Question Concerning Linksys WRT54GL

[d4mo]

I currently have a Dlink Di-524 wireless router and it's not really working as nice as I would like to. So I need to get a new router, and I had orginally planned on get a WRT54G but I hear the new V5 are trash and they don't support linux anymore.

So now I am looking at the WRT54GL because it has the linux 3rd partysupport but I hear it has problems with throughput. And if you are using P2P and what not at fast speeds the router gets very unstable and crashes. Would these problems be fixed with 3rd party firmware or are those problems in the hardware?

 

[JackMDS]

The WRT54GL is not better or worse in this respect from other Entry Level Routers.

It seems that none of them is willing to cooperate well with "Stealing" copyrighted material.

Thinking about it is scary, may be the Routers have conscience.😉

:sun:

 

[cmetz]

d4mo, performance limitations are more the hardware - the box only has so much capacity. Third party firmware might give you incremental improvements but it's not going to make it able to handle twice as fat a pipe.

Stability under load and features are things that third party firmware can help with.

Also the GL has more RAM than many of the cheaper routers, which helps with flow state table size (=> number of active connections).

JackMDS, there are legitimate uses for P2P apps. Most Linux DVDs are BitTorrent only, for example.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: cmetzJackMDS, there are legitimate uses for P2P apps. Most Linux DVDs are BitTorrent only, for example.

Yap, Cannabis helps unfortunate people who suffer from cancer to relieve pain. But that amounts to only 1-2% of legal cannabis users. The rest of them is illigal usage.

Same with BT.

:sun:

 

[d4mo]

Well I'm not asking because of P2P performance I was just noting what other people have said.

I was looking at it more as that there will be 3 people using wireless, and I will be using my Xbox to play online. So if It can't handle P2P I don't know if it will be able to handle the load of the stuff I want to do.

 

[d4mo]

Is there anyone here that owns this router or that has experience with it?

 

[jamesbond007]

If throughput and performance are an issue, why not check out the D-Link Gaming MIMO router? (I think that's the name - recently read a review on Tom's Hardware)

Anyways, that was one of the top-rated routers. Probably twice the cost of the WRT54G, but you don't have to worry about firmwares, stability, and throughput! I think the cost of alleviating all of your worries would be worth the price tag.

 

[xfile]

I have the GL and it is damn solid. It runs Azureus without a hiccup.

 

[JackMDS]

You can conduct an experiment, keep bumping the thread, after a while you would get on any piece of hardware, both positive and negative opinions.

So at the end you would end up doing ?Eenie, meenie, minie, mo?.

If you do not care about extras of the 54GL?s 3rd party firmware, the top of the line of the Entry Level Wireless Hardware is the Buffalo Tech. devices.

http://www.buffalotech.com/products/wireless.php

The Buffalos are slightly more expensive than the mainstream Wireless and are not sold in the Mega stores and thus not so popular among your average shoppers.

In general some of the newer MIMO/preN seems to do a little better than other devices.

The only trepadtion with these devices is the higher price, and lack of assurance that they would be fully compatible, or upgradeable to the 801.11n final specs that might come out in few months. So you would spend over $100 for the Router and about $100 for every station, to get the max out of the connection, and after few months you would feel cheated because it is not fully compatible with new 802.11n

So at the end it might be more of a personal strategic decision rather than Technology brain storm.

:sun:

 

[d4mo]

Originally posted by: xfile
I have the GL and it is damn solid. It runs Azureus without a hiccup.

What firmware do you use.

JackMDS: I know there are better products out there it's just I don't want to spend so much on them. Maybe the more cost would be with it with the better peformance but I don't know that for sure right now...

 

[xfile]

I am running the stock firmware on my GL. It's version 4.30.0 I haven't bothered to mess with 3rd party stuff yet.

I was mostly concerned about getting a decent router/switch. The G and GS sound like they are crap so I went with the GL based on the large amount of positive comments and small amount of negative comments on it around the net.