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    Need ideas on new wireless N Band router, for about $50 bucks...

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by Pamster, Jul 24, 2011.

  1. Pamster

    Pamster Guest

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    Hey all,

    I got my inspiron on the way but we still have an old G band router. So I wanted to ask, what is the best router for the money? Is the E1000 Cisco one a good investment? I will be using it for skype and light gaming as well as word processing and surfing the net. How is the speed difference in a router that has up to 300MPS? Compared to our old one that is like 100MPS? My Notebook has N on the wireless card so I am thinking we'll be getting a new router by the fall, and I am trying to get my head around what we need. :)

    Thanks in advance! :D
     
    Pamster, Jul 24, 2011
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  2. Marecki_clf

    Marecki_clf Homo laptopicus

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    I would suggest TP-Link TL-WR1043ND.
     
    Marecki_clf, Jul 24, 2011
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  3. downloads

    downloads No, Dee Dee, no! Super Moderator

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    The best router for some $50 would be TP-Link TL-WR1043ND.
    It's based on an Atheros 400MHz CPU (Linksys E1000 is based on Broadcom 300MHz CPU), both are equipped with 32MB RAM and 300mbps Wi-Fi (both achieve almost identical throughputs in the same conditions).
    TP-Link has 1000mbps Ethernet as opposed to 100mbps in Linksys and sports a USB port that Linksys doesn't have. TP-Link's antennas are removable/upgradeable which may be useful.

    Both routers are supported by 3rd party firmware like DD-WRT or OpenWRT.

    EDIT:
    note to self- type faster next time.
     
    downloads, Jul 24, 2011
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  4. Pamster

    Pamster Guest

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    So you like the TP-Link brand? They seem to have good reviews on NewEgg, will look into it. Thank you both for the suggestion. :D How is speed on the N band compared to other lower bands like B & G? :)
     
    Pamster, Jul 24, 2011
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  5. weinter

    weinter /dev/null

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    I really liked the TP-Link WR1043ND.
    Best router for modders.
    Installed OpenWRT on it.
    Soldered on a 64MB RAM upgrade from 32MB.
    The numerous packages on OpenWRT Repository enables unlimited possibilities.
    Best of all: It is dirt cheap for a Gigabit 3T3R Wireless N Router.
     
    weinter, Jul 24, 2011
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  6. downloads

    downloads No, Dee Dee, no! Super Moderator

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    @weinter
    I was thinking about 64MB mod although I'm pretty sure I won't be able to do that myself (I'm a bit wobbly so to speak ;) )
    I also tend to think OpenWRT is the best 3rd party option.
    If I'm not mistaken you were to post something about your router-mod here. That would be interesting.
    Did you test read/write speeds via HDD connected to USB port? (There are tests on OpenWRT website but I wanted a second opinion)

    @Pamster

    Don't think this router is suitable only for crazy modders and 3rd party firmware folks. Factory firmware is good and stable and the router doesn't require any mods- it's good as it is. It just offers the possibility of squeezing more out of it for only a few $.
    Real speed (throughput) of 300mbps is getting close to 80-90mbps in ideal conditions whereas 802.11g with theoretical speed of 54mbps is getting close to 20-25mbps in ideal conditions.
     
    downloads, Jul 24, 2011
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  7. Pamster

    Pamster Guest

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    Definitely sounds like what we need. Thank you both for sharing your insights with me. :D It looks like a great solution for us. ;)
     
    Pamster, Jul 24, 2011
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  8. weinter

    weinter /dev/null

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    Some stuff I did:
    OpenWRT Linux TCP Tweaks.
    Shell Command the Router
    (If you are a old time Linux User you probably just need to know the OpenWRT specific binaries the rest are mainly standard Linux Shell Commands)
    And of course the RAM Mod.
    I will test the SAMBA performance only after getting a externally powered USB HDD but I am not expecting super performance from an embedded system.
     
    weinter, Jul 24, 2011
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  9. downloads

    downloads No, Dee Dee, no! Super Moderator

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    Neither am I but if I end up using it it's going to be via wireless so I don't need great performance if Wi-Fi is going to limit me to ~10MB/s
     
    downloads, Jul 24, 2011
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  10. weinter

    weinter /dev/null

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    I also ordered 3X6dbi Antenna to replace the default 3dbi Antenna.
    I can get around 10MB/s from my room to the router from the other Room currently.
     
    weinter, Jul 24, 2011
    #10