The Router Recommendations Thread (Consumer)

Thought I would ask this... Do you guys feel that the Broadcom chip in the E3000/WRT610N is better than the Atheros chip in the WRT400N? The main selling point for me of the E3000/WRT610N is the integration of a USB port AND gigabit lan but the WRT400N also has DD-WRT released for it and apparently that has solved a multitude of issues for it. All 3 are around the same price.
 
I am mainly looking for a router that allows for a lot of fiddling with. Is that 'open source' router any good? Should I just go with the WNDR3700?
 
Resilient said:
I am mainly looking for a router that allows for a lot of fiddling with. Is that 'open source' router any good? Should I just go with the WNDR3700?
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The WNDR3700 has plenty of configuration options to play around with and tweak but you'll need to define fiddling. I mean I'm just as much a fiddler as many here but I tend to want certain things to 'just work' without too much fiddling. The WNDR3700 has the performance, stability and just the right amount of options to satisfy me so maybe it'd be the same for you.

If by fiddling you mean making your router do things it shouldn't -- like serve you files with a side of fries, then you're going to want to get a little atom box or an older PIII/PIV system with a few NICs and try a linux/bsd firewall/UTM distribution.
 
Do any routers on that list do vlans? Or am I better off buying a switch that does vlan?

I have three credit card slaves at work along with an Aloha controller, and I am trying to put them on a vlan for security reasons.

Cost is an issue.
 
I decided to go with the WNDR3700.

What is a good wireless networking adapter to go with it? I cant seem to find any wireless adapters that have generally good reviews on Newegg.
 
QuiteSufficient said:
Do any routers on that list do vlans? Or am I better off buying a switch that does vlan?

I have three credit card slaves at work along with an Aloha controller, and I am trying to put them on a vlan for security reasons.

Cost is an issue.
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Routing is a layer-3 function, VLANs are a layer-2 function. There are no commercial/consumer routers that support VLANs and only a handful at the enterprise level that allow you to trunk VLANs to them - even then, they don't actually handle VLAN tagging, just provide an end-point for each VLAN separately.

Luckily, most of your everyday web managed switches should be able to do what you're looking for - just keep in mind that if the credit processing controller needs access to the internet, you'll need to provide a gateway for it as well or look for a switch that will do IP routing (layer-3).
 
Anyone else having a issue with the WNDR3700 dropping the Internet connection to the modem? I upgraded the firmware to v1.0.4.68 the day I bought it. The only thing I did to the configuration is MAC filter & WPA2. I've had the router for a little over a week now and it has dropped the connection to the modem once and dropped the connection to the wireless devices twice now with no torrents running. The Netgear WGR614 it replaced never dropped a connection to the modem and only dropped to the wireless devices only if I had torrents running.

I love the wireless speed of the WNDR3700. It's really like night and day difference between the WGR614 but I am not happy about this connection dropping. I may look into a different firmware than the original if this persist.
 
ElvisG said:
Anyone else having a issue with the WNDR3700 dropping the Internet connection to the modem? I upgraded the firmware to v1.0.4.68 the day I bought it. The only thing I did to the configuration is MAC filter & WPA2. I've had the router for a little over a week now and it has dropped the connection to the modem once and dropped the connection to the wireless devices twice now with no torrents running. The Netgear WGR614 it replaced never dropped a connection to the modem and only dropped to the wireless devices only if I had torrents running.

I love the wireless speed of the WNDR3700. It's really like night and day difference between the WGR614 but I am not happy about this connection dropping. I may look into a different firmware than the original if this persist.
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Hmm, I am running firmware version V1.0.4.55NA without any issues at all. I do see however that the new version is available - I'll grab it and see...
 
Is there any different versions of the WNDR3700? I just found it odd Wal-Mart has it for the same price as Amazon and newegg @ $150. The convenience is worth sales tax to me. My basic TrendNet router appears to have bit the dust.

It would be my first >$60 router. If I hook up my xbox 360 with it's G adapter, will it gimp the network while on, or all the time?
 
texuspete00 said:
Is there any different versions of the WNDR3700? I just found it odd Wal-Mart has it for the same price as Amazon and newegg @ $150. The convenience is worth sales tax to me. My basic TrendNet router appears to have bit the dust.

