802.11b/g/n + 802.3/3u = $20

[kleinkinstein]

Netgear WNR2000 ddwrt with promo code 1210GREENMNDY15

[update] YEAR-END CLEARANCE
+ $10 off w/ promo code EMCJHHB68, ends 1/1/13

[drshivas]

Refurbished, but I may spring for one.

[nante]

Would this work well with ASUS PCE-N53 Dual-Band Wireless-N600?

My router right now is TP-Link TL-WR740N, would there be a big performance difference?

[wirednuts]

nante-

yes.

and relatively a big difference. i would keep it to single or two users max though... unless all you do is browse forums

[mazeroth]

My parents are using a 6-7 year old Linksys WRT54G with the dual antennas. They have a Roku across the house about 40-50 feet away and get a pretty weak signal. Think this will help them enough?

[ICXRa]

Isn't the model number WNR2000-100NAR?

[wirednuts]

Originally Posted by mazeroth

My parents are using a 6-7 year old Linksys WRT54G with the dual antennas. They have a Roku across the house about 40-50 feet away and get a pretty weak signal. Think this will help them enough?

hard to say because g signals travel further then n signals, and also if its working right then you should still get more bandwidth then you need with g.

generally though, yes a good n router will give you better results... but 50ft through walls can be tough like i was saying. if anything, get a 5ghz n router and be done with it (5ghz travels even less then regular n or g, but the interference on that spectrum is so much lower it almost always works a lot better) or, add a router in repeater mode to extend the signal you already have...

[VirtualLarry]

This deal is back on. $29.99 - $10 promo code (on page) = $19.99 FS.

Btw, OP, please change title and add "WNR2000" to title.

Edit: These work great with DD-WRT, assuming that you get a v2 unit.

[reallyscrued]

Is it insanely expensive to integrate gigabit switches into routers or what?

[wirednuts]

Originally Posted by reallyscrued

Is it insanely expensive to integrate gigabit switches into routers or what?

i dont know, but i doubt it. seems like they keep a feature or two as a premium price addon, and in most routers thats gigabit ports.

[Wyndru]

Originally Posted by reallyscrued

Is it insanely expensive to integrate gigabit switches into routers or what?

I've been wondering the same thing.
I finally broke down and bought this:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2292456

I'd rather have them in the same unit, but I'm tired of waiting for decent prices.

[nante]

Didn't get one the last time around.. Perhaps this is a sign. ;_;

[DarkTXKnight]

how does this compare to the router that comes with uverse? would i use this as a replacement of some sort or just a repeater?

[GTFan]

Originally Posted by wirednuts

i dont know, but i doubt it. seems like they keep a feature or two as a premium price addon, and in most routers thats gigabit ports.

It's gotta be marketing when you can routinely get 8-port Gig switches for $20 or less now on sale.

[ICXRa]

Yep, and why limit it to 4 ports? I can easily use 8 in my home network, but I have to by a separate switch, more power usage/cables, etc. etc.. Routers have changed very little over the years, with the exception of their wireless technologies.

[VirtualLarry]

Originally Posted by ICXRa

Yep, and why limit it to 4 ports? I can easily use 8 in my home network, but I have to by a separate switch, more power usage/cables, etc. etc.. Routers have changed very little over the years, with the exception of their wireless technologies.

Except, back in the pre-wireless internet days, 8-port routers were actually a bit more common.

[kmmatney]

Just connect this to a Gigabit switch, and the rest of your network will run at Gb speeds. There isn't much benefit to a Gb router unless you want it to be your only hub. I have the older revision of this one on my Gb network and it works great. Even though the router hands out the IP Addresses, the Gb switches make sure all network traffic takes the most efficient route, so I get Gb speeds on all network traffic except Internet, which doesn't matter since I have a 25Mbit Internet connection.

[kmmatney]

Originally Posted by DarkTXKnight

how does this compare to the router that comes with uverse? would i use this as a replacement of some sort or just a repeater?

In my opinion, this is a better router. However your Uverse router is probably your DSL modem as well, so setting both up can be tricky. I had a similiar setup in he past. I would recommend turning off all dhcp features on the Uverse device, and just use it as a modem, and not a router. Then make the new router the only one handling all router duties. Otherwise you'll have a double NAT situation, and a lot of funny network behavior, especially if you have a server.

I was having a lot of trouble with my DSL modem/router, with reboots needed every few days. I wasn't sure if I needed a new DSL modem, or if it just couldn't handle the load I put on it (up tp 15 devices connected at once). So I picked up one of these Netgear routers cheap, and and configured my DSL modem to just be a modem only - no DHCP/Router duties. I then setup this Netgear router after it to handle all DHCP and internet traffic. After I did this, things have been rock stable. This device has no trouble handling 5 PCs inernet gaming at once, while running Netflix. I run a Minecraft server at home as well. I never meant for this cheap router to be my final device - I bought it as a test to see if it could make things more stable (compared to my DSL modem/router) and I planned on buying a better "gaming" router. However this one worked out so well, I never needed anything better. You will not find a better router for $20. Works fine with my VOIP Ooma as well. I hit this thing hard, and it doesn't blink.

[VirtualLarry]

Originally Posted by kmmatney

You will not find a better router for $20.

Which router revision were you using? v1, v2, or v3?

Did you flash to dd-wrt?

[kmmatney]

I'm using version 2, and have not flashed it. I looked into it, but the built-in interafce handles all my needs for now.

[VirtualLarry]

Yes, v2 is the best version IMHO. It is the version that supports DD-WRT as well, so if you wanted to try a 3rd-party firmware you can. I didn't even bother with the stock firmware, I went straight to DD-WRT.

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Have about 10 of these (V2s) running DD-WRT for the past 2 years now. Rock solid.

[dawp]

what's the advantage of running open firmware such as dd-wrt? I have considered it for my wndr3700v1.

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Originally Posted by dawp

what's the advantage of running open firmware such as dd-wrt? I have considered it for my wndr3700v1.

Increased functionality (eg. adjusting power levels, OCing) and having a uniform interface across multiple makes/models of routers.

[tyler811]

Originally Posted by wirednuts

hard to say because g signals travel further then n signals, and also if its working right then you should still get more bandwidth then you need with g.

generally though, yes a good n router will give you better results... but 50ft through walls can be tough like i was saying. if anything, get a 5ghz n router and be done with it (5ghz travels even less then regular n or g, but the interference on that spectrum is so much lower it almost always works a lot better) or, add a router in repeater mode to extend the signal you already have...

Uhhh no "Introduced in 2009, the main difference in 802.11n was the presence of 3 more MIMO streams than the other protocols. While all the other protocols used just a single MIMO stream, the 802.11n protocol used 4 MIMO streams. This not only helped in an increase in the range, but also an increase in the data rate."