Network Switches – PC Magazine Editor’s Choice winners OK, the power supply on one of my network switches died and Netgear wants $30 for the adapter for a box that now costs $80! Yikes. In any case, I’m now on the hunt for a 24 port switch so I don’t have to know what jacks are live in the house. Fortunately, PC Magazine did a review so that makes it easy. I’ll get the 24 port switch. Hope it fits in my cabinet though! Also, I wonder if it has a fan?
In the same vein, we award an Editors’ Choice to our low-end favorite, the SMC TigerStack II 6624M, which is a real bargain at $699. It’s a 24-port managed switch that can be stacked into a configuration of up to 16 units, offering 384 ports. But if management features are superfluous to your needs, go for the D-Link DSS-24+. This unmanaged switch is Plug and Play?simple, and at $249, it’s easy on the budget.