thinking about it for a minute wondering why it wasn't working I rebooted the laptop. It recognized the network and has worked great ever since. The direct cable connection with the desktop is at 100Mbps, the wireless connection is 54Mbps. There is not difference between uploads or downloads I can tell with either connection

I am definitely happy with both items and would strongly recommend them.

Installation was easy and everything looked great. Until I tried to access the internet via my browser the next morning ("page cannot be displayed"). All ideas of the helpdesk how to fix it didn't change anything (we exchanged about 20 emails) so that they agreed it was a hardware problem. I returned it and got the next one with the same problem. The answer of the helpdesk this time: don't use ZoneAlarm. And if this is not the problem, then it must be Windows XP. Unfortunately, shutting down ZoneAlarm didn't fix the problem. So the problem must be Windows XP in their opinion. That's an easy excuse because nobody can prove anything and I got stuck with my router and my problem. So I returned it.

Conclusion: if you have a dial-up connection and don't stay connected while being idle, this is a good product. If you have a cable modem and don't shut down your computer all the time, try a different router.

bought this wireless router along with the DWL-G650 wireless card adapter and overall it pretty good. it is quite fast, no complaints there, and has great range (i can use it in any room in my house, even downstairs). the only compliant i have is that once in a while, my laptop loses connection after it has been on standby or has been powered off. its easy to fix (i just unplug the router for a few seconds and plug it back in) but its just annoying since the router is in another room and i have to walk over there. i'd say this happens on average, once every couple days. its not so inconvenient that i'm returning the router, but if it worsens at all, then i probably will (i bought the router and card together from costco, which has a good return policy). it's a pretty expensive router, so while i haven't had many problems at all, you may be able to find a better deal for your money elsewhere.