Router choice...

[dao]

OK... here comes yet another noob asking the local gurus what to buy.

The comcast installer cooked the WAN port on my Netgear 834 so I have been in the market for a new router. I selected the DIR-825, but found it disappointing with its range and not playing nicely with my laptop card (Netgear 511). Upon a friend's suggestion I tried the DGL-4500. Nice unit, but I was more than annoyed at the single radio (either 2.8 OR 5 GHz). This is my fault for a lack of research. I am considering the DIR-655 since I do not presently have any 5GHz equipment, though I would rather have some level of future proofing. Linksys, apparently has some issues with drops and the built in antennae are a bit off-putting, otherwise the 610 would be on my list....
Perhaps the 600n?
The 855 is priced to punish, unless one is purchased on EBAY for $270.

Did I give up on the 825 too quickly (perhaps a replacement antenna)? Can the linksys cover three floors of 5000 sq foot house? Should I not even bother with 5GHz and stick with the 655 (after returning the rangy but crippled DGL-4500)?

thank you all very much for your patience,
david

 

[dao]

Presently, I have a laptop, one desktop and a PSP that would be on the wireless. Two other desktops on the wired section.....

 

[venture996]

I recently faced the same chouiec and purchased the DIR-655. It was a great choice and it performs beyond expectations. If you read the reviews of dual-radio routers on this site, you'll see that they all disappoint. If you have to buy todya, the DIR-655 is a great choice. Good luck.

OK... here comes yet another noob asking the local gurus what to buy.

The comcast installer cooked the WAN port on my Netgear 834 so I have been in the market for a new router. I selected the DIR-825, but found it disappointing with its range and not playing nicely with my laptop card (Netgear 511). Upon a friend's suggestion I tried the DGL-4500. Nice unit, but I was more than annoyed at the single radio (either 2.8 OR 5 GHz). This is my fault for a lack of research. I am considering the DIR-655 since I do not presently have any 5GHz equipment, though I would rather have some level of future proofing. Linksys, apparently has some issues with drops and the built in antennae are a bit off-putting, otherwise the 610 would be on my list....
Perhaps the 600n?
The 855 is priced to punish, unless one is purchased on EBAY for $270.

Did I give up on the 825 too quickly (perhaps a replacement antenna)? Can the linksys cover three floors of 5000 sq foot house? Should I not even bother with 5GHz and stick with the 655 (after returning the rangy but crippled DGL-4500)?

thank you all very much for your patience,
david

 

[dao]

I recently faced the same chouiec and purchased the DIR-655. It was a great choice and it performs beyond expectations. If you read the reviews of dual-radio routers on this site, you'll see that they all disappoint. If you have to buy todya, the DIR-655 is a great choice. Good luck.

Thank you for the reply.

The 655 is looking pretty sweet, it is on sale at Best Buy for 99 for that immediate gratification. I am still curious if the Linksys 610N could have the bugs out of it enough to be worthwhile. The 5GHz would not have to travel far, only requirement is distance for the 2.4GHz and stability.

 

[woodscomp]

Honestly I have been eyeing up the 610n's as linksys recently released a firmware that supposedly fixed the drop connection issues. In my fifteen years of using wired and wireless routers I have not found one d-link that either did not drop connections/had to be power cycled every 24 hours or died after the warranty expired. Then I switched to Linksys broadcom based routers and to be quite honest with you my wrt45gs v6 has been plugged in with constant connection for the past 4 years (running stock firmware). I truly believe that the chipset and build quality ie. heatsinks etc. play the largest part in how these home routers perform. If it were not for the need to stream HD I would not even be considering changing my network at this time.

I know this does not answer your question, but I am on the same search you are on.

 

[dao]

Honestly I have been eyeing up the 610n's as linksys recently released a firmware that supposedly fixed the drop connection issues. In my fifteen years of using wired and wireless routers I have not found one d-link that either did not drop connections/had to be power cycled every 24 hours or died after the warranty expired. Then I switched to Linksys broadcom based routers and to be quite honest with you my wrt45gs v6 has been plugged in with constant connection for the past 4 years (running stock firmware). I truly believe that the chipset and build quality ie. heatsinks etc. play the largest part in how these home routers perform. If it were not for the need to stream HD I would not even be considering changing my network at this time.

I know this does not answer your question, but I am on the same search you are on.

