Upgrading from WRT330N Reccomendations?

[Josh42]

Hi All,

So because of some issues I'm having with my new printer, I'm upgrading from my terrific Draft N Linksys Gaming Router (WRT330N).

I've always been a Linksys guy, but it seems the reviews on their new products suck.

I put a ton on my network:
2 Network Printers
1 Home Server
1 Gaming PC (via LAN)
2 Laptops (Wireless N)
1 NAS (LAN)
2 TiVos (1 LAN 1 Wireless-G)

I stream a lot of Hulu to my HDTV and do a great deal of gaming.

I was looking at the WNDR4000 but haven't seen any reviews of it. I'd be more than happy to switch, but as long as the router has a good web interface and can handle the amount of devices I put on it I'm happy.

Thoughts?

 

[thiggins]

What specifically in the "sucky" reviews is stopping you from considering new Cisco / Linksys products?

 

[Josh42]

The overheating issue for one. I personally owned at WRT610n and I found it randomly dropping (likely for that reason). It looks like they fixed it in the 4200 but people are saying the throughput on the 4200 just isn't as good as some other routers.

At the end of the day, I really need something that can support the large amount of devices I put on it, handles wireless-n well in a crowded wifi area (apartment), allows me to do port forwarding and dmz, and can have a VPN pass through (if I can ever figure out how to get a VPN setup.

 

[thiggins]

The overheating issue for one. I personally owned at WRT610n and I found it randomly dropping (likely for that reason). It looks like they fixed it in the 4200 but people are saying the throughput on the 4200 just isn't as good as some other routers.

Overheating is common in routers with Gigabit Ethernet switches and busy LANs. Consider getting a router with 10/100 ports and use an external Gigabit switch.

At the end of the day, I really need something that can support the large amount of devices I put on it, handles wireless-n well in a crowded wifi area (apartment), allows me to do port forwarding and dmz, and can have a VPN pass through (if I can ever figure out how to get a VPN setup.

Nothing is going to do well in a crowded Wi-Fi environment, other than moving to 5 GHz. All routers support port forwarding, DMZ and VPN passthrough. Some are better than others at VPN passthrough, but successes (or failure) can depend on the specific settings in the VPN connection.

And why are you upgrading from a "terrific" router anyway?

The 330N was a departure for Linksys from its usual Broadcom-based products. It uses a Ubicom processor. So I'd look for routers based on those. I'll post up a few suggestions shortly.

 

[Josh42]

Two reasons:

First, I'm planning on purchasing a new Wireless-N laptop and this router is draft n. Second, my router is having odd issues with thew new printer I purchased, and the printer company has offered to buy me a new router in exchange for mine so they can study it.

The Linksys 330n has been great to me over the years. What router would you recommend?

 

[thiggins]

Routers using Ubicom CPUs are most D-Links, and the Cradlepoint MBR900.

 

[thiggins]

First, I'm planning on purchasing a new Wireless-N laptop and this router is draft n.

No need to upgrade for this. All "draft N" routers were grandfathered to release N status.

Second, my router is having odd issues with thew new printer I purchased, and the printer company has offered to buy me a new router in exchange for mine so they can study it.

Ok...

The Linksys 330n has been great to me over the years. What router would you recommend?

Stick with a Ubicom based router as I noted in the other reply.

 

[Josh42]

Awesome, I was already looking at the DIR-855. By the way, have you had a chance to get hands on with the new Netgear WNDR4000?

Thanks for all the help!

Josh