WRT54GL or something newer?

[noxiousCaitSith]

I'm looking for a router to replace my old US Robotics wireless router which has been performing terribly as of late. I've seen reviews for the WRT54GL and it sounds great, but I know it's an older model and there is no wireless N. That part doesn't really matter to me since i'm on a desktop and connected directly to the router, but we have a laptop that i think is compatible with the wireless N...and i've heard the range isn't that much of a difference.
we have 2 laptops in the house and i'm pretty sure 1 of them is not wireless n, but the other might be. so if i get a wireless n router it needs to be one that can work with g/n at the same time. i'm not interested in streaming HD anything so i don't know if that will tell you anything.
but i think the main thing for me is getting something that is reliable. i don't want to have to reset it every day like i'm doing now, only to have it stop working 30 minutes later. i'd like to keep it around $75 or less.

 

[JackMDS]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-134-_-Product

 

[noxiousCaitSith]

yeah i was just looking at that one and people have good things to say about it...now i have 2 options for the wireless g.

also..is it possible that the phones are causing interference if they are also using the 2.4 ghz frequency, or would it only cause interference when you are actually using the phone? because we somewhat recently got new phones and i'm wondering if they are 2.4 ghz. i'm not at home right now so i can't be sure. but i wouldn't think it would be causing as much problems with connecting to the internet as i am having right now.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Unless you need N or gigabit Ethernet ports, just get anything decent that's DD-WRT / Tomato capable on sale. I got 8 routers for the folks (lightning strikes) for ~$12 each a little while ago (Netgear WNR834Bs).

 

[noxiousCaitSith]

i'll have to read more about tomato and dd-wrt. not sure exactly what those do..ha. another concern is that if i buy the WRT54GL will i need to replace it if it can't support faster internet speeds that will eventually come out, or is that even an issue ? it's just that i've never seen so many positive reviews for a router than that one.
where did you find those netgear routers for so cheap??

 

[billyb0b]

i've had my 54GL for over 6 years now and its still going strong. i run tomato on it. it's a solid wireless G router. i can count the times i've had to power cycle it due to it acting up on one hand over those 6 years

 

[Crusty]

i've had my 54GL for over 6 years now and its still going strong. i run tomato on it. it's a solid wireless G router. i can count the times i've had to power cycle it due to it acting up on one hand over those 6 years

My experience with the WRT54G/L is very similar. I've been running a WRT54G v4 @ home since they came out and a WRT54GL @ work that terminates our backup ISP and runs the wireless for clients that come in. Very very few problems.

 

[JackMDS]

l will i need to replace it if it can't support faster internet speeds that will eventually come out,?

I adore Future prooving when it involve few $$$. :hmm:

How many people walk naked because of concerns that eventually they will gain/lose weight.

 

[Emulex]

anything that has solid DD-WRT with 128meg of ram is a good choice.

my 64meg WRT-600N is great as long as you know how to re-assign vlan ports when you install dd-wrt (its offset by 1 causing all ethernet to not work) - but under heavy torrent load it will run out of ram and needs to be reboot once every few weeks (cron!) since DD-wrt leaks ram all over the place.

Think about it if you have 64meg of ram and 36 is used by the o/s thats 64-36; if you have 128-36 thats a HUGE difference.

an old boxen with 512meg of ram running pfsense would be indestructible. i used to run a pc for routing it had no fans that worked (pentium-pro) - no case - pretty much a fire hazard but it just kept on trucking. it all went downhill in performance when i got my first wrt54Gv.2 - everything is slower

 

[noxiousCaitSith]

i may be in luck. my friend's dad bought a new wireless router to replace their old linksys. he described what it looks like so i'm hoping it's the WRT54GL. gonna see if i can buy it from them.
i don't know what any of those add-on programs do or if i would even have any use for them.

not sure what you're talking about with the RAM... :s

 

[JackMDS]

The Linksys has to be flashed otherwise it is just a mediocre Router.

Take a look at Tomato and DD-WRT.

If the features that you need are available in Tomato Flash with Tomato.

Tomato features - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato_(firmware)#Features

Otherwise, use DD-WRT - http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/What_is_DD-WRT?#Features

It is much easier to Flash Tomato than DD-WRT, thus to avoid frustration and Bricking risk I would recommend to casual “Flashers” to go with Tomato.

Both have pages with extensive instructions. People who end up with trouble either do not know how to read, or are lacking the patient to read simple instructions.