It would be my first >$60 router. If I hook up my xbox 360 with it's G adapter, will it gimp the network while on, or all the time?
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I am pretty sure that the WNDR3700 is simultaneous dual-band which means you can have two networks going that will only allow specific clients. i.e. if you 360 is semi-close to your router then I would run the 5ghz network on N and then do the 2.4ghz as the A/B/G.. This would not gimp your network with the G stuff on it...
 
ElvisG said:
Anyone else having a issue with the WNDR3700 dropping the Internet connection to the modem? I upgraded the firmware to v1.0.4.68 the day I bought it. The only thing I did to the configuration is MAC filter & WPA2. I've had the router for a little over a week now and it has dropped the connection to the modem once and dropped the connection to the wireless devices twice now with no torrents running. The Netgear WGR614 it replaced never dropped a connection to the modem and only dropped to the wireless devices only if I had torrents running.

I love the wireless speed of the WNDR3700. It's really like night and day difference between the WGR614 but I am not happy about this connection dropping. I may look into a different firmware than the original if this persist.
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After posting a while ago, I upgraded to V1.0.4.68NA and haven't seen any of the issues reported; no change in stability at all. ElivsG, have you found the cause or are you still having issues? Just curious.
 
Nope. The lost connection to the modem happen in the first couple of days of using it. It's been solid ever since. I'm very pleased with the performance of this router especially the wireless.
 
gregnash said:
I am pretty sure that the WNDR3700 is simultaneous dual-band which means you can have two networks going that will only allow specific clients. i.e. if you 360 is semi-close to your router then I would run the 5ghz network on N and then do the 2.4ghz as the A/B/G.. This would not gimp your network with the G stuff on it...
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Yes the WNDR3700 runs both g (2.4) and n (5) at the same time.
 
Shadow2531 said:
What routers support ipv6 out of the box? It looks like the WNDR3700 doesn't.
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To my knowledge, there isn't a single consumer/prosumer router that supports IPv6 out of the box. There simply isn't a need for this yet and with the extra cost of components to manufacturers, I doubt we will see any until we're truly on the verge of it being required.

IF you need it, you're in the extreme majority and will likely have to go with enterprise/business gear. Even most of that is only IPv6-ready, not actually routing on IPv6 just yet.

Contrary to the mystifying news articles stating everything has to go to IPv6 in the next year or we're all DOOOOoooommmmmeeeeddd, we're still a long way off from it being implemented to our doorsteps.
 
Orinthical said:
To my knowledge, there isn't a single consumer/prosumer router that supports IPv6 out of the box. There simply isn't a need for this yet and with the extra cost of components to manufacturers, I doubt we will see any until we're truly on the verge of it being required.

IF you need it, you're in the extreme majority and will likely have to go with enterprise/business gear. Even most of that is only IPv6-ready, not actually routing on IPv6 just yet.

Contrary to the mystifying news articles stating everything has to go to IPv6 in the next year or we're all DOOOOoooommmmmeeeeddd, we're still a long way off from it being implemented to our doorsteps.
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Thanks. Was just curious for future-proof reasons.
 
Orinthical said:
To my knowledge, there isn't a single consumer/prosumer router that supports IPv6 out of the box. There simply isn't a need for this yet and with the extra cost of components to manufacturers, I doubt we will see any until we're truly on the verge of it being required.

IF you need it, you're in the extreme majority and will likely have to go with enterprise/business gear. Even most of that is only IPv6-ready, not actually routing on IPv6 just yet.

Contrary to the mystifying news articles stating everything has to go to IPv6 in the next year or we're all DOOOOoooommmmmeeeeddd, we're still a long way off from it being implemented to our doorsteps.
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Your rationale is spot on - there's no market so there's no support. But its not (in general) a hardware limitation - its almost pure software.

dd-wrt has some limited support for IPv6. Routers that can run the current release of dd-wrt will support it, but they won't support it right out of the box. You've got to flash the public-source OS. There are some problems with it still, but it does work. There are some Buffalo routers that are shipping with dd-wrt as their built-in software, but I don't know if they included the IPv6 options - this might be your best bet to find something with it "out of the box". Don't expect to find any instructions ;(.

I'm running IPv6 as as a test setup between some of the machines in my home LAN on a Linksys WRT610N. Comcast, for some of their trials, is shipping Linksys WRT54g routers pre-loaded with dd-wrt.
 
