WCG200v2 is about dead, now what?

[barrysuperhawk]

Ok, I'll admit when I first got the Linksys WCG200 I thought it was the greatest thing since magpul followers. My Modem, Router, Wireless and Switch all in one box - it was a wonderful thing to behold.

Fast forward a few years, and now it seems a bit long of tooth. Only b/g wireless, crummy range compared to almost anything else out there, needs an Extender to get to the shed, and the extender and the WCG refuse to talk to each other with any security. I never have used my wireless much, so that wasn't a big deal, but now it seems to be dropping my wired connections and rebooting itself whenever I push it at all. I am trying to download a linux live cd right now [torrent] and it keeps resetting. The GF lives and dies on Hulu/Netflix, and even Youtube has been spotty lately. For a while I thought it might be comcast screwing with me when I d/l something big, but repeated tests on sites such as glasnost seem to indicate Comcast is playing fair, and rebooting the router fixes the problem [which wouldn't work if I was being screwed with].

So, I am in the market for a Comcast compatible cable modem, and a wired/wireless router that supports b/g/n connections and has at least 4 10/100 ports, gig ports are better. My first impulse was to just get the Motorola SBG6580 all in one, but then I made the mistake of reading Newegg reviews, and it seems awful, and the CS seems worse, so now I am in a quandry. The SB6121 [modem only] has equally poor reviews, but it seems like about the only other game that Newegg sells and supports D3.0.

As far as the router I am also having trouble deciding, My current front runner is the ASUS rt-n56u but the netgear wndr3700 is a very close second. The Netgear is more popular, but the ASUS seems to have the edge in long range wireless, which is a deciding factor for me [the shed is too far away to run a cord].

So, here I am, a new guy, asking for advice. For the Modem, I am interested in speed and reliability [duh], for the Router, I am more interested in range than raw speed. I game a bit, but I suck, so I don't go overboard trying to squeak out that last ms of ping. I also D/L alot, between netflix, hulu, and linux distros that are released every other night, it seems, I am always right on the edge of my allocation for the month. Mostly I want something that is just going to work, with minimal input and fuss. I want to plug in the modem, set it up and forget about it. The Router will at least get slightly more attention, setting up security and changing passwords, but it should also be transparent, once it's set.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Moto Surfboard 6121....good units, Comcast certified.
And I'd recommend the Cisco e4200 for your router.
Put them both in an APC ES550 battery backup unit to increase reliability/stability.