need advice for adsl modem replacement please

[highpingdrifter]

i currently have an alcatel speedtouch usb modem for my adsl connection, after a little bit of reading here and there it turns out this modem is the modern equivalent of a software modem for adsl.
my problem is when i am downloading if i fire up a game because the cpu is under heavy load my downloads slowdown sometimes even stop until i am back to desktop.

cheers

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

I'd recommend getting an ADSL modem/router/NAT firewall such as the Netgear DG834. Then plug it into your ethernet card. If you don't have a network chip on your motherboard, you can buy a PCI card for between $5-$50. $15 will get you a good one.

 

[highpingdrifter]

thanks, looks good and i can get one for approx £60

 

[Fruitfrenzy]

Be warned, I went from an Alcatel modem like yours to a Netgear DG834g.

On paper it is great and if you use a wired ethernet connection to the router it works great but the wireless is really ropey.

I had reall problems getting the wireless access point bits to work at all at first. After upgrading the firmware it works but is far from reliable. Having said that, the latest firmware (my third version) does seem better.

I had been using an Adaptec access point/router previously and that worked much better (but didn't have a built in adsl modem).

 

[highpingdrifter]

thanks for that fruitfrenzy, i have read a couple of reviews and had seen the wireless version has problems, i am not going wireless so the DG834 should be good for what i need.
are there any other adsl modems i should check out before i order ? please let me know.
thanks

 

[digitalwanderer]

Being the cheap bastard that I are I've got SpeedStream 5360 DSL modem I got for free when I signed up with SBCYahoo and I picked up a SpeedStream 4-port DSL router for $30us at Circuit City that I've just been pleased as punch with.

They're cheap, but they work very well for me.

 

[highpingdrifter]

i decided to get the netgear dg834, i have it connected and everything is working fine, my only query is about the firewall, you get the option to install freedom firewall, do i need it running ?
is it just a gui for the dg834's firewall ? or is it a software firewall ? to work along side the dg834 ?
did that make sense ?

thanks all

 

[kipper67]

It's a software one , I used to own a DG814 and would guess that they supply the same generic CD containing a few utilities like the freedom firewall and acrobat reader with all their ADSL modems, kind of like the cd you get with motherboards often contain a selection of drivers for more than just your board.

Use the one actually on the modem , netgear firewall rules and services(port forwarding) are pretty simple to set up using the web interface if you have a basic knowledge of networking i.e. you know what a port is and why you would need to open one.

Mark

 

[highpingdrifter]

thanks kipper, i understand port forwarding etc, i just thought the freedom software might have been an interface for the hardware firewall.
thanks again all.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

thanks kipper, i understand port forwarding etc, i just thought the freedom software might have been an interface for the hardware firewall.
thanks again all.

Unless things have changed, Netgear uses a standard HTML interface (you access the router with a browser). On the older router models, they additionally have a telnet interface for doing more indepth fiddling about, but I don't know if they still use it on their ADSL modems.

 

[digitalwanderer]

One thing, CHANGE THE MODEM'S PASSWORD!

If your modem or router has a password option, change it to anything but the default one! All the people you don't want knowing your router's password know the default one, so change it!

 

[highpingdrifter]

thanks for the reminder digitalwanderer, password changed to .........
yes it is the html interface with lots a features to mess around with (good stuff) nothing like a new toy for a couple of hours fun.

 

[digitalwanderer]

One other tip; set your alternate DNS look-ups to 4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.2 .

I just learned that trick yesterday.

 

[highpingdrifter]

i have took a leap of faith and changed those settings without reading what they should do for me and web pages are loading faster now(seem to be anyway), i assume that is the desired effect of the tweak, is that right ?

any info to read up on? , thanks