Best Wireless Router

[Nick R]

Alright, in the past year, I've been through about a million routers. The orignal was a Netgear Wireless G something or other, [censored] and had to be reset 3 times a day. Replaced it with a Cisco-Linksys E1000. It did great for internet surfing, and basic stuff.

But streaming Netflix to the Blu-ray player, or trying to game on it, didn't work quite as well. Netflix was unusable, and gaming worked okay, but ping times were a bit high.

Ended up replacing that with a Netgear WNDR3700. Great router, great range, fantastic performance on both 2.4 and 5Ghz bands. Handled everything we threw at it. Till the 2.4Ghz radio died after about 4 months.(A somewhat common problem on this router), exchanged it under warranty at Best Buy (They'll replace under manufacturer warranty with a different model)

Ended up replacing it with a Netgear WNDR4000, and payed a little bit extra. Wireless worked great... Wired connections however, were slow for some reason. Pages loaded very slowly compared to the the WNDR3700. Unhappy, I replaced that under the 30 day return policy with a Cisco-Linksys E4200. Same problem. I later found out that the E4200 and WNDR4000 both use the same Broadcom chipset. Latest firmware on both. It could be just a fluke but... Once again, replaced under return policy with another WNDR3700. As long as the radio holds up (v2 has supposedly helped to fix the problem), this is my favorite router by far. It isn't the most expensive (Still pricey at ~$130) but range is very good, speed is good both on wired and wireless. The only real complaint I have is that the USB NAS Port has very slow read/write speeds that make it not usable for large file transfers. A dedicated Ethernet NAS is still the best option there.


A mature version of DD-WRT is also available for the WNDR3700, though I've yet to load it on this one (did on the last one). I might consider it in the future, but for now I'm leaving it alone. So that router is my recommendation, the Netgear (N600) WNDR3700. The 5Ghz band is only 300mbps, but honestly, who needs 450mbps, and how many people have or are willing to shell out for the adaptor needed to use it? The speeds advertised are false anyway, theoretical in nature. So that is my recommendation for people who need a high-performance, long range wireless router.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/...router-reviewed

 

[simple_gifts]

I would check the Apple store for some well informed people selling quality stuff.....

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
I would check the Apple store for some well informed people selling quality stuff.....

I'll be completely honest, I was so fed up with routers that I almost bought a Apple Airport Extreme. But after finding out there is no web interface for it, I changed my mind.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
I would check the Apple store for some well informed people selling quality stuff.....

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
I would check the Apple store for some well informed people selling quality stuff.....

I'll be completely honest, I was so fed up with routers that I almost bought a Apple Airport Extreme. But after finding out there is no web interface for it, I changed my mind.



Apple's router is not that good.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless

Use their charts and test method to determine the best one for you.

 

[PandaBear]

Apple router wouldn't do squat if your problem is not router specific. To be honest I'd find out what's going on first before start throwing money left and right into routers.

Did your Netflix slow down because the bottleneck is in the router? or did your internet provider have problems (throttling Netflix because it is overselling the bandwidth in your neighborhood) or did you have things interfering with your wireless signals?

Is your blue ray player wireless and N, or have 5Ghz antenna? If it is not N I'd not waste money on N or the fancy 5Ghz antenna version. Did you turn on security (WPA2, not WEP) so that your neighbors can't steal the bandwidth? Did you have kids at home that download a lot or your neighbor download 247 on the same cable circuit (see ISP oversold)?

Personal opinion is that you'll hit the bottleneck on the ISP side way earlier than your wireless side. Unless you have file server at home or stream from multiple computer to another at home, any $20+ router should be fine.

Pick the one with the best antenna (i.e. those with MIMO), the best open source firmware (i.e. those supporting DDWRT with good review), and you should be fine.

I am very happy with the Linksys WRT160N v1.1 (broadcom chipset) that I bough 3 of them and sold the older routers (Linksys WRT54GL, Buffalo WHR 54G, and those fashionable but useless Netgear). So far I'm very happy with that router, but you can no longer buy them because they switched to the Ralink chipset.

 

[Pablo]

Of all the wireless gear that has died, gone extinct, puked or otherwise been as bad as some guy making fun of Apple store training, I ended up with a refurb Linksys that refuses to die and absolutely has never acted up once. Easy to set up and make secure. I'm sure there is some more expensive stuff out there, but this one has four wired outputs as well. So we have 4 wired PC's, 4 wireless PC's, TV's and handheld gear getting broadband cable feed with zero issues.

 

[Nick R]

The blu ray player is a newer N capable Samsung. We have a wired PC, 5 laptops, 2 wireless blu-ray players (we love streaming netflix to the TVs), phones etc

The E1000 wouldn't load netflix videos on the blu ray players at all. Well, they would, but it would take about 10 minutes and would buffer every 10 seconds.

