Looking for a new router...

Hi. For years I've been using my Be supplied Speedtouch 780, however due to a switch on wednesday morning I can no longer use that and either have a Sky Hub or Technicolor TG582n to use...both are equally awful.

So...I've been looking at getting my own modem/router.
The Billion 7800n would be my preferred choice however at 100 quid it's a tad expensive.

Other options are
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-dsl-n55u-dual-ba...
or
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/143...

However other people (namely Americans) have suggested getting a seperate ADSL modem (such as http://www.scan.co.uk/products/edimax-ar-7211a-adsl2... ) and bridge that to a cable router.

Any thoughts of what the best choice would be? And any router suggestions be it seperate modem and router or a combined modem/router?

To be honest I'm thinking that maybe a router with an ethernet WAN port would be better to get in advance of FTTC being available to me rather than an ADSL router...although I'm skeptical that I will ever be able to get FTTC as my exchange was one of the early enabled, I see an FTTC cab at the far end of my road and the far end of side roads next to my house yet I cannot get it and it is seemingly impossible to get any information on when I will be able to if ever! After 3 or 4 years it's starting to look unlikely.

Thanks for any help or advice you can provide.

In all honesty, a separate modem and Ethernet WAN router is the best way to go, plus it opens up a whole host of options, such as a hardware firewall option over a router.

However, if you are looking for an all in one type of device you could check out the Draytek 2920 which has an xDSL port AND an Ethernet WAN port so you'd be ready for when FTTx drops to your doorstep.

I've had personal experience with the TG582n and found it very reliable and it does perform well. Although its UI could do with some work

I've also used the P660 series from ZyXEL, however I have found that they sync slightly lower than most others but are solid boxes.

Not had much experience with Billion routers myself, but the reviews and comments I've seen do make them seem worthwhile (maybe I'll try one at some point).

With the ASUS you can (I believe) re-flash it with some Open Source firmware such as DD-WRT which opens up a whole host of options.

Try to stay away from routers that use the TI AR7 chipset, they are known to have some issues with some 21CN exchange hardware. The AR8 is much better, but Broadcom is definitely the stronger chipset - especially as most exchange hardware runs that.

In reply to a post by Mr_Morpheus:

However, if you are looking for an all in one type of device you could check out the Draytek 2920 which has an xDSL port AND an Ethernet WAN port so you'd be ready for when FTTx drops to your doorstep.

which costs £200. The OP already mentioned price

In reply to a post by NBK:

The Billion 7800n would be my preferred choice however at 100 quid it's a tad expensive.

which costs £200. The OP already mentioned price

Yes he did mention price, but he also wanted options and the Draytek is a very valid option, if expensive.

But is it twice as good as the Billion at twice the price?

That is a matter of opinion.

Having not used a Billion, I cannot (and will not) say that the Draytek is twice as "good" (which of course is a relative term) as the Billion.

Draytek routers are used (and copied to varying degrees) a lot. Many businesses swear by them. I'm not a huge fan of Draytek myself (just do not like the UI), but I can appreciate their popularity and seeming flexibility.

One day I'll snag a Billion and give it a pummelling, but not yet as I can't justify buying another router just yet

I use a Huawei HG612 v3B which are available on Ebay for 10-20 quid as a modem. Once unlocked, the modem can be used for either ADSL or VDSL2 connections - I use it for FTTC along with a software router, pfSense, running in a Virtual Machine. The HG612 can also be used as a modem/router itself.

Interesting option

Will probably snag a HG612 at some point to unlock as I'm not gonna screw with my current live one

With regards to pfSense, have you tried the software from Endian?

In reply to a post by Mr_Morpheus:

With regards to pfSense, have you tried the software from Endian?

No, but I've heard good things about Zeroshell

I wouldn't go for the Asus N55U, as the modem section is dreadful. I bought one just before Xmas, it dropped the line so many times that my sync rate dropped from ~4900 to 2600Kbs, as the DSLAM kept raising the SNR margin (eventually got to 15dB!). I tried many times through the forums to get the issue sorted, to no avail.

I replaced it with a Billion 7800DXL; what a difference! the line has not dropped once in the 40 odd days it's now been up, and my rate is back to ~4800. (Note: it took me a week of arguing with BT to get my line reset, so that the re-train process would start again).

Hope this helps.