Ordered Macbook Pro. Now need wireless.

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Hello everyone!
Love this forum and hope to learn enough to contribute here someday but for the time being I'm going to be learning. I just ordered a Macbook Pro 15" yesterday and I'm patiently waiting for it to ship. This will be my first Mac and my first laptop so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm going to find out how my trading platforms work on it and I'll post here my results just in case anyone may want to know. I'm sure they'll work fine.

Now I need to get started on looking for a Wireless router for my cable modem. I'm going to have a pc hardwired to it...hopefully that'll work. I'm not getting the Airport Extreme yet. I'm hoping to find a Linksys or Belkin router that'll work for me. I just don't have a clue which one to even look at. Should I look at the new wireless n routers? Or should I just get the b/g. Whatever that means. I'm too used to being tethered to the wall....lol. Any advice is welcomed and I look forward to getting my Mac next week.
 
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Personally, I have had bad experience with Linksys. I have a D-Link right now and it works really well with the wireless on my MacBook and also with my dad's Dell. I had bad experiences with Linksys customer service on several occasions, whereas I know nothing about D-Link customer service. I have never had to use it. D-Link is the only company that prints "Mac Compatable" on it.

I would reccomend looking at Newegg and finding what works for you. You didn't mention price range or ft range.N is a new technology, and it still has problems. Unless you really think you need it and want to dish out the extra money for it, I would go with G.
 
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Yea, I've read the same thing about the 802.11n also. It's not ready yet. I'm going to go for the 802.11g. I'll start at looking at the D-link. I just need it to handle up to 2 wireless and one port for a hardwire connection for my desktop. I don't want to pay what they're asking for the n routers but other than that I have no set price range. I just want something that works well. I don't mind paying as long as it works and will hold up. As far as range, the further the better but up to 30' will work fine for me.

I just checked my order status. It SHIPPED! It's still at fex-ex in Shanghai. Can't wait till it gets here. I held off on getting iWork since '07 will be out in Jan. Hopefully I made the right decision on this and hopefully they do add spreadsheets. Thought about getting office but don't know if I should now. I'm a little foggy on whats going to happen when office '07 comes out with the new file formats and if they'll even keep supporting the Mac version or not.

I'm thinking of getting a game to play around with but don't know what to go with. Thinking either Doom3, Quake4 or UT2004 but I'm leaning towards Doom. I got the 15", 2.33mhz C2D, 256 video, 2gb ram, 160gb hard drive so it should handle it fine. It'll be something to get me though till iwork 07 comes. Anyway, so estatic that I don't know how to handle it. Can't wait till it gets here.
 
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Airport express/extreme!
 
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Ok, Can I connect my home PC to it too though direct connection?
 
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If you're going to snag a game for it, I'd HIGHLY recommend Call of Duty 2 (or 3 if there's a Mac version), OR UT2004.

If you don't know, CoD2 (the entire series actually) is THE BEST WWII shooter of all time. UT2004 is just an awesome game.

As far as the wireless is concerned, unlike a lot of people, I happened to have great "luck" with my Linksys WRT54G wireless router.. I have it setup with WEP/Mac Filtering so that the only wireless computers that can access it, are the oens I tell my router to allow.

EDIT: If my "direct connect" you mean DSL/Cable modem > PC/Mac, then yes.. You'd just have to setup a connection via WinXP with your service's userID/pswd, as well in OS X under Sys Prefs > Network > PPPoE

Depending on which service provider you have, it might "just work" as I've seen with a lot of things.
 
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If you're going to snag a game for it, I'd HIGHLY recommend Call of Duty 2 (or 3 if there's a Mac version), OR UT2004.

If you don't know, CoD2 (the entire series actually) is THE BEST WWII shooter of all time. UT2004 is just an awesome game.

As far as the wireless is concerned, unlike a lot of people, I happened to have great "luck" with my Linksys WRT54G wireless router.. I have it setup with WEP/Mac Filtering so that the only wireless computers that can access it, are the oens I tell my router to allow.

EDIT: If my "direct connect" you mean DSL/Cable modem > PC/Mac, then yes.. You'd just have to setup a connection via WinXP with your service's userID/pswd, as well in OS X under Sys Prefs > Network > PPPoE

Depending on which service provider you have, it might "just work" as I've seen with a lot of things.


Thank you for the recommendation. I forgot about that one. All I've seen is COD2 for mac. I loved Medal of Honor so I'm sure I'll like COD2.

I guess routers are like anything else, there's good and bad. I'll have to give it a try and see what I come up with. Thank god for return policies.
 
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I like the way punkr0x0r put the word "luck" in quotes. He's right, if you do everything right (maybe following the directions...) you shouldn't have problems with any wireless router that you get. See what looks good to you and pick it up. Post back as to how it works so other people with the same question can have a second opinion.
 
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Hello everyone!
Now I need to get started on looking for a Wireless router for my cable modem. I'm going to have a pc hardwired to it...hopefully that'll work.

You already got a cable modem. You should be able to simply plug in the Linksys WAP54G (wireless access point) to add wireless capabilities to it. ~$80 at Bestbuy, Office Depot and other retailers.

Depends on your cable modem, of course.
 
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If you liked MOH a lot, CoD will blow your mind.. IMO, MOH cannot hold a candle to CoD. Great game.. Jsut beat CoD3 on Veteran on the 360.
 