The first WNDR3700 fixed that completely. It is running in NG-Mixed mode, WPA2-PSK with AES encryption. 5ghz band is on Wireless N only, not interested in A, and again WPA2-PSK AES security on that one.

We have Road runner turbo, sustained download speeds of ~18mb/s, burst 30mb/s, and upload is 1mb/s. Ping on best Speedtest server is 14ms usually.


The E1000 just didn't handle what we needed it to do, and honestly the range wasn't that outstanding anyway. Like I said, the only router I've ever actually had to pay for was the initial WNDR3700, all since have been replaced by Best Buy under the manufacturer warranty or return policy. And I went to a different store who had no idea I was an employee. Now that I have a working N600, it works beautifully.

By the way, I'm never going to hear the end of the Apple store thing am I? I suppose I'm just a bit bitter, because apples business practices all around rub me the wrong way (In terms of marketing and products), and Steve Jobs is kind of a Psyco, albeit a very successful one.

Anyway, I'm just saying that of the high performance routers I tried, the Netgear WNDR3700v2 is the best one overall, I've found.

I used to be of the opinion that cheapest router was best, but I've since become somewhat of a networking junkie, trying to get the best range and performance, I can't argue that this router doesn't makes the E1000 and the cheapy Netgear G router we had before look like junk.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Nick R

The E1000 just didn't handle what we needed it to do, and honestly the range wasn't that outstanding anyway. Like I said, the only router I've ever actually had to pay for was the initial WNDR3700, all since have been replaced by Best Buy under the manufacturer warranty or return policy. And I went to a different store who had no idea I was an employee. Now that I have a working N600, it works beautifully.

By the way, I'm never going to hear the end of the Apple store thing am I? I suppose I'm just a bit bitter, because apples business practices all around rub me the wrong way (In terms of marketing and products), and Steve Jobs is kind of a Psyco, albeit a very successful one.

Anyway, I'm just saying that of the high performance routers I tried, the Netgear WNDR3700v2 is the best one overall, I've found.

I used to be of the opinion that cheapest router was best, but I've since become somewhat of a networking junkie, trying to get the best range and performance, I can't argue that this router doesn't makes the E1000 and the cheapy Netgear G router we had before look like junk.


You always get what you pay for, but do you need what you pay for is the question. I bet most of the more expensive routers have same software and chipset but much better or more antenna, so much better range, than the cheap one. The only exception is when a model first came out and they don't have cheap design yet. That's the time they throw expensive parts at cheap design to capture market. Once the cheap parts arrive and they master the cost cutting, they would do that to capture more profit (winning market share and lower price).

If I were in your case and haven't paid for an expensive router yet, I'd relocate the router closer to the blue ray player to compensate for the range. If strong signal is required everywhere, use multiple routers to cover them, either as a wireless repeater or physically wire them together with ethernet. There is no replacement for range and line of sight; divide and conquer almost always work. 2 well placed cheap routers almost always work better than 1 wrongly placed expensive router.

Steve Job is a psycho, and I agree with you, but most wildly successful people are both psycho and lucky, so I guess you have to give him that.

 

[Colt45ws]

Repurposed PC.

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: Nick R


By the way, I'm never going to hear the end of the Apple store thing am I?


nope

 

[Rand]

I have used a wide variety of routers..
best ever was the old school early versions of the linksys wrt54g, just worked,.. and worked well.
cost 50$(long time ago)
right now the current main router is a e2000.. seems to be working good.
not the best range on 5ghz but It covers whole house with old plaster style walls w/mesh in em.
cost 45$

also hasnt needed rebooted. Gigabit router is nice too I retired my 8port gigabit switch.

I had a netgear wnr2000 that was an amazing router for a cheapie.. except i had to reboot it about once a day because the wireless would start lagging(wired was fine)
cost 14$ with free ship.
I may setup this with dd-wrt and see how that goes.


duds
linksys e1000- wireless range port.. needed rebooting alot.

newer linksys wrt54g2--had 2 go bad in 3 monthes.


also had a asus rt-10+(i think)

it was ok except the wireless has some wierd issues with dd-wrt and the stock firmware is terrible.

currently using e2000 @5ghz band for laptops (2)
wired on e2000 for 2 desktops

asus rt-10+ w/dd-wrt @2.4ghz band for ps3
(alot of netflix hd)
and also for 2 cell phones--droid and thunderbolt..
2 wireless laser printers.
and some light netflix hd with seagate freeagent theatre+

 

[97tbird]

I still have a WRT 54 GL (OEM FW). i THINK it works well...sometimes when Netflix is slow (10% of the time), i really think it's the ISP, we hardly ever get the speed we were promised (10 mbps) in early evening hrs...and I think it's that problem, not the router...
Whenever we see the 10 mbps speed, wireless is steady and fast - no dropouts.

