3rd party router firmware

Does anyone know if 3rd party firmware makes a difference in performance of routers? From what I have been able to find the only benefit is extra features.
Fore example would flashing wrt610N yield any performance increase such as range or speed etc.

 

That depends on router. It's possible for some models to increase transmit power.

I did find significant performance increase on my old WRT54G when I flashed DD-WRT on it: it doesn't crash/reboot anymore when stressed with large transfers and connections.

 

Stock firmware is almost always going to be faster than third party firmware especially when it comes to routing throughput.

Anyone who has done any real tests will tell you this including the third party firmware devs.

Although typically it's still capable of doing well above what your actual connection will be so in my opinion well worth all the extra features third party firmware has to offer.

 

I agree with eiji-gravion on basics although my MO is not to use 3rd party firmware unless I need it but ALWAYS buy a router that is supported by one.

Third party firmware is a tool- use it if you have trouble or are in need of certain features/settings but don't ignore default firmware when choosing a router.
Some companies are notorious for crappy firmwares- that doesn't make 3rd party firmware an option- it makes it a must- and that's never good.

 

I used 3rd party years ago on a wrt54G when it first came out but it fried my router. I was thinking of trying it on my 610N because it seems slow when streaming video. I have been reading up on it but it seems like the following borders on fanatical and smallnetbuilder doesn’t have reviews using 3rd party firmware.
After about of 30 to 40 minutes of video chatting my quality is reduced, I was thinking that it might be the router a memory leak or something but it could be the wireless card. Thanks for your advice will stay away from the firmware.

 

I would test a third party firmware if I were you (having already tested the most recent Linksys firmware).
Since you have an issue with either some settings or firmware itself you have a legitimate reason to actually go for it.
WRT610N has 64MB RAM which is more than enough so it's definitely not a hardware problem.

 

wrt610n stock firmware is already fairly decent. Go 3rd party if you're using old or cheap hardware. I run tomato on my wrt54gl, but I purchased that router for the sake of tomato capability.

 

Linksys firmware is more than decent- it's actually good but if the OP has issued worth it there's no reason not to try an alternative one.

 

Alternatively, look for firmware updates for that router, there may be some useful bug fixes from the manufacturer. I however just flash everything to dd-wrt when I get it.

 

I also recommend DD-WRT, because some stock routers tend to slow down when there are a lot of active connections (like when torrenting). Dunno how it is with the newer ones. DD-WRT also has lots of great features that I use.

 

If your 610N is slow, you need to change some settings or check for a firmware update. Mine runs flawless and I beat the heck out of it.


Last I checked DD-WRT for the 610n was a bit buggy, but that was a while ago. The stock firmware is extremely good and feature packed on these.

 

I decided to updated my card first but i'm waiting for the adapter. If it's the same with the card than I will change the firmware.