Noob needs help buying new modem/router

[UnknownSoldier]

So I've been looking to upgrade my router as I have a fairly basic one and what I constantly find is there are either modem routers or wireless routers.

Now I've read up a bit about all the terms and, from what I understand, one can either get a modem router or a modem + wireless router, but a modem is essential nonetheless.
But now I looked at my current setup and my router seems to be a wireless router and is connected to a Telkom AC Adapter which is connected to the phone line, and now I don't know where that fits into the whole chain, is the adapter acting like a modem and can I get rid of it if I get a modem/router or am I understanding it wrong?

If anyone can explain to me the whole home network setup in basic terms that'd be great

If you could recommend some routers as well that'd be awesome, not looking for something high-end, just a decent AC router as I'm only on a 4Mb ADSL Telkom uncapped account and I'd say there aren't too many devices connected at once, most demanding would be when my friend comes over to LAN DOTA 2 and also I might have to go wireless for my PC if my room gets rearranged and the PC is moved away from the router (currently connected via ethernet cable).

D-Link (see what I did there ) to my current router: http://www.dlink.ru/mn/products/1/664.html

 

[WiZard]

You get 4 basic devices:

AP: Wireless (WiFi) Access Point. This enables devices and computers to connect to the network via WiFi.
Switch: Ethernet multi-port switch, allows multiple devices to connect to the network via cables.
Modem: Does the actual connection to the internet, via fibre, DSL, 3G/LTE etc.
Router: Handles the IP part of the internet connection, doing authentication, routing, address translation etc.

Now, you can get each of these separately, or in various combinations, up to all in one.

Most DSL routers are 4 in 1, as in they contain a DSL modem, WiFi AP, Router and switch (i.e. multiple LAN ports). Your dlink is one of these, the AC adapter probably has a built in lightning protection circuit, which is why the phone line goes via it, the DSL modem is inside the device itself. You can plug the phone line directly into the DSL port on the dlink, but you lose the (limited) lightning protection.

Another common one is the Wireless Router - this does not have a modem built in, but has a WAN port through which you connect it to a separate modem or fibre optical network terminator (ONT).

And you see loose switches a lot, these are usually higher speed and with more ports than those built into routers (the dlink has only a 100Mbps switch built in, so many people would connect it to a separate Gigabit switch).

There are a lot more specialist and/or exotic devices out there, but for home networking, those are the common/basic ones.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

You get 4 basic devices:

AP: Wireless (WiFi) Access Point. This enables devices and computers to connect to the network via WiFi.
Switch: Ethernet multi-port switch, allows multiple devices to connect to the network via cables.
Modem: Does the actual connection to the internet, via fibre, DSL, 3G/LTE etc.
Router: Handles the IP part of the internet connection, doing authentication, routing, address translation etc.

Now, you can get each of these separately, of in various combinations, up to all in one.

Most DSL routers are 4 in 1, as in they contain a DSL modem, WiFi AP, Router and switch (i.e. multiple LAN ports). Your dlink is one of these, the AC adapter probably has a built in lightning protection circuit, which is why the phone line goes via it, the DSL modem is inside the device itself. You can plug the phone line directly into the DSL port on the dlink, but you lose the (limited) lightning protection.

Another common one is the Wireless Router - this does not have a modem built in, but has a WAN port through which you connect it to a separate modem or fibre optical network terminator (ONT).

And you see loose switches a lot, these are usually higher speed and with more ports than those built into routers (the dlink has only a 100Mbps switch built in, so many people would connect it to a separate Gigabit switch).

There are a lot more specialist and/or exotic devices out there, but for home networking, those are the common/basic ones.

Thanks for that, makes a lot more sense to me now

So from what I read online and what you said, the average person (or someone, like me, that's on a budget) should just go for an all in one modem/router as it should be more simple and cheaper overall, whereas if you get a separate modem, router, & AP it will obviously be better, but also more expensive and complex, do I have that correct?

With regards to the AC adapter, if I do upgrade my router, would you recommend me keeping it, getting rid of it (do newer routers maybe come with some sort of lightning protection?), or getting a better one?

What route do you think is best? Perhaps you have any recommendation? (based on what I said in the OP quoted below and preferably below R2000, if possible)

If you could recommend some routers as well that'd be awesome, not looking for something high-end, just a decent AC router as I'm only on a 4Mb ADSL Telkom uncapped account and I'd say there aren't too many devices connected at once, most demanding would be when my friend comes over to LAN DOTA 2 and also I might have to go wireless for my PC if my room gets rearranged and the PC is moved away from the router (currently connected via ethernet cable).

 

[WiZard]

If you could recommend some routers as well that'd be awesome, not looking for something high-end, just a decent AC router as I'm only on a 4Mb ADSL Telkom uncapped account and I'd say there aren't too many devices connected at once, most demanding would be when my friend comes over to LAN DOTA 2 and also I might have to go wireless for my PC if my room gets rearranged and the PC is moved away from the router (currently connected via ethernet cable).

