Best N Router for FIOS upgrade-Cisco-Linksys E3000 High-Performance Wireless-N Router?

Hey all, will likely upgrade FIOS' Wi-Fi this week, is the following a good choice:

Amazon.com: Cisco-Linksys E3000 High-Performance Wireless-N Router: Electronics

I see some complaints about heat-reboots, not sure about this form factor & why they don't go for the vented vertical form factor to dissipate the heat better?

Appreciate other comparable recommendations & feedback..

Any great routers on the horizon?

Ref:
3.0 Networking Verizon Online FiOS FAQ

 

my parents have that router at thier house. It's pretty good. I actually dont drop connection on it. I still use wired at home. I have read some reviews on this beast as well. It is the highest rated wireless router on the market. Runs dual wireless n streams 1 on 2.4ghz and 1 on 5ghz through the home network you can get 600mbps transfers 300mbps per channel and it will max out fios's speed for you. It has one of the longest ranges and highest speeds over long ranges and the most reliable connection. Just make sure you secure your connection cause like i said the whole block will be able to pick up your signal. The USB port on it is pretty sweet too. You can attatch a hard drive to it and share all that hard drive over the whole network.

 

That may be technically true but sounds misleading- this router doesn't go beyond 300mbps for one computer.
As Linksys states "The 5 GHz and 2,4 GHz bands are designed to work separately yet simultaneously..." Meaning you can’t use 300mbps from one band and 300mbps form the other and combine them into one 600mbps stream for one computer. Moreover it cannot even do this for multiple computers as it scores 192mbps of total wireless bandwidth.
Read this test (that's where I took the 192mbps figure).
BTW it's a very good router (new name for WRT610N) and it will be supported by DD-WRT in future. In fact it is possible that E3000 is supported as we speed because it's just ERT610N v2 with a new name but let someone else test it on his/hers router
Good hardware, good firmware and even better on the way. Very good one although not that cheap...

 

Fortunately I was able to get ethernet upstairs last month without running any additional wires with the Actiontec Ethernet over Coax MoCA Adapter but other devices will need some additional Wi-Fi range which is why I also asked about Connectify (vs. Intel's My WiFi Technology) for a new notebook I'm considering.

The Cisco-Linksys E3000 has more reviews now with heat-reboots-cost the principal complaints with some cooling workarounds like adding feet it seems...appreciate the feedback

 

What about Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router (Black) Vs. Cisco-Linksys E3000 High-Performance Wireless-N Router ?

The Netgear firmware has been questioned but I'm not seeing the same heat complaints with Netgear's smaller tower footprint compared to the E3000 ?

 

I have the 610N V2, it seemed warm so I propped up the front edge (which did cool it down), but even before I did that I never had issues.

Honestly, best router I have ever owned or worked with, which is saying quite a bit considering how many I have dealt with over the years. I haven't even bothered putting DD-WRT on it as it is working so well (and if I just jinxed it, I will strangle someone ). I reset it once in the last few months and even then it was only because my DSL was down, I wanted to make sure it wasn't the router (it wasn't).

Would I consider a WNDR3700?
Absolutely, and I did, but I wanted the option of aftermarket firmware.

By the way, no router is perfect. The 3700 does have it's issues as well. I have heard rumors that the power pack in underpowered (kind of common on many, but more-so on Netgears). Over the short term this cause fluctuations in signal and over the long term burn out capacitors. Would it put me off? No. What put me off was no aftermarket firmware, no long term testing (at the time) and just missing a sale on it where I would have saved $20 over the 610N.

 

Thanks leslieann, I bought the WRT54GL back in January for my sister in no small part thanks to your recommendation. Aside from helping her set it up, no support calls from her except a couple quick calls when she forgot her passkey..

I however was hoping there might be some reliable N routers with a track record by now to upgrade FIOS. I'm not quite as desperate since I managed to get ethernet upstairs in this room but my Wi-Fi only devices would appreciate an upgrade. I was about to order the E3000 when I saw the WNDR3700 with a more versatile form factor-attributes that caught my eye.

I know there is no perfect router but do you think picking the WNDR3700 over the newer E3000 for the FIOS upgrade would be an inferior choice?

I have a Staples coupon so I should be able to pick it up locally for around the same price as at Amazon & have their 14 day easy return policy, should I give the WNDR3700 the nod (they both carry the same 1 yr manufacturers warranty), how long should I realistically expect these to last?

I'll keep reading reviews for more guidance, -Thanks again

 

With Netgear it seems the lower end stuff doesn't last as long while the upper end stuff does. Linksys seems to just work. If I had to do it over again, I would consider the 3700, it seems like a fantastic router, but I would still get the Linksys.

