Looking for suggestions for the best G and N router.

Using it for everything - file streaming, gaming, etc...

Cheaper and expensive suggestions welcome.

Thanks.

6/23/2009 11:27:38 PM

http://www.linksysbycisco.com/US/en/products/WRT610N

or Airport Extreme for a few bucks more.

6/23/2009 11:32:28 PM

Thanks bobby.

If there is one particular G router that is awesome, by all means post it.

I'd like to be N friendly (laptop), but my PS3 only does 802.11G, so that's all I need at the moment.

6/24/2009 12:04:26 AM

in addition to BobbyDigital's excellent recommendations....

aimho:
D-Link DGL-4500
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=643
D-Link DGL-4300
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=370
Buffalo WHR-HP-G54
http://www.buffalotech.com/products/wireless/wireless-g-high-power/wireless-g-high-power-router-and-access-point-whr-hp-g54/

6/24/2009 12:18:12 AM

i've got the wrt610n and love it - only downside is that dd-wrt is only in beta for it

6/24/2009 12:41:33 AM

I have the t-mobile edition Linksys wrt54g running dd-wrt. It is arguably the best wireless G router ever made. I bought it sealed and unused off eBay.

6/24/2009 1:03:56 AM

i have the wrt600n... had a wrt610n and it didn't run dd-wrt well/didn't have external (read: removable) antennas... so i took it back and got the 600n

it's a bit cheaper... runs dd-wrt very well... never had any problems with it. it also seems like (at least around the DD-WRT forums) people like it better than the 610.

airport extreme is also a good choice. if i wasn't so set on dd-wrt, i'd be using that.

of course, you've got the classic WRT54G/GS... but make sure you get as low of a revision as you can... from like v5 on, they started sucking hard.

if you don't need 802.11n, go get an atheros-based 802.11g card and set up a pfSense box for free

6/24/2009 1:52:49 AM

Do I need a model with an external antenna or just put up some access points/range extenders?

I like the WRT610N, but I don't know it's range. I need enough so that I could use the laptop outside with no issues (G or N devices). The house it's going into isn't that big (1600 sq ft), so the back porch isn't that far away.

Educate me tech talk peoples.

6/24/2009 11:49:48 AM

ASUS WL-520gU is $30 AR and promo code EMCLTMT76 with free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320023

it has a built-in USB print server...slap tomato on there (i still prefer it over DD-WRT) and you've got a pretty solid device...it's only G, though

[Edited on June 24, 2009 at 11:58 AM. Reason : link]

6/24/2009 11:57:46 AM

if you go 802.11g, go external antenna
if you go 802.11n, you don't need one as much, since the range is 2x 802.11g's range.

6/24/2009 11:58:07 AM

yeah an N router should cover the entire place then.

6/25/2009 11:04:37 AM

here you go: refurb netgear wndr3300-100nar (DD-WRT compatible) for $33 and free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122273

6/26/2009 12:12:31 PM

damn they don't have those recertified linksys routers at newegg anymore

6/26/2009 1:35:17 PM

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/reviews/2007/11/802-11n-router-roundup.ars/7
There's a good (but slightly old...) review on some N wireless routers.

[Edited on June 26, 2009 at 3:17 PM. Reason : last page]

6/26/2009 3:17:01 PM

I have a used D-Link DGL-4500 N Gaming router I'll sell you. It's an amazing router, and I'm a little hesitant to part with it, but it does a lot of things you won't get short of installing custom firmware on your router. It has pretty insane range as well compared to my old Buffalo router.

But hey, I don't need it anymore because my U-Verse gateway does everything I need... make me an offer if interested?

6/27/2009 5:58:41 AM

So the new place I moved into for the summer doesn't have internet and the owner isn't planing on getting it anytime soon. One of the neighbors has been nice enough to allow us to use their wireless, but we can only get it in a few areas of the house. Now I want to try and make a repeater using DD-WRT, My question are:

1. Do I need access to the original router that I'm rebroadcasting from?
2. What is a good cheap router that is suitable, stable and easy to mod with DD-WRT? I don't have an old one so I've got to buy a new one anyway.
3. Will I be able to run a cat 5 from the modded router to a wired connection (my Xbox)
4. Any other programs that you would recommend instead of DD-WRT or any experience in doing this?

6/29/2009 10:46:33 AM

1 shouldn't. you have all of the keys apparently if you're using it already.. pretty sure that's all you need but i could be wrong.
2 look at the ddwrt website and go through the comparability list. find compatible ones on eBay for cheap. profit.
3 sure
4 tomato is also pretty good. pfsense is better but you'd be running that on a server basically which I'm sure you don't really wanna f with

Quote :

"1. Do I need access to the original router that I'm rebroadcasting from? 2. What is a good cheap router that is suitable, stable and easy to mod with DD-WRT? I don't have an old one so I've got to buy a new one anyway. 3. Will I be able to run a cat 5 from the modded router to a wired connection (my Xbox) 4. Any other programs that you would recommend instead of DD-WRT or any experience in doing this?"