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I have a TrendNet tew-639GR and it sucks. Can anyone recommend the best wirless n gigabit router? This POS won't work with my ps3.
 
ne0-reloaded said:
I have a TrendNet tew-639GR and it sucks. Can anyone recommend the best wirless n gigabit router? This POS won't work with my ps3.
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The list is quite accurate. :) The WNDR3700 is about the best consumer\prosumer router out there right now, followed closely by the DGL-4500 now that DLink finally fixed their firmware bugs...

ShadowStriker said:
I believe Cisco and Juniper are both running IPv6 for some of their stuff already.
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Indeed, though most ship with it 'ready' but disabled out of the box. Almost any Enterprise device these days will ship with the hardware and software stack to provide IPv6 support if enabled. My point though was that while we'll see IPv6 rolled out at the backbone level relatively soon and in cellular edge networks to support the new onslaught of devices, it will likely take years for home or even small-medium businesses, those who are not directly connected to a fiber ring or backbone provider, to see anything except an IPv4 address at their demarc or modem. IPv6 is still a very 'foreign' concept to the vast majority of businesses and IT shops and it is going to take time and reason-enough for cable and other to-the-home providers to switch off of their existing IPv4 infrastructure.

PigLover said:
Your rationale is spot on - there's no market so there's no support. But its not (in general) a hardware limitation - its almost pure software.
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Absolutely - unless it is a hardware-accelerated or switch-on-chip solution as high-end enterprise equipment tends to be; but in any case, at the consumer level, the firmware is almost always linked 1:1 with the hardware. It's an excuse to 'force' the consumer to purchase a newer model when the time is right. :)
 
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Shadow2531 said:
What routers support ipv6 out of the box? It looks like the WNDR3700 doesn't.
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I'm almost worried to mention this, but the airport extreme/time capsule does ip6 out of the box. The range on my time capsule is very nice and is able to keep connections up with even with some interference.
 
I have had the WNDR3700 for half a month now and works great with my FIOS. My FIOS is PPPOE, so I just used a random user/password and boom, was online in seconds.

I disabled the guest network and traffic meter (still buggy). Internet is more "snappy" compared to the original D-Link router Verizon gave me. Granted it was 5-6 years old. Have not had a single disconnection except for few minutes during the new speed upgrade for FIOS users recently. :c) My only complaint is the GUI. It is fugly. However, you only configure it once and rarely have to mess with it besides for troubleshooting and forwarding new ports.

I would NOT flash this router to DD-WRT just yet. Seems that it has been permanently damaging some routers. The latest firmware which is strangely not on the DD-WRT site, but hidden in their forums seems to be MUCH better. However, I personally will not try it until more of the bugs are kinked out. Thus I am just using the latest official firmware from Netgear and everything is great.

Another note, it seems that there are several revisions for the WNDR3700. If you look at the box it should say something like

WNDR3700-100NAS
100-13904-01R17
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The 01R17 is the revision. From the looks of it R15 and R18 are the worst. R17 and 01R21/02R1 (Both same) seem to be good for newer versions of this router. I have no idea about the older revisions. This is what I got from reading the Netgear forums at least.
 
AMD_RULES said:
Hello all! I'm looking for a 802.11N wireless router that supports DD-WRT

Thanks!
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If you want something on the cheap side, get a Dlink Dir-615. It's only $350 on Newegg.

On a side note, I need some router recommendations myself. What's the fastest and farthest range router I can get for $60? Thanks in advance. My WNR2000 sucks balls and it pisses me off. It might be cause I got it refurbished.
 
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Aaron11 said:
If you want something on the cheap side, get a Dlink Dir-615. It's only $350 on Newegg.

On a side note, I need some router recommendations myself. What's the fastest and farthest range router I can get for $60? Thanks in advance. My WNR2000 sucks balls and it pisses me off. It might be cause I got it refurbished.
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$350!?! :eek:

Do you mean $35?

After some research, I think I'm going to go with the BUFFALO WZR-HP-G300NH and flash it with DD-WRT
 
I am in the market to get a new router for home use and there are so many options out there it can be really hard to narrow it down. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Usage:
This will be for a desktop wired connection and a laptop wireless. The desktop will be streaming high quality video and playing online games and the laptop will be mostly generic internet surfing as well as streaming video.