Thank you for the reply.

Good to know that I am not alone. Researching further only shakes my decision, . Time was that Linksys was "the brand" and Dlink was the budget model that lurked on the back shelves. Evidently, roles have reversed a bit.
The Linksys wrt600N looked appealing for its range and external antennae. If they were stable, I would probably seek one out. The 610N does not appear to have the range of the older model. I would like the dual radio if I could have it, the USB HD capability would be icing on the cake.
As for the single radio Dlink dir-655, it has the look of a solid performer, though I did have some issues with the dir-825 and the DGL-4500 not being seen by my Netgear 511 PC-card adapter. Probably an easy fix.

Let me know what you find, best of luck,
david

 

[dao]

According to the Linksys site, the latest firmware addresses many of the wrt610 key issues.

 

[woodscomp]

I know, if only I could get CC to drop the price below there current %25 off I would most likely jump on it.

 

[dao]

Best Buy had it on sale for $160, I believe. The advantage is being able to take it back within a month, should it be inadequate.

 

[dao]

I know, if only I could get CC to drop the price below there current %25 off I would most likely jump on it.

Circuit City just made my decision for me.....

$99 for the Linksys 610N.

I will hook it up, flash it, and see what shakes.

-david

 

[woodscomp]

What area are you in? Mine won't go below $150 currently, maybe I can talk them into it.

 

[dao]

Install was as smooth as silk. Everything recognized on the first try, unlike my DLink experiences. Firmware updated, laptop and PSP stayed connected, no drops.

So far so good.
david

 

[tdream]

How is the transfer rate from right beside the router and your normal usage patterns?

 

[woodscomp]

Yeah I broke down today and purchased the 610n and one linksys client. Have to say in one day of usage I love this router. Dual band is nice to separate clients. Put my wife on the 5ghz N separate because she's a ASL interpreter and spends some time using her net camera to talk to clients etc.

Now to figure out how to setup a 5ghz N router to be a wireless bridge so I can get all my multimedia devices onto that for HD streaming etc.. I am looking at a refurbed netgear wndr3300 and flash it with dd-wrt.

Throughput on the gb seems to be fine, I don't have cat 6 cables yet, I have not seen a huge increase in my throughput from the wrt54gs, I would say a 10-15% increase in actual download speeds from the internet. Have not tried the lan file transfer speeds.

 

[thiggins]

Don't bother with flashing a router to get it to be a bridge. Just get a NETGEAR WNHDE111 or D-Link DAP-1522.

 

[dao]

How is the transfer rate from right beside the router and your normal usage patterns?

The router is situated at the far western room on the first floor and had still had linked at 18Mb/s on the far east room over a garage (through closed doors). This was using an older Dell laptop with a WPC100 Linksys pc-card adapter (At only 30 dollars, it was a gimme when I purchased the router....The netgear pc-card did work with the router, BTW).

-david

 

[woodscomp]

Don't bother with flashing a router to get it to be a bridge. Just get a NETGEAR WNHDE111 or D-Link DAP-1522.

Can't find a DAP-1522 anywhere and the WNHDE111 gets some real mixed reviews. Will the WNHDE111 work in the same manner as my current WLI-TX4-G54HP from Buffalo? I truly wish I could get a hold of there newer model with dual n band support. Mainly I want to be able to stream hd content from/to my entertainment system and it is painful using the wli-tx4-g54hp.

I read your review of the netgear device and it seems like it would fill the gap, but I am reluctant to jump on it because of the distance issues it has and the fact that Netgear has not released an updated firmware for it in over a year. Also from the manufactures website they make it sound like you can not make a wireless bridge unless I have two of these units. Seems odd.

 

[thiggins]

All draft 11n 5GHz products have reduced coverage vs. 2.4 GHz. Compared to other 5GHz products, the WNHDE111 is pretty good. My comment in the review about reduced range was because it was one of the first 5GHz products I had tested.

Manufacturers want to sell product. Two WNHDE111's make a nice bridge. One works as 5 GHz AP or Ethernet bridge.

 

[woodscomp]

Thanks for the info... Looks like Buffalo wli-tx4-ag300n is being sold now by "special order" or cross shipped direct from Buffalo. So I am going to call provantage tomorrow concerning that bridge.

I can get by with two ports on the netgear but I am considering a new BR player with download capabilities so I will most likely need at least three by the years end.