Need advice please choosing from these 3 routers

[PapaPrem]

Hello everyone. I'm in the market for a new router. However, I am somewhat limited by my choices. I have a $75 dollar Staples Gift Card that I plan to use, so I am limited to the choices available at Staples. Also, due to my desktop configuration space/set up, I can only get a vertical standing router. So this essentially eliminates most all of the Linksys models. The items that I use wireless for, are a laptop, an HTC smartphone, and a HP Touchpad.
Gigabit ports aren't really necessary as I do not have a Gigabit adapter/card on my desktop or pre-historic Xbox 1 (which I use as a media center.)
Dual Band would be nice to have as I live in an apartment with 3 cordless handsets and a microwave, but I don't know if its really a necessity considering not many devices are capable of utilizing the 5GHz spectrum. I've had problems maintaining a connection and playing YouTube videos on my HP Touchpad with my current Linksys WRT54GX4 (SRX400) router. So hopefully, one of these newer routers will help solve that problem. I narrowed my choices down to:

1) Belkin N750 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router (Model F9K1103)

2) NETGEAR RangeMax Wireless-N300 Gigabit Router (Model WNR3500L)

3) NETGEAR N600 Wireless Dual Band Router (Model WNDR3400)

The Belkin N750 is Dual Band and rated #2 overall on the WAN to LAN Throughput Router Chart and seems to have great range. However, its firmware seems to have very limited configuration options and DD-WRT or Tomato isn't available for it. I also understand that it wont allow me the option to set Static IP's for my devices. I currently have a wireless printer, that is hardwired via Cat5E cable to my existing router using a Static IP. (I was having trouble getting it to connect wirelessly thats why I connected it using the cable.) So that is somewhat a concern.

The Netgear N300 WNR3500L does not have Dual Band but does have Gigabit connections. It is also more outdated compared to the other 2 routers , but seems to be solid nevertheless. What's enticing is that it is an Open Source router so I can put DD-WRT or Tomato on it.

The Netgear N600 Dual Band WNDR3400 has Dual Band but does not have Gigabit ports. I think DD-WT maybe available for it, but am not positive. It also has a Lifetime Warranty which is great, considering Netgear routers seem to die out quickly. The other 2 routers have only a 2 year and 1 year warranty, respectively.

The prices for all these are in my range. I live in an apartment complex. So with all this in mind, which router would you guys recommend for me? I have also included a screenshot of the spec comparison on Staples.com, for these 3 routers, below. Thanks and I apologize for the lengthy post.

 

[stevech]

Me, myself, wouldn't pay the premium for dual-band. Despite the apartment situation.
I'd get a $45 11n product as my laptops and tablets don't have/need 5Ghz.

I live in a townhome - lots of WiFi SSIDs nearby but aren't hogging airtime. And if so there are 2 other channels!

 

[PapaPrem]

stevech - Thank you for your advice. The difference between the Dual Band WNDR3400 and the non Dual Band WNR3500L is only about $10. Furthermore, the Dual Band WNDR3400 comes with a Lifetime warranty from Netgear where the WNR3500L only comes with a 1 year warranty. Taking that into consideration, the WNDR3400 seems like the better value on paper. But I'm just not too sure whether it is DD-WRT and Tomato capable. I keep reading conflicting reports so I am confused. I'm also not too sure which has the better hardware as I read that they both have the same internals as the highly regarded WNDR3700.

 

[stevech]

I don't know how much you are planning to pay for dual band, but at $40 or so 11n WiFi router is a good idea, as you can discard it every 6-12 months as some nifty new thing comes out.

I used DD-WRT for a while way back, but some of today's WiFi routers/APs have all the features you might need and many more. That's true for me with the Cradlepoint MBR900 that I use.

I've been there, done that with Netgear and D-Link. I feel that they are a crap-shoot as to which new products are good/bad, perhaps because they rebrand whatever is cheap in Asia from time to time.

 

[claykin]

Wndr3400 is Broadcom based. Also no dd-wrt support (yet). Wndr3700v1 and v2 are both Atheros based. Completely different animals.

Personally I would choose the 3700.

 

[PapaPrem]

Wndr3400 is Broadcom based. Also no dd-wrt support (yet). Wndr3700v1 and v2 are both Atheros based. Completely different animals.

Personally I would choose the 3700.

The WNDR3700 is unfortunately out of my price zone .
How about between the WNDR3400 and the WNR3500L? The WNDR3400 is dual band and comes with a Lifetime warranty, which is pretty unprecedented when it comes to Netgear or the majority of router manufacturers these days. The WNDR3400 would cost around $55 and the WNR3500L would cost around $45-50. So the price difference is moot.
Do you know how the internals between these 2 compare?

On an aside, Broadcomm based routers are significantly inferior to Atheros based routers?

 

[stevech]

If your gift certificate is good for a year, you might consider buying a $45 11n 2.4GHz WiFi router and save the rest, or spend the rest on a good external disk for backups.

 

[francis]

I was using an ASUS RT-N16 until was totally broken (merlin firmware).

I am evaluating a Belkin N600 Dual Band for US$70.

Is it still not supported DD-WRT or Tomato? is Merlin firmware someow compatible with it?

I appreciate advice on this to maka a decision.

Regards, Francis.

 

[sfx2000]

I've had problems maintaining a connection and playing YouTube videos on my HP Touchpad with my current Linksys WRT54GX4 (SRX400) router

Before spending money on a new router, solve the 2.4GHz problems first - look for interference (inSSIDer is a good tool) and try a different channel.

You mentioned that you have some restrictions on router placement - do note that you might have interference right at the router, if you can move it, give that a try... you might be surprised at the difference.

Until you solve this, any other router/AP is going to have the same problem to a more or less degree.

sfx

 

[jegesq]

By the way, to echo SFX's comments above, another good tool for solving wireless issues in addition to InSSider (which I've only used on my laptop since its free...the only version I've found for Android costs $19.95), is Netgear's "WiFi Analytics" app for Android and IPhone. Ka]Bits also has two separate Android apps, one called "Network Signal Info" and the other is called "WiFi Overview 360". Finally, I've also used "Wifi Analyzer 3.8.7" from Kevin Yuan for Android. All of these are very helpful apps when trying to solve device placement, channel selection and interference issues. And best of all they are free.