I am looking to spend under $100 if possible but I want a piece of equipment that will be functional, reliable, and last a while (if I have to buy another router in 1-2 years I will be disappointed).

The Players:
-DIR-655 I am very concerned about the issues it has had in the past. Are these problems resolved? Is it now a viable option or is it still a long shot to get a functional piece the first time around?
-Asus RT-N16 This is a very attractive option and fits the budget. I have no experience with open source software for routers but am willing to learn. Does anyone know if it can swing with the big boys? Comparisons with the other RT-N1x routers?
-DGL-4500 and WNDR3700 both come heavily recommended in this forum but they are more than I would prefer spending (especially if the RT-N16 can do what they would for less).

Right now I am leaning towards the RT-N16. Mostly, I just want a functional router that wont cause problems. Sadly, it seems that shoddy manufacturing practices means gambling on longevity no matter what manufacturer or product line one chooses.

Thanks!
 
Upgraded from the Linksys WRT610N to the NETGEAR WNDR3700 and it's totally night and day. Constant disconnects and resets with the WRT610N. I've had the WNDR3700 for over three weeks now and the only problem I've had with it was when one of my cats somehow knocked it over and the power cable came loose. Otherwise no complaints and the WNDR3700 is definitely worth it's slightly high price tag.
 
m0053_hunter said:
-DIR-655 I am very concerned about the issues it has had in the past. Are these problems resolved? Is it now a viable option or is it still a long shot to get a functional piece the first time around?
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I think these are pretty good by now, am I correct in saying that?

I have absolutely no problems using mine, but I'm not a very heavy wifi user.
 
I am looking for a 2 routers that I can setup that will cover a 400ft area or so. I would like them to be N routers, but both combined have to be around $150+tax. I would like one router connected to the modem, then another router acting as a WAP to bounce the signal further into part of the house.

Do you guys have any recommendations? I would prefer if I could find these in stores as well.

Would 2 of these do the job?
 
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hdawg06 said:
I am looking for a 2 routers that I can setup that will cover a 400ft area or so. I would like them to be N routers, but both combined have to be around $150+tax. I would like one router connected to the modem, then another router acting as a WAP to bounce the signal further into part of the house.

Do you guys have any recommendations? I would prefer if I could find these in stores as well.

Would 2 of these do the job?
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You would be much better off with getting two of these or these flashed with DD-WRT. Do not waste your money on the DIR-615 for what you are trying to do, it's a bottom-of-the-barrel router. In-fact I would probably go with one of each, the more powerful Asus attached to the modem as the gateway and the other used as a repeater.
 
I jumped on the WNDR-3700 bandwagon. My n-draft Belkin N1 router is a flaming pile that loves to go down on the WAN port more than a $5 hooker on $1 draft night at the bar.

I'll report on the good/bad when it shows up.
 
Hello everyone,

My D-link DGL-4300 died about a week and a half ago, and I need a new router. Unfortunately I've been extremely busy with work this summer, so I haven't had much time to look into it. To keep my network running, I fell back to installing an old 100mbit switch to our modem, lol.

Anyway, work is wrapping up now so I have some time to look into more permanent solutions, but frankly, I have zero knowledge about networking and routers. I was hoping someone could give me some suggestions, or good reading material. Most sites that turn up on google don't seem very trustworthy to me.

Anyway, since I am upgrading, I would like to get an N router now that it's been finalized for a while. I don't know what the difference between draft and final is, but I would assume it'd be nicer to have something with the final N specifications.

Beyond that, range is really a NON-issue for me, as the furthest I'll ever anticipate needing this is about 1 room over, maybe 2 at best (My house is small.) What is important, however, is the speed. As far as I know about this technology, the speeds get faster up to 600mbit per antenna, so I was looking for a 4x4 router, but it seems there's only one and it hasn't been released yet.

In that case, I suppose the next best thing would be a 3x3 router? My main issue with wireless is while anything is fine for browsing the web, it's extremely slow to transfer large files to/from my PC, and I'm invariably forced to hook it up to a wired ethernet connection. I looked at N because I wanted to get something as fast as possible to reduce the need to physically hook it up.