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I'm using Netgear's WGR614 54 Mbps (802.11b+g) wireless router at home with my new MacBook, and prior to that my WinXP laptop. Very solid and reliable (plus, the latest version is white so it matches my Apple stuff) and only $40 at Best Buy/Circuit City. Never a problem, and one of the easiest user interfaces/set-up procedures you'll find, IMHO.

Got one for my (ex-)wife's household, running 1 wired and 2 wireless PCs without a hitch. Really good signal coverage and seems to work well with other brands too (Belkin, D-Link).

Give it a try!
 
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Having good luck with Rangemax

preludemd, I recently got a MBP 17' CD2, which I love btw, and I wanted to make sure I got a solid wireless router.

Unfortunately, I've had problems with my Linksys WRT54G. My wife's PC is hardwired into the router, and then I have my MBP and another PC on the network. The WRT54G would drop the connection all the time and I did not get good coverage in a lot of places in my house (about 2000 sq ft). I tried calling support, reseting it, messing with the configurations, but I was never able to get it working properly. Now I am a bit of a noob, so maybe it was operator error, but nevertheless, I began my search for a solid router.

After searching forums and reading reviews, I setteled for the Netgear Rangemax WPN824. Some posts said this router worked very well for them, so I gave it a shot. I loaded the software and I was up in less than 15mins with the same set up - hardwired PC and the MBP and another PC wireless). I have a great connection in every part of my house and it has not dropped a connection in about a month (vs. 4 drops a day before) on the PC or the MBP. Not sure why, but it is just solid. I would recommend this router because ease of setup and stability (btw, I am using WEP) - may not be ideal for expert use.

On a side note, on two occassions, when my MBP waked from sleep, I had to manually connect, not sure why.....
 
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I like the way punkr0x0r put the word "luck" in quotes. He's right, if you do everything right (maybe following the directions...) you shouldn't have problems with any wireless router that you get.

My Linksys router died -- transmission of RF signal would start and stop at random -- about three weeks after the warranty expired and Linksys's technical support (when I finally reached through to them) basically told me to pound sand and buy another router.

I did. My Belkin has been working flawlessly, though the Belkin print server still won't work with my Mac.

Believe it or not, sometimes problems happen even to those who follow the directions. And Linksys's hardware & customer support deficiencies aren't exactly a secret.

Stay safe ...
 
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Well I got the WRT54G last night and set it up without issues but after using it for about an hour it dropped the connection on both the hardwired pc and the Mac. Had to reset everything to get it to work again, if it keeps happening I'm taking it back, I'll use it heavily this weekend to make sure everything is on the up and up. I need to go in and set up the secuity settings and such. I ignored the install CD being cocky so we'll see if I can get a stable connection, if not I'll try either D-link or Netgear or both, whatever doesn't work will go back. Didn't get any games yet, all I have is what came with it and .Mac.

I did test the range and the upstairs bedroom on the other side of the house the signal was still good so I'm happy with it's range. Just can't figure out why it dropped the connection. We shall see.

On Call of Duty, how is the online play? That's mainly what I do so hopefully it's decent.
 
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Linksys's hardware & customer support deficiencies aren't exactly a secret.

Oh, believe me, I know this very well. I probably spent at least 10 hours on the pone with them back when I had Linksys gear. That didn't even get my problem solved, so I ended up running a 200' cable to the far rooms of the house. I was not impressed at all.
 
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Netgear WPN 824v2.

Remember, look closely at the box and make sure you are getting the "v2" version.

Excellent MIMO router.
 
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I was thinking of getting airport extreme. Is it compatible with Win PCs? Are there any functionality benefits over cheaper routers? Seeing that not many people posting use it, I'm guessing not.
 
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Well, the Linksys dropped the connection again last night suspiciously around the same time as it did the night before so I'm wondering if it's not comcast doing something, it was around 1am both times. So far today I've been trying to use it as much as possible and it seems stable. Went though the security setup last night and that was a pain since I'm a little clueless but I made it through. I'm debating on still picking up the Netgear as suggested but is it as easy as disconnecting one and connecting another? I know I'll have to do the security setup ALL over again but if it's going to be better I don't mind.

I'm loving this thing though. Still need to get into some of the software and learn how to use it. Played with photobooth with my son and he got a kick out of that.

Thank you for all of your advise though folks. I really appreciate it and it's been a huge help, even before I started posting and just read the threads. This computer is so much fun. Love it.
 
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..I'm debating on still picking up the Netgear as suggested but is it as easy as disconnecting one and connecting another? I know I'll have to do the security setup ALL over again but if it's going to be better I don't mind..

On the Netgear 824v2 that I suggested - it hasn't dropped a single connection to 5 wireless devices since I got it a few months ago.

I had three routers before this one. I started to lose hope as the others started dropping connections as you described with the presence of more wireless signals. I thought that was just "the way it was" because of interference, but the MIMO from Netgear was definitely the way to go.

As an avid fan of the "not getting up from bed in the morning to restart my router" club, this has definitely been a life saver.

PS - The connection reliability is superb regardless of the settings. However for INSANE throughput, disable the "Extended range" feature and test moving large chunks of data through the different channels. Channel 1 worked best for me, being the least-used and non-stock of the 13(!) wireless routers around my Mac.
 
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Awesome advice, Thank you CVX! I'll probably pick one up and try it out. Well, time to get off my butt and go change my oil, I think i've "tested" this thing out enough for now...lol.
 

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