• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Any of these routers recommended?

L

Lifted

Diamond Member
I think I might use a $75 HP coupon I have to purchase a new router for my sister. There are 4 people living there with the following devices

4 computers
2 xboxs
1 roku
1 TV w/ netflix (via cat5)
1 wireless printer
4 or 5 blackberrys/iphones/ipod touch devices.

2 or 3 of the above may be streaming netflix (everything but the printer) at one time (if netflix still allows more than 2), so I'd like something that can handle the load and give good range as many of the devices are at the opposite end of the house.

She's currently using an old b (possibly b/g) linksys router that seems to be managing and gets by without reboots but once a year or so, but I've noticed that the signal is not very strong at the far end of the house, probably at 30% or so. The distance is about 50' though 2 or 3 sheetrock walls at most to the far end. I'll be setting up the roku in the opposite corner of the house soon, so I'm worried the netflix streaming will be spotty on the current router, which is the primary reason for this upgrade.

This is what I have to choose from.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...working&a1=Type&v1=Router&catLevel=2#bcAnchor

My primary concern above all else is stability. I don't want to get her something that needs to be rebooted constantly, and I don't want to be forced to put DD-WRT on it just to make it stable, though her current router is running tomato for this reason.

None of the kids are torrenting or running any other P2P apps, but they do hit xbox live, youtube, netflix, etc., so it just needs to be able to handle 3 or 4 potentially high bandwidth streams without having a major impact on the other devices, such as xbox live latency. I believe the optimum online cable service is getting in the 15 - 30mb range.

I currently have an E2000 at home which has hot given me any problems with the latest firmware, and haven't had to reboot it in quite some time, but I've never had more than a couple of laptops and maybe my phone on it. Not sure if it's up to the task of handling so many devices.
 
Last edited:
gpse said:
netgear wndr3700
Click to expand...

Do you see that one on the site? I don't, just the 3400 and 4000.

Edit: They both have pretty mediocre reviews on the egg, though I do understand that a lot of people don't know how to set up routers up and get frustrated, blaming the product.
 
Last edited:
Almost all the routers you can buy today are based on the same handful of microchips (mostly by Broadcom) and the only really meaningful differences among them* are the software, the antenna design, and their propensity for hardware failures. If you can install DD-WRT on them, only the last two issues remain.

*not counting differences in features (eg dual- or single-band, selectable or simultaneous, etc)

You sound like you're competent with networking, and you have some fairly complex demands, so you might consider setting up a network with two more more wireless access points and two or more wireless segments. This will give you a faster LAN overall and will give you more consistent performance when many devices are connected simultaneously, at the cost of being too complicated for most people to manage.
 
^^^ exact same chip as an Asus RT-N16, which costs less than half as much (edit: but I guess the RT-n16 doesn't have 5GHz? nevermind, then)
 
Last edited:
I ended up using the coupon on a monitor for myself 😛

But I did just purchase an E3000 for my sister and her family from the egg... $69 new. Was too good to pass up. I'll try it out at my house for a few days with the latest cisco firmware, dd-wrt, then tomato, and figure out which one seems most reliable with high throughput (i'll probably hit it with torrents and netflix from a few computers).

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. The RT-N16 actually looks pretty nice, but the e3000 is just too good of a deal right now, at least at newegg. I wish I had picked one up at $59 last week.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top