The other goodies I can think of needing are QoS for gaming and VOIP and whatnot. Finally, I don't know if there are any consumer routers that allow you to limit the speed of a PC (I currently use software for that, but it'd be nice to migrate into the router) as well as some kind of comprehensive domain/ip/port blocking. If not though, then at least QoS, since the latter I'm doing via software.

Are there any routers that satisfy my needs, or am I dreaming?

Thanks, guys.
 
I've been looking into repeaters/range extenders, APs and other wireless networking goodies lately, and noticed SmallNetBuilder has some good news for people wanting routers that don't cost an arm and a leg. Our household has a Netgear wndr 3700, but at ~$150, that's kinda pricey vs other great options costing around 1/3rd the price. Dig the linkage-

Asus rt-n13u wireless N router w/ print server. This router is notable for having excellent reception in tough to reach areas that matches or even beats far pricier options like Asus' own rt-n16 or even Netgear's wndr3700. Below is SNB's chart data (and how they test) for locations E and F. With open source firmware, Asus' ~$95 rt-n16 is pretty good, but for half the price the rt-n13u offer a lot of bang-for-the-buck.

routersignalcomparison02.png


EnGenius ~$50 esr9850 wireless N router w/ gigabit switch. Chock full of features, it also supports non-WDS mode which is very useful (and easy) for acting as a repeater/access point. SNB has a pair of recent articles on wireless bridging, repeating and APs which I found very useful and show some real-world testing with Netgear's wndr3700 and EnGenius' esr9850. Linkage to part 1 and part 2.
 
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DarkScythe said:
Hello everyone,

Anyway, work is wrapping up now so I have some time to look into more permanent solutions, but frankly, I have zero knowledge about networking and routers. I was hoping someone could give me some suggestions, or good reading material. Most sites that turn up on google don't seem very trustworthy to me.
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In addition to the networking forums at the [H], Anandtech, ArsTechnica, TechReport and all the other usual hardware sites, I've fond www.SmallNetBuilder.com to be pretty awesome, especially for wireless networking.

Anyway, since I am upgrading, I would like to get an N router now that it's been finalized for a while. I don't know what the difference between draft and final is, but I would assume it'd be nicer to have something with the final N specifications.

Beyond that, range is really a NON-issue for me, as the furthest I'll ever anticipate needing this is about 1 room over, maybe 2 at best (My house is small.) What is important, however, is the speed. As far as I know about this technology, the speeds get faster up to 600mbit per antenna, so I was looking for a 4x4 router, but it seems there's only one and it hasn't been released yet.

In that case, I suppose the next best thing would be a 3x3 router? My main issue with wireless is while anything is fine for browsing the web, it's extremely slow to transfer large files to/from my PC, and I'm invariably forced to hook it up to a wired ethernet connection. I looked at N because I wanted to get something as fast as possible to reduce the need to physically hook it up.
Click to expand...

Given that you'll be in close proximity to your router, you'll probably want to consider getting 5GHz wireless N. Compared to the data rates of 2.4GHz wireless G or N, you'll get higher throughput. Over longer distances, 5GHz wireless N tends to lose signal and typically offers little advantage over wireless G, but for your uses it should provide a significant bandwidth increase.

The other goodies I can think of needing are QoS for gaming and VOIP and whatnot. Finally, I don't know if there are any consumer routers that allow you to limit the speed of a PC (I currently use software for that, but it'd be nice to migrate into the router) as well as some kind of comprehensive domain/ip/port blocking. If not though, then at least QoS, since the latter I'm doing via software.

Are there any routers that satisfy my needs, or am I dreaming?
Click to expand...

Price is going to be the big factor for the extras. You can get a pretty darn good wireless N router for ~$50 these days (see my above post), but additions of things like dual radios, traffic meters, QoS etc can add to the cost or else you'll get a crappy implementation. For badass consumer routers in the sub-$200 space, the current king is probably Netgear's wndr3700. We've had one in our home for close to a year now and it's been fantastic, but if you're interested in running open source firmware like Tomato or DD-WRT, the options are endless.
 
Can I get a recommendation on a good wireless N router that is either dd-wrt or tomato capable? Would be wonderful if it could be got for under $100, it is for a dorm room for now we will only need ~4 wired ports and the rest can run wireless.
 
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