The WRT54GL is a great router. With a 5 star rating and over 2,000 reviews on Newegg, you can’t go wrong.
I put DDWRT firmware on mine and it has been solid. In the 6 months that I’ve had it, it hasn’t once reset unintentionally.
Ahhh OK well IDK what the computers are compatible with (new macs) but still when they official release the standard protocol for N, if its different its going to be worthless so IDK Im just going to replace the Belkin with the Linksys WRT54G.
The problem isnt G. How far away from the router are you? G is 4x faster than the fastest connection you can get with TW, so there is absolutely no issues whatsoever with the physical interface tech. You just need a better router. Shitty routers have problems maintaining 1MB/s 20 feet away.
If any of the computers are indicating less than ‘perfect’ connection signals, that is a piss poor connection. Windows should report it as excellent and show full bars. If it does not you need at least a better antenna, or possibly a better router location.
You can get a WRT54G for $40 and increase the transmit power about 50%, they run very well with DD-WRT. But if some of your computers arent getting a flawless signal, you probably want to go with a WHR-HP-G54. Its the best router under $100, by far.
There is little need for a N router for your application. Theyre expensive, generally unreliable, and dosent really add any of this additional ‘power’ you speak of. The router you are currently using is just a POS.
WHR-HP-G54 is what I would get, but theyre somewhat hard to find now. About $60 online…
EDIT: running new macs? Ah… The signal strength meter in OS X is kinda poor, since it hides most of the info from you. If it says anything less than the full 4 bars, something is wrong. The WRT-54GL is a solid unit, you could go with that… But the Buffalo router is still better.
Cool thanks, Yeah I know the signal metes on the macs suck, but they seem to always indicate full strength, all of the sudden during a DL or loading a streaming movie, it’ll just stop and kick off, and then the router has to be reset. Thanks for the info, I’ll look into the WHR-HP-G54.
Edit: WHR-HP-G54 - 125mbps T fucking up to that
I’ve heard good things about Buffalo equipment never used it though.
Thats not a bad idea. No flashing needed, although it is a used unit, if that bothers you. And the location is quite poor for rapid shipment… But a very good unit.
Whats the difference between that and this ?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220357916958
Theyre essentially the same router, some say the S is more sensitive, as it does use a different transmitter and have additional shielding on the transmitter.
Both are good routers, and the 54GS is available cheaper, so I would go with that.
Now obv the one you posted is a pre flashed used unit, but I’ll be buying new (IDC Im not paying for it) So what would go into flashing the upgraded firmware onto it, Do you know if It comes with it ? id assume not right ?
The older wrt54g and wrt54gs routers have more ram, and can be used with the tomato firmware, or other aftermarket firmware.
I have a newer version of the wrt54gs router and I can’t put the good aftermarket firmware on it.
However… The router is at least 4 years old and works perfect. I put the OEM linksys firmware on it, and it is absolutely fine serving bandwidth to 4 PC’s 24 hours a day.
I did have a netgear router, I forget the model but it was ipod white in color. That thing died inside of six months.
Flashing firmware is stupid easy.
Hook the router up, log into it, and use the update firmware program, it will flash to the new firmware.
The only gotcha is double checking that you have a supported router for the firmware, or you will brick it.
It can be more complex than that sometimes, but its generally very easy to flash firmware. There exists models of the WHR-HP-G54 that come with DD-WRT stock, but those are going to be harder to find. This model router was almost specifically designed for hardcore router enthusiasts to be cheap and very good at everything. And it is.
The only thing thats tricky in flashing the firmware is finding the correct firmware to flash it with. Using the DD-WRT WIKI, you can see what firmware is recommended to run on the device. I believe it will run almost any generic broadcom firmware.
While i know linksys is the most recommended, if your looking for a rock solid, stable router i would seriously consider a D link. I know a couple years ago they were crap, but they have done a complete 180 and took off.
I’ve mentioned it before, but my DIR-655 router has never had to be reset. It’s been on for over 13 months with not a single issue.
And same goes for DIR-615. I got that for my sister in august of 07, and to this day they have not had a single issue with needing to reset it, or anything. (this router is 40$ right now on newegg and includes a pcmcia wireless n card w/ there combo
I wont use anything other than dlink now. Not only are they solid routers, but they also give you more control over your network than any other one i’ve used. (~8, as when i got my wireless n laptop i tried every other router available to find the best transfer rates, and of course d link was the last one i tried)
i deal with home and small business networks daily… i recommend anything except linksys and netgear…
belkin - although i’ve had some defective ones recently…
dlink
I loved the buffalo routers and would still use them if they were available to me.
dynex is belkin
placement of the router is more important than any “feature” the router has.
So is it going to have basic firmware flashed on to run ? or is it going to need firmware right away ?
agree except with the linksys. im running a WRT54GS and havent had a single problem with it. and ive never had an issue with any other linksys either.
and placement of the router is defiantly key.
running a WRT54GS as well and never any problems… the only thing running on wireless is my X-BOX and I never have any lag problems whatsoever.
I have a wrt54g and it worked like shit before i upgraded the firmware. I would constantly lose my connection. Found out it was firmware related and it has worked fine since i installed the new firmware.
maybe you should just try updating the firmware on your current router.
Alright, so I probably should make a new thread for this but what the heck, does anyone can anyone walk me through updating the firmware on the router with OS-X ? all the tutorials Im finding are windows based.