Over the Christmas break I decided it was time to replace my aging ADSL broadband modem/router. I've been using a Draytek Vigor 2600We for quite a few years now and it has given me solid, reliable service. I hardly ever have to reboot it, months apart, and normally only when I've flooded the wireless connection somehow as it's only 802.11b. My MacBook Pro supports 802.11n-draft and other devices in the house support 802.11g so it was time to think about a faster wireless connection. I ended up, foolishly, walking into PC World and buying (completely on a whim, without looking at any reviews) a Belkin FSD8633. The one I have may just be a lemon and they may well not all be that bad but, what a pile of crap! It drops the wireless connection with alarming regularity. Drops the ADSL connection a couple of times a day. It never works first thing in the morning and needs a power-cycle to get it working again and generally gives me no sense of confidence or quality at all. That's after a week of usage and last night I unplugged it and put my Vigor back online in sheer frustration. The Belkin will be going back to PC World on Saturday – that'll teach me for making an impluse purchase like that with no thought when inside I knew I should steer clear of the likes of Belkin, Netgear and Linksys. I'll still probably replace this aging Vigor 2600We but need to do a bit more research first. Current thinking is that it'll be a Draytek again – maybe the Vigor 2820n…
Andrew Bate, Worcester UK