Cheap switch recommendations for the home

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Kneelbeforezod

Active Member
Sep 4, 2015
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I need some cheap switch recommendations for the home. I have an Asus router - it's either an AC1750 or AC1900. I have 6 desktops that are running 24/7 365 for capturing video plus my dual xeon workstation. Right now 3 of the desktops are WiFi only because i don't have a switch. But i really want all of the computers to be wrire because every now and then the WiFi has dropped on one of the computers randomly so i lose some video since it's being to an nas on the network.

So what would some good switch recommendations be at a good price?
 
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ttabbal

Active Member
Mar 10, 2016
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Number of ports? Which speeds? PoE required? Sound levels acceptable?

If it's just a basic gigabit switch for basic stuff, the D-Link "green" switches have worked well enough for me. The power supplies that came with them, 5V wall warts, died on me after a few years, but some supplies from old Buffalo wifi routers have them going strong again.
 
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Pete L.

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Nov 8, 2015
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Beantown, MA
If you don't care about "Managed" Then just pick up a cheap NetGear, Dlink, TP-Link Switch and they will certainly do the trick. If however you feel like you might want more features in the future like VLANs, LACP etc then pick up managed. Personally I like the Cisco SG300 Line of switches, they are very reasonably priced for the feature set but not "Cheap" other suggestions would be the HP Mentioned above as well as Netgear GS Series (they usually have both managed and un-managed).
 
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Jon Massey

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Nov 11, 2015
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If your management requirements are minimal and would prefer something silent, the 1810-24g is a great fanless smart gigabit switch. Also comes with HP lifetime warranty goodness.
 
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fractal

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Jun 7, 2016
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You can get away with an 8 port switch with what you have described. Any old thirty dollar switch will do. It will look good sitting under your router. It wont make any noise and won't drink much power.

A step up are the small HP unmanged 1400 series switches ( Amazon.com: HP Procurve 1410-8G Gigabit Ethernet Switch (J9559A#ABA): Electronics ) and the netgear blue metal boxes ( Amazon.com: NETGEAR ProSAFE GS108 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch (GS108-400NAS): Computers & Accessories ). They cost more than the cheapos but tend to last a bit longer. I switched over to HP 1400's for "on the desk" switches a few years ago after replacing the second cheapo at my daughters desk. You may have to wait for a sale on the HPs if you prefer that color since the one I linked is kinda expensive.

The 8 port may be a bit smaller than your router and does not leave much room for expansion. The 16 port HP or Netgear blue metal box will set you back close to a hundred USD but will last a lifetime and might make a better base for your router.

I am reluctant to recommend a 24 port rack mount switch to someone who does not have rack gear and is currently doing "ok" with just their all-in-one connection device. I would recommend considering the "wife factor". Or, since that is no longer politically correct, the "SO" factor. Do you really need or even want a large box sitting somewhere making noise and running up the electricity bill when you could do so with something smaller and silent? You may pay a small amount more for it than an eBay rack switch, but it may be worth the difference depending on your situation.
 
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