 

[OVERKILL]

Wow, consumer-grade results from consumer-grade hardware, whoever would have thunk it

Nick:

You aren't a network junkie until your network gear is worth more than your computer

You won't find the "best" wireless router, or even a "good" wireless router at Best Buy.

You will find equipment that is adequate for home and SMB use, because that is who they are catering to.

Colt45ws's advice regarding a repurposed PC is the closest thing you are going to find to genuine Cisco or Juniper-grade performance/reliability at a reasonable price. PFsense, IPCop...etc are fantastic products, I'm a really big fan of PFSense.

A Cisco 861W (about their cheapest wireless router) would be the piece of gear I would recommend you if you want to familiarize yourself with Cisco's IOS and get yourself a relatively inexpensive, but GOOD router in the process.

OR

You could get an older 3745 (these were used for OC3's, they have plenty of HP, but are somewhat loud):

http://cgi.ebay.com/CISCO3745-Cisco-3745...#ht_1107wt_1139

And use a stand-alone access point like an AP541N, or something Aironet.

 

[Rand]

What do I need that for again?
so I can pull out the e-wang measuring stick or something?

you need a business class router for a business.. not a house.

That being said for FUN.. I have setup a pfsense box etc. before.
however having a hot computer sitting on all the time when a 8watt router does the same thing (for my home network)
is kinda pointless unless its for learning or just because.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Rand
What do I need that for again?
so I can pull out the e-wang measuring stick or something?

you need a business class router for a business.. not a house.

That being said for FUN.. I have setup a pfsense box etc. before.
however having a hot computer sitting on all the time when a 8watt router does the same thing (for my home network)
is kinda pointless unless its for learning or just because.


Rand:

My post was not directed at you, it was directed at Nick because of this comment:

Quote:
I used to be of the opinion that cheapest router was best, but I've since become somewhat of a networking junkie, trying to get the best range and performance, I can't argue that this router doesn't makes the E1000 and the cheapy Netgear G router we had before look like junk.


For most people, home and SMB gear is more than adequate. If you step outside that realm and are looking for something truly robust and capable, then you end up having to spend a LOT more money (hence my comment about network equipment costing more than your PC).

FWIW, I've used old laptops as PFSense and IPCop boxes. They use comparable power to a traditional inexpensive router, have the advantage of a built-in UPS, and are able to handle loads of throughput, with the benefits of a robust Linux or BSD-based OS with a full feature set and lots of storage which can be used for tasks like a caching proxy for example.

And if Nick is indeed getting more "into" networking like he is saying, there is nothing wrong with broadening the scope of his knowledge and learning something like the Cisco or Juniper CLI. It will also deepen his understanding of the topic and its subject matter.

 

[Colt45ws]

If you wanted to buy a machine "just" for a router, you could also get a Atom based ITX board. Get one with a single core and uses laptop memory. Even a single core what, 1.5GHz? Will have plenty of power for routing any home network. Some of them even just use a 12V input though the back panel then have converters onboard for the other various voltages. Use a laptop HD for good power usage, or a SSD if you want virtually no idle power draw. Probably could keep it under 10W under normal usage, maybe double that under full load.
My router machine is a scavenged and repaired NForce 2 board with an XP 3200+, 1GB of DDR-400, a 80GB Primary HD, a 40GB Cache HD, and a pair of Intel Pro/100 NICs.
Im running Hardened Gentoo Linux on it.
Im doing so many things with it.. You cant beat the capability and versatility of a full fledged machine. I tried to make a list of all the services it provides to my network on another post here, and when I looked at it later, I realized I forgot a couple.
Many of them are basic router services, but then you have things like the Radius server for 802.1X authentication of wireless clients.
Here out in the boonies is a random WPA2-Enterprise wireless network. Way OVERK1LL but I like learning new things. Probably had the most trouble getting the Windows client to accept the certificate.
Typical.
Or Dynamic DNS. When the DHCP daemon hands out a IP address to a client, it takes the clients hostname and passes it to the DNS daemon which updates a special zone file. This made it much easier for me to keep track of machines. If I want to VNC or SSH into a machine, I just type its hostname into the box, and the DNS does the lookup for me.
Also provides a stealth caching proxy. Caches frequently used internet objects on the second HD along with a bit of RAM for the REALLY hot objects. Speeds up internet access and reduces bandwidth consumption a bit.
My most recent addition is IPv6 service for my network via a hurricane electric IPv6 in IPv4 tunnel. Ready for the future!