D-Link (see what I did there ) to my current router: http://www.dlink.ru/mn/products/1/664.html

Forget all the hype. Your DSL connection is only 4Mbps, so you are not going to get any benefit from making the wifi or LAN ports faster (they are already 54Mbps and 100Mbps respectively).

So, unless there is something you haven't told us, I'd say just stick with the Dlink and apply the money somewhere else where it will have an actual effect.

 

[Bearman]

Forget all the hype. Your DSL connection is only 4Mbps, so you are not going to get any benefit from making the wifi or LAN ports faster (they are already 54Mbps and 100Mbps respectively).

So, unless there is something you haven't told us, I'd say just stick with the Dlink and apply the money somewhere else where it will have an actual effect.

What he said.

 

[PsyWulf]

What are you trying to achieve by upgrading

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[UnknownSoldier]

Forget all the hype. Your DSL connection is only 4Mbps, so you are not going to get any benefit from making the wifi or LAN ports faster (they are already 54Mbps and 100Mbps respectively).

So, unless there is something you haven't told us, I'd say just stick with the Dlink and apply the money somewhere else where it will have an actual effect.

What he said.

What are you trying to achieve by upgrading

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

My thinking is that since I’ll be getting new desks in my room soon, there’s chance my PC might be moved away from the router as the printer makes it quite cramped atm.
So I thought, if the PC does get moved away from the router, then will it not be better for me to get an AC router and take advantage of the 5 GHz channel?

I do understand what you guys are saying about it not being beneficial at present, but what do you think if I indeed to move the PC away from the router and go wireless, would an AC router be more reliable?

 

[nagapie]

My thinking is that since I’ll be getting new desks in my room soon, there’s chance my PC might be moved away from the router as the printer makes it quite cramped atm.
So I thought, if the PC does get moved away from the router, then will it not be better for me to get an AC router and take advantage of the 5 GHz channel?

I do understand what you guys are saying about it not being beneficial at present, but what do you think if I indeed to move the PC away from the router and go wireless, would an AC router be more reliable?

If you game i recommend putting in a cat5 cable to your room. Yes it will be a pain to install but in the long run it will be beneficial. Otherwise if you just surf the net etc. Wifi is good enough

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[UnknownSoldier]

If you game i recommend putting in a cat5 cable to your room. Yes it will be a pain to install but in the long run it will be beneficial. Otherwise if you just surf the net etc. Wifi is good enough

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I do play a bit of Dota 2 now and again, but is there really such a big difference between wireless (even with ac router/adapter) compared to cable?

 

[PsyWulf]

5Ghz offers higher speeds,but far less signal penetration,so it's prone to drop off in speed very quickly as distance increases due to all the crud between the source and you ( Walls and stuff just kill 5Ghz )

Depending on your place you might find your latency only increases slightly,or lots,on either frequency,your best experience will always be cabled. Wifi I leave to devices that do browsing exclusively,where latency is less of a factor

 

[mradovan]

I do play a bit of Dota 2 now and again, but is there really such a big difference between wireless (even with ac router/adapter) compared to cable?

The question is, how far is now the PC going to be away from the router, and how many walls in between?
If the answer is e.g. "3m and no walls" - wireless (and not even ac) will be fine (for Dota 2).

Doesn't cost you anything to try...

 

[UnknownSoldier]

5Ghz offers higher speeds,but far less signal penetration,so it's prone to drop off in speed very quickly as distance increases due to all the crud between the source and you ( Walls and stuff just kill 5Ghz )

Depending on your place you might find your latency only increases slightly,or lots,on either frequency,your best experience will always be cabled. Wifi I leave to devices that do browsing exclusively,where latency is less of a factor

The question is, how far is now the PC going to be away from the router, and how many walls in between?
If the answer is e.g. "3m and no walls" - wireless (and not even ac) will be fine (for Dota 2).

Doesn't cost you anything to try...

If the room does get rearranged, it will still be in the same room, just on opposite sides, will ac be necessary if my friend occasionally comes to lan Dota 2 with me though?
I understand cable is king and I'll try my best to keep the PC near the router, but I do feel like it's gonna be moved as the desk I have in mind might be too big to be next to the room door (will make the entryway cramped), so just trying to plan ahead atm.

 

[mradovan]

If the room does get rearranged, it will still be in the same room, just on opposite sides, will ac be necessary if my friend occasionally comes to lan Dota 2 with me though?
I understand cable is king and I'll try my best to keep the PC near the router, but I do feel like it's gonna be moved as the desk I have in mind might be too big to be next to the room door (will make the entryway cramped), so just trying to plan ahead atm.

I'd say you'll be 100% fine with a non-ac wireless standard - don't waste your money.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

I'd say you'll be 100% fine with a non-ac wireless standard - don't waste your money.

Awesome, thanks for the help.