Need a new router. Any advice?

[RobVarak]

I need a new router. Any suggestions. In general I think they're pretty much interchangeable, but I've had a few with wonky interfaces etc. I'm replacing a Linksys WRT-54g, which worked like a charm for about 4-5 years.

Anything you guys can add will be a help. Thanks.

[bdunn13]

If you are somewhat tech savy and like tinkering and have good debug skills, check out http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

And look at their supported HW list... there are some links at the bottom for some other custom firmwares.

[greggsand]

I need a new router. Any suggestions. In general I think they're pretty much interchangeable, but I've had a few with wonky interfaces etc. I'm replacing a Linksys WRT-54g, which worked like a charm for about 4-5 years.

Anything you guys can add will be a help. Thanks.

I have the same router. It's been great. It's getting a little wonky on me. So I tried of the newer mid-level priced routers & found them all to be disappointing (weaker signal strength than my WRT was the biggest problem). I went back to my old router for now.

[MizzouRah]

I'm a netgear person myself.

[bdunn13]

The custom firmware links I posted above allow you to bump the output power of your wireless router (even beyond the legal limit). But as with any electronic device, you have to be careful when you "overclock" it.

[Naples39]

I need a new router. Any suggestions. In general I think they're pretty much interchangeable, but I've had a few with wonky interfaces etc. I'm replacing a Linksys WRT-54g, which worked like a charm for about 4-5 years.

Anything you guys can add will be a help. Thanks.

I also used a trusty linksys Wrt54g until it died on me. I got a new linksys, either an e2000 or 3000 a few months ago and had a bunch of headaches with it. Ultimately got it working to my satisfaction after using ddwrt firmware (I posted on here about that) but I'd be a little wary if I were to do it over.

[dbdynsty25]

Buffalo for the win. Best interfaces to work with by far...and their range seems to be more reliable as well. Pretty much every one I've used has been outstanding. It's what I put in all of my friends/parents/siblings places when I set them up.

[eman]

One thing to note here is there is a lot of variation between brands, so I wouldn't endorse a single manufacturer. For instance I love certain model Buffalo routers, but some of the newer models don't seem as highly rated/regarded. Likewise, Cisco/Linksys seemed to produce a bunch of mediocre products over the last few years, but their latest offering (E4200) seems to offer the best overall performance of any model router available today. Smallnetbuilder rates the Cisco E4200 very high. Granted, it's going to cost you $159, but in terms of raw performance it's hard to beat. SNB notes the E4200's ability at low to medium signal strength.

Last year Maximum PC completed testing on mltiple routers and you can read their results here: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/featur ... s?page=0,1

The Netgear WNDR3700 that won Maximum PC's best router write up is $129 at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-Wireless- ... ewpoints=1

Smallnetbuilder's write up on the E4200. http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless ... l=&start=3

For the record, I have a $39 Buffalo with Tomato firmware and she's been an absolute work horse for the last 3 years. That said, if I had to replace it tomorrow I'd probably go with the Cisco E4200 and enjoy the improved performance. If you'd prefer to save money and dont mind the idea of flashing the firmware, the Asus RT-N16 is stellar for about $90. http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-RT-N16-Wirel ... 529&sr=1-1

Hope this helps.

[Wilk5280]

I have, and love, the Netgear WNDR3700

[RobVarak]

One thing to note here is there is a lot of variation between brands, so I wouldn't endorse a single manufacturer. For instance I love certain model Buffalo routers, but some of the newer models don't seem as highly rated/regarded. Likewise, Cisco/Linksys seemed to produce a bunch of mediocre products over the last few years, but their latest offering (E4200) seems to offer the best overall performance of any model router available today. Smallnetbuilder rates the Cisco E4200 very high. Granted, it's going to cost you $159, but in terms of raw performance it's hard to beat. SNB notes the E4200's ability at low to medium signal strength.

Last year Maximum PC completed testing on mltiple routers and you can read their results here: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/featur ... s?page=0,1

The Netgear WNDR3700 that won Maximum PC's best router write up is $129 at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-Wireless- ... ewpoints=1

Smallnetbuilder's write up on the E4200. http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless ... l=&start=3

For the record, I have a $39 Buffalo with Tomato firmware and she's been an absolute work horse for the last 3 years. That said, if I had to replace it tomorrow I'd probably go with the Cisco E4200 and enjoy the improved performance. If you'd prefer to save money and dont mind the idea of flashing the firmware, the Asus RT-N16 is stellar for about $90. http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-RT-N16-Wirel ... 529&sr=1-1

Hope this helps.

That's good to hear, because I picked up an E4200 last night. So far I've been very happy with it. Got the elusive "Open" NAT with virtually no tinkering LOL

I'm going to play with it some more to optimize some things and still have to add a few devices back to the network, but so far it's fantastic.

Thanks so much for all the input, guys.