I know Downloads and me seem to harp on aftermarket firmware a lot. I also know most people will never change what even comes originally on a router. I haven't even changed every router I could over to aftermarket. So what's the big deal? Well, ever had a decent router that just sucked? I had a Netgear (10/100/N I switched to DD-WRT, it stabilized it. It brought new life into an old router, it was fantastic. Then I decided I wanted N with gigabit and bought a D-Link DIR-655. Great bit of hardware, too bad the firmware is so bad I want to smash it with a hammer. It crashes constantly and many of the features don't work. It's a firmware issue, each time they solve one problem, they introduce a new issue. This is why I like aftermarket firmware. My WRT610N still has Linksys firmware, I have no need to change it, but if I could change that D-Link, it woudl probably be an awesome router. Instead, it's a doorstop.

 

The WNDR3700 is Netgear's upper end stuff so I'm hoping it would last. I understand why you like the Linksys-firmware flexibility but I'd appreciate your feedback on my post below:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/net...n-router-vs-netgear-wndr3700.html#post6267349

 

I'll just answer here since it would make less sense there.

If you want the very top performance, yes, the Netgear is better, I won't argue that. I have never claimed the 610 was better performing, just that it was better than the 1.0 original firmware SmallNetBuilder was basing all decisions on. The testings shows it has changed quite a lot.

How often are you ever going to see the very peak? In everyday use you would hardly see any difference between an E 2000 compared to a WNDR3700.
In my experience, Linksys is more consistently better on hardware and software quality, and there is still nothing to say there will ever be any other firmware, so once Netgear stops developing, it's over. If Netger drops a feature, oh well, too bad. Don't think it can happen? D-Link dropped the bridging ability from the 655. Aftermarket firmware solves this problem.

The more I deal with that 655 (I used it for some testing 2 days ago) the more I get angry that I can't change the firmware and just re-affirms my preference for the Linksys.

 

Update, I just saw that the WNDR3700 IS now supported by DD-WRT.

My purchase would probably depend on which I could get cheaper, as both are very competent. I don't think the performance difference is noticeable.

 

Another option which would be more robust would be to use a Wired Router Only for the main router like Netgear ProSafe FVS-538 or newer model with GigE. Then connect a gige switched to the router connecting all users to the switch then all would be equal. This is a VPN endpoint router which would give all users access from the outside to their own pc when away. Then setup a (multiple if needed) wireless router/AP to even out the coverage. I have 2 routers setup as AP on each end of the house even though I have full coverage with just one. Set 1 for 2.4 then the other for 5ghz. You will get the best performance this way.

Netgear ProSafe is a Small Business class router that you can pound 24/7 and not have any problems with.

 

Talk about using a sledgehammer to put in a thumbtack.
That is serious overkill for a home user, even with FIOS.

You do not need $600 worth of networking equipment to run a decent connection. A Wrt610n/E3000 or WNDR3700 should be more than plentiful for most users.


My 610 works flawlessly, despite:
Streaming a webcam 24/7 (I'm streaming a birdnest in my yard),
My heavy downloads
Using remote desktop to customers
Using VPN to connect back while in the field
Maintaining my websever.
A second desktop
A networked printer
My file/backup server (I only keep a small drive on my personal system, makes backups easier).

Then there is the occasional leeching neighbor, my testbench for work, and 2 notebooks (one on N, the other G).
I use the 610n connected to a small Netgear gigabit switch for more ports.


I probably use 350gigs per month average without a hiccup. Most people are nowhere near that kind of useage, FIOS or no FIOS.

 

Interesting information however this revealed one drawback of WNDR-3700.
I haven't realized that it has only 16MB RAM and 4MB flash. That may limit the possibility of using more feature-rich 3rd party firmware but that's not my main concern. 16MB RAM in a router?! I've checked out smallnetbuilder again and they updated the review of the Netgear with a new max simultaneous connections test that they had started with E3000 review. WNDR3700 scored only 4096 connections compared to 12277 for E3000.
That's not a drawback itself because 4096 is still more than enough even for heavy P2P usage but that leads me to believe that Netgear may get laggy after some time especially with heavy usage with a setup like yours leslieann.
I'd still stick with E3000 although if Netgear had 64MB RAM it would be the opposite.

 

Wow that is surprising and really disappointing. While a few years ago that would have been fine (WRT54G has those same specs), that is really low spec for a current high end router.

Makes me wonder who this router is really aimed at since an E2000 (which has 8 and 32megs) would probably do just as well in most instances at nearly half the cost. I'm glad I got the 610.


A note on connections...
While 4096 sounds like a lot, this doesn't mean 4096 people connecting, this refers to each time a computer talks to each other. This adds up very fast.

