Good wireless router

NiKeFiDO

Diamond Member
May 21, 2004
3,901
1
76
What is a good wireless router to grab these days?

I see Amazon still selling WRT54G(L) routers - are they still goo? I remember buying those something like 5 years ago!

Since Linksys is now Cisco, I was wondering on their quality.

Uses:
Web development, general surfing.
Little to no gaming.
Port forwarding of course setting up security on the wireless network. (I loved the ease of the good old wrt54g's control panel)

What's good now a days?
 

cl-scott

ASUS Support
Jul 5, 2012
457
0
0
What you might want to consider doing is looking at the Tomato (firmware) and DD-WRT websites. They have lists of compatible routers, and if they support either of those firmwares, it's a better than average router... IMO anyway.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
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www.mfenn.com
What you might want to consider doing is looking at the Tomato (firmware) and DD-WRT websites. They have lists of compatible routers, and if they support either of those firmwares, it's a better than average router... IMO anyway.

Agree 100%. As long as you can put Linux on the router (via Tomato, DD-WRT, or whatever), you will enjoy rock solid stability.

OP, the good ol' WRT54GL is still available if you don't have a need for anything faster than 802.11g speeds. If you want 802.11n however, you'll need to get something different. You didn't mention what your budget is, but if $75 isn't too much, the E2500 has simultaneous dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n and is compatible with DD-WRT.
 

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,451
22
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Hey all,
I was just gonna ask the same thing. I'm on the WRT54G router right now. But when I switched ISPs today it occurred to me that it might be time to get a new router when the Linksys support people couldn't help me get my router running since it was out of all warranty support.
Questions:
1. So, am I understanding this correctly? There is flashable firmware mods for this thing?
2. I use the router for mobile phone, tablet, and laptop access. All devices only support up to G. Am I missing something on a wireless-N router that I don't know about?

Thanks!
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
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1. Yes, Tomato is a pretty well known alternative firmware for a good number of routers around. It's not something I'd recommend someone who doesn't know the potential risks/problems associated with it take on though as botching a firmware update can just completely ruin a piece of equipment. But it is an option available to you, Tomato offers quite a lot as an alternative.

2. If they only support up to G then you aren't missing anything with an N router as the extra potential bandwidth isn't really useful since none of your devices are capable of utilizing it.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
I agree with krn. Personally, I prefer DD-WRT to Tomato because Tomato seems to have an on-again off-again development cycle whereas DD-WRT is more consistent. They're both good though.

For running DD-WRT plain WRT54G (i.e. not GL), it firmware compatibility somewhat depends on which hardware revision you have. Here's the wiki page that explains everything in gory detail.