6/29/2009 11:53:28 AM

Thanks guys, I bought the Linksys 610N. Works great. Big part of my decision was the fact that I could use both frequencies at the same time.

Quote :

"ASUS WL-520gU is $30 AR and promo code EMCLTMT76 with free shipping http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320023 it has a built-in USB print server...slap tomato on there (i still prefer it over DD-WRT) and you've got a pretty solid device...it's only G, though"

I have two at the other house (one is used as an extender/access point). Both have DD-WRT with USB print server capability. Works great.

[Edited on June 29, 2009 at 12:53 PM. Reason : dh]

6/29/2009 12:44:49 PM

NetgearWGR614
http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p4_Netgear-WGR614NA-Wireless-G-Router_89788_Business_Supplies_1_10051_FEATURED:SC3:CG58

versus:

D-Link DIR615
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8305568&type=product&id=1173577562535

I just need something cheap, G, and stable so about six devices here can share the internet. The old POS we have crashes every 30min.

7/19/2009 12:00:50 PM

any reason arent looking at linksys?

7/19/2009 1:31:17 PM

only because none are $39.

the POS we have now is an old 802.11b linksys. But i did have a WRTG that was perfect for years.

7/19/2009 6:52:32 PM

Quote :

"Thanks guys, I bought the Linksys 610N."

why not the 600n?

7/19/2009 9:03:06 PM

b/c it wasn't carried on newegg or amazon. That's it really. Wasn't going to order it from ebay.

7/20/2009 2:14:55 AM

just bought

Quote :

"ASUS WL-520gU is $30 AR and promo code EMCLTMT76 with free shipping http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320023 it has a built-in USB print server...slap tomato on there (i still prefer it over DD-WRT) and you've got a pretty solid device...it's only G, though"

I've heard Tomato is easier to setup the usb server (either for storage or a printer), is there any reason I should choose dd-wrt instead?

7/20/2009 9:06:23 AM

not really.

7/20/2009 9:17:01 AM

I might try tomato later, but DD-WRT was not hard at ALL. The instructions for it were rather straightforward.

7/20/2009 12:46:51 PM

^^^ here's a link to installing tomato on that router: http://www.society9.com/an-easy-guide-to-installing-tomato-on-the-asus-520gu/

i believe that DD-WRT's support of USB on that model is spotty (though they may have fixed it): "The WL-520GU WRT is supported as of DD-WRT v.24 RC7. USB (e.g. external storage or printer) support currently require manual work (as of DD-WRT v24 Final Release you may be able to use the web-GUI to enable USB support)."

DD-WRT is cluttered, IMO, and tomato is arguably superior in terms of qos...also, when i first started using tomato, it was the only one to offer in-router site surveying (with signal strength metering), which was a big deal to me because i wanted to choose settings that wouldn't conflict with the plethora of other wireless networks floating around

i think DD-WRT has that feature now, but i could be wrong

[Edited on July 20, 2009 at 2:14 PM. Reason : .]

7/20/2009 2:07:47 PM

Just ran and got the Netgear.

Check this out. Before my speed tests using speedtest.net were about 2-2.5Mbps. Just now i got 8.8Mbps...

could the old router have been that screwed up? It was a B router, but B should still be good for 5Mbps or so realistically...

7/20/2009 4:18:58 PM

Quote :

"could the old router have been that screwed up? It was a B router, but B should still be good for 5Mbps or so realistically..."

definitely, especially considering it was an older router. the processors/amount of RAM & flash they put in those things are usually just the bare minimum to get by to keep manufacturing costs low. just about every time i've seen a bottleneck on a consumer wan connection, it's been because of the router.

(especially considering they aren't really routers in the traditional sense... more like glorified gateways)

7/21/2009 10:08:14 AM

somethings a little goofy with this router. i get super fast speed tests from like speedtest.net (over 10Mbit at times), but its like really laggy. random things hang a lot. sometimes a page will time out while another tab will be fine. sometimes my steaming videos from ncsu lectures will cut out when they never have before. things just seem sluggish and kind of unresponsive. sometimes its great, but others crap. most of the time its sort of in between.

what could cause this? should i try a different router?

7/26/2009 3:16:13 PM

worth a shot

7/26/2009 4:42:00 PM

I've had multiple belkin/lynksys routers break/bog down, or need frequent reboots over the years, I bought an airport express for airtunes, but it became my primary (later only) router, no problems for the past year or so...

7/26/2009 6:11:51 PM

<- Wireless n00b.

My gf wants to get a new router this weekend, and is interested in the Apple Extreme so she can set up her printer and external HD on it. It only has one USB port though, so that seems to not really meet her needs.

Advice on another router that is easy to set up and will be able to support a printer and HD network?

8/7/2009 4:33:47 PM

I finally exchanged the netgear for an antennaless linksys G. Worlds better already

8/7/2009 6:38:32 PM