 

Yeah I realize that but you actually made me realize sth else. I wrote that 4096 is a lot based on my experience (my firewall counts active connections) but the definition of active connection differs slightly with every manufacturer.
While DD-WRT lets you customize the time the router tracks lost connections stock firmwares doesn't. I remember when Linksys had a default tracking time for lost connections of some 5 days- and lost connection is when a peer connects and then disconnects which happens all the time with P2P (users, nodes, DHT etc)
So Netgear may have severe problems (or not) depending on how the default firmware is set to act. I assumed 4096 is OK because it probably would be with DD-WRT where you could customize the tracking period and set it to some 20 seconds which wouldn't allow the lost connections to accumulate.
I really hope that this 16MB RAM, 4MB flash is some kind of a mistake on DD-WRT page- otherwise it spoils an otherwise great router.

 

So leslieann, is the DD-WRT stable on the 610 and what are the real world benefits that you have actually noticed?

edit* nevermind, just saw that you haven't switched over. So what are the major benefits that you are aware of?

 

(I should be sleeping but ) 64MB RAM, 8MB flash is what I see listed, just so we're on the same page/s-links: Are we looking at: Refs:

Supported Devices - DD-WRT Wiki

http://www.netgear.com/upload/product/wndr3700/WNDR3700_DS_17Feb10.pdf

Gentlemen, Start Your Buying: NETGEAR WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router Reviewed - Routing Perf, ReadyShare, Wireless Controls

Cisco Linksys E3000 High Performance Wireless-N Router Reviewed - Routing Performance, Wireless Performance

So why hasn't there been any changes to the closing thoughts "While the E3000 is a decent router and I'm sure that Cisco will sell plenty of 'em, it isn't as good as NETGEAR's WNDR3700, which is still the best-performing dual-band simultaneous N router that I've tested so far." ?

 

Well that's a good news because if you go through this on DD-WRT website and type in WNDR3700 you get an info about 16MB RAM and 4MB flash.
In such a case WNDR3700 is slightly better than E3000 especially since any potential software problems can be solved by DD-WRT.

 

If you have a working setup that does all you need, there is probably no benefit. However if you need more, then that is when aftermarket firmware makes a difference.

One big benefit is that you can bridge routers to extend your network. To extend a network usually costs for a decent router, plus the extender and router have to be compatible. Aftermarket firmware removes the hardware differences from the equation.

I am doing this for a customer next week. I spent $120 on a pair of Buffallo "G" routers, and I plan to install Tomato on both and then use one router to extend the firsts range. There are whole wireless neighborhoods setup in similar fashion.

Other benefits?
DD-WRT has been used to correct hardware issues...
The Linksys 320N had an issue where the reset button did not work properly. The DD-WRT guys managed to change it so that the one touch wireless setup could instead be used to reset the firmware.

I have also seen them fix severe firmware issue, make unstable routers stable, enable features the factory left out or disabled, even add firmware storage.

One interesting idea a few of the people doing this have done is that a few guys placed a usb flashdrive into the usb port, changed the firmware to switch and boot the flashdrive. So instead of 4 megs of storage space for firmware they had gigs and gigs worth.

 

True for the moment yes, but the E3000 will covered soon enough. I didn't check, but I will bet they have it in testing in the forums already.

 

I started looking around for a new router a few months ago and after reading and going back and forth for quite a while, I ended up with this pathological compulsion to try them both (pity me) - so I waited patiently on ebay and ended up with both versions of the wrt610n and the wndr3700 - the version 1 Linksys was used and the version 2 was NIB.

The first thing I came to believe was that there is a BIG difference between Ver. 1 and Ver. 2 on the Linksys side. Granted the Ver. 1 was used but the firmware was so buggy that I installed dd wrt right away and the problems went away.

So anyway, I've been playing with the wrt610n ver.2 and the wndr3700 for about a month. I like the wndr3700 mostly for the 5ghz range which works significantly better for me (better range). The stock software feature set on the Netgear is also far superior, e.g., RIP support, guest network and repeater functions. I haven't really compared the Gigabit throughput but the Netgear is pretty nice.

I replaced an Apple Gigabit Extreme in order to get better wired throughput and hoped I wouldn't lose reliability or wireless range and so far the Netgear hasn't disappointed. The Apple had amazing reliability and great wireless range but was ridiculous to configure and didn't really satisfy in terms of wired speeds.

Right now, I'm using the Linksys as a base station for the 2.4 ghz channel and have 3 older routers w/dd wrt installed (the Linksys wrt610n ver.1, a Linksys 310n and a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54) as repeaters on a different subnet with a different modem. This is mainly for smartphone wireless.

The Linksys side hasn't given me any trouble but it does have an irritating limitation where I can't enable RIP without disabling NAT which makes having both subnets communicate more difficult. I'll eventually install dd wrt on that router and see if that doesn't allow me to improve the 5 ghz range.

But overall - I have to say that I think that the Netgear lives up to the hype pretty well, while the Linksys just isn't as great. Also, from what I've read the E3000 firmware has an oddity with configuration requiring two different configuration screens (web & software) which (luckily) helped keep my compulsion from spilling over into needing to get one of those too.

All of this, IMHO, of course.