Going from D-Link to Linksys

So I've tried a couple Netgear routers, a D-link DGL-4500, and a DIR-655 and as far as range is concerned, they all suck in my new house. My room is about 20 feet away from where the router is located (2 rooms over in a one story house) and I barely get a 30% signal in mixed mode on the DIR-655 with my Intel 5300.

I'm thinking of trying a Linksys router since I haven't tried that yet. Which one offers the best range/speed and that doesn't drop connection? Tried doing a little research but there doesn't seem to be any particular model people praise (like the DIR-655 from D-link).

 

mrpres one thing to realize is many routers in fact use the same chipset. if 2 models share the same model broadcomm chipset for instance there will in the end be little difference between them. i personally use the netgear wnr834b v2 with dd-wrt and i have 5 bars through my whole house. i even see 3 bars sometimes 4 at my neighbors house from mine. i do his computer repairs so ive seen it for myself.

dual band imo is a joke for long range. 5g is not going to give you the range that 2.4 will and g will give you longer range than n will. the netgear i mentioned is ROCK solid with ddwrt. without it the router sucked big time. not sure if you are trying to run 5g but that will def kill range as does the 40mhz settings.

if g will do a recc ive always made is the buffalo whr-g54 its a rock solid g router that uses a separate internal amp that if flashed with tomato or ddwrt firmware you can jack up and its very powerful..

a freind of mine has a 2 story house and his netgear 834b is on one side on the first floor. he has 5 bars directly above it and 3 bars on the second floor on the opposite side of the house. so something else could be affecting your range because 20ft is nothing. heck we use a old linksys g router at our one office and its a good 50-75ft away and i see 3-4bars pretty steady (with a alfa usb adapter though) never drops below 3 though and i see the business' routers from across the street and down the road 2 stores.. lol..

what kind of settings do you use?

and are you trying to use 40mhz wideband or the normal 20? 40 will KILL your range but give you faster speeds up to 300, 20 is far better for range but the max with that is about 130..

have you tried adjusting the channels (i usually default to channel 7 or 11 most of the time but sometimes 1 is the best as far as range for me)? setting it to n only or g only etc?

 

Yeah I definitely don't use 5Ghz or the 40mhz setting because I know that will kill the range. I'm in mixed b/g/n mode on the DIR-655 with 20mhz. My walls must be extremely thick because the router is not that far away at all. I know that dual band is pretty much a joke but I think I'd like to get an N router just in case I will use it later. If anything, I can use it in G mode.

I was thinking of going the dd-wrt route. Would you recommend that for range? I may just get that Netgear you're talking about.

 

My house was built in the late 1980s, a standard stucco over wood frame structure. I found I had terrible range with certain non D-Link cards (and even one D-Link xtreme card, due to a compatibility issue with my e1705 chipset). To correct it, I put an antenna in the attic, swapped my troublesome card for my current Gigabyte card, and made sure all other computers had D-Link xtreme cards. I now have great range.

I think most of your range problems are because of that crappy (IMHO) Intel card you have installed in your laptop. Have you considered swapping it for something else, that uses the same chipset as your D-Link router?

 

That's the first time I've heard an Intel 5300 called crappy. I haven't had any issues with it besides the range in this house so I think it would be a little troublesome to swap it out.

 

You won't be making an upgrade making to a Linksys router.
You should look at bountifuls if you wan't a single router.
http://www.bountifulwifi.com/Bountiful_Wi-Fi_home_Long_Range_Wi-Fi.aspx
I do have real world experience with these routers, and they're insane.
Keep in mind that your wireless card will make a difference in this as well, but the 5300 is a very powerful card as is, you can't do too much upgrading there.

But if I were you, I'd just do multiple access points. Sounds like you've got a ton of wireless routers on your hands already, setting them up shouldn't be too hard. Do you have any wired network at home? If so, you could put an access point beside every wired computer in the house. That's the solution I'm using.