Wireless router buyers guide 2014

Y2014 NOTE: So far 802.11ac routers are kept in a separate stocky. If you are interested in 802.11ac hardware this thread is not for you.

Wireless router buyer’s guide​

Over the years I wrote a lot of posts on this very sub-forum answering basically the same question- “what’s the best wireless router I can get for $x?” “what wireless router would you recommend? I cannot spend more than $x”
These posts get different responses- the ones I personally dislike are ones of the kind “I have a X router and it works fine”.
The problem behind such an answer is that many people seem not to understand that the fact that it (router) works doesn’t make it any good- it’s a router, not a brick so no wonder it works. This approach -however -shows that most people do not care about networking equipment and do not realize its importance- even though most of us wouldn’t make it through a day without internet.
Your whole home network (or SMB network) relies on your gateway- in most cases gateway equals router.
The reason I’ve created this guide is to give NBR members a short-list of routers that are in fact good- not just ones that work.

If you do not wish to get into details of hardware/software and criteria I’ve used to judge routers and just want a recommendation please skip the following part and go straight to the results. If you’d like to know a bit more about routers keep on reading.

What is a wireless router?

Wireless router is a small computer dedicated to certain tasks (mainly routing and switching).
It has its own CPU- starting from 200MHz and going all the way to 680MHz (two core CPUs are on the way). Just as all computers it needs RAM- most routers have between 16 and 64MB. It also needs some kind of storage- this would be flash memory and off course an operating system. Most routers use Linux but there are also other systems- ranging from VxWorks to Windows CE.
Let’s briefly explain what’s what and what kind of hardware do you need. You do pay attention to CPU and RAM while buying a laptop so why would you buy a router without this knowledge?

CPU- First things first- let’s ignore the fact that CPU is probably not the right name for this chip. It does what CPU does in your computer and let’s leave it at that.
The faster your connection the more routing “power” your CPU needs. Additional resources are needed to run a proper firewall (packets filtering), transfer files to USB devices connected to the router (be it a HDD or a printer when printserver is enabled) etc.
While you don’t need the fastest CPU in the world you need one that is sufficiently fast for your connection- as fast as it is now and in foreseeable future. As always more expensive routers are faster, so if you have a 50mbps connection and want to buy a $40 router you are going to be disappointed. Throughput that can be achieved by a router is a good way of measuring CPU’s performance (unless hardware tweaks are involved like in Asus RT-56U and Linksys E4200). While Broadcom and Atheros CPUs can't be directly compared throughput and CPU clock gives you some info on what's fast and what's not.
NOTE: I use term CPU which is not entirely correct in regards to router's SoC but it's easier to understand this way.

RAM- RAM is needed for keeping the NAT table, Linux system and its add-ons (printservers on USB port, samba, ftp server etc) and keeping all the connections under control- router needs to “remember” all your connections- if it runs out of memory connection that is “forgotten” is terminated. In other words- if you use P2P of any kind, VoIP or online gaming- you need a router with at least 32MB RAM. Faster units with more features can benefit from 64MB. 128MB is an overkill and while it may be nice to have it, you won’t benefit from it in any way (unless a manufacturer uses some kind of extremely fancy interface that needs a lot of RAM).

Flash- the more flash you have the more advanced firmware you can put there. As in every OS more features require more storage space. 4MB of flash memory is sufficient only for most basic models. 8MB can be considered good while anything above that is considered very good yet not needed for most users.

Firmware- As mentioned before it’s usually some sort of Linux. But there are different sorts of those- some companies provide good stock firmwares (Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link) while others are notorious for hiring real monkeys to write code (D-Link, Asus in case of more advanced routers- the basic ones are fine). While stock firmware’s quality and support of the manufacturer affected my choice please mind the fact that all routers I ever recommend are capable of running 3rd party firmwares like DD-WRT, OpenWRT, Tomato etc. (<strike>Linksys E4200 is not yet supported by 3rd party firmwares but it will be in near future</strike> It is now)

Wi-Fi- 802.11g standard can provide real-life throughput (under perfect signal conditions) of 20-25mbps. That means you won’t be able to fully utilize your connection if a) your connection is faster than 20-25mbps b) you’re not sitting on top of the router c) there are more wireless users at your house apartment (sorry- no MIMO in 802.11g).
In other words you need 802.11n to be comfortable and future-proof. I will not recommend what’s known as n-lite which means speeds up to 150mbps. All routers recommended below are capable of at least 300mbps connection (don’t get your hopes up- it’s just a theoretical throughput). More advanced routers are capable of utilizing not only 2.4GHz band but also less clogged 5GHz band- often both of those at the same moment. I will point that out while describing routers.

Ethernet- basic models use 100mbps Ethernet, more advanced use 1000mbps one. It’s pretty obvious which one is better. It may or may not be important to you but remember that this affects LAN transfers, media streaming from home server, NASes etc.

USB- USB can be used as a print-server or for storage. You can use a pen-drive (thumb drive) or a HDD. Transfers will be slow- first because Linux never really liked NTFS partitions and second because it puts high load on you router’s CPU which is generally busy doing other things. If you achieve 5-7MB/s transfers from a HDD connected to a router-don’t complain- it’s normal. Most routers have only on USB port so it’s either a print server or network storage- not both, sorry (<strike>Asus is an exception but they priced themselves out from this guide</strike> While the price is still a joke RT-N66U has been added)



WARNING: This guide is all about home/SMB routers- not high grade business equipment. There are some notable differences between these two classes. Vast majority of users don’t need an enterprise router. People who need devices like that would nor read a thread like this one anyway.

 

Now on with the selection of best routers in each class.

Up to $45​

ASUS WL-520GU

It is basically a Linksys WRT54GL with some additions. It's powered by Broadcom BCM5354 240 MHz CPU paired with 16MB RAM. Where it excels compared to WRT54GL is it has an USB port that can be used to connect a printer (print-server functionality).
It's also supported by DD-WRT and Tomato.


The Good:
+price
+print-server

The Bad:
-Wireless is only capable of 802.11g (54mbps)


TP-Link TL-WR741ND


The most recent version (v4) of this router is equipped with Atheros AR9331 400MHz CPU and 32MB RAM and Wi-Fi is capable of 150mbps on 2.4GHz (so called n-lite). It doesn't have an USB port nor does it have 1Gbps LAN ports but it is to be expected in this price range.
Being an Atheros-based router, TP-Link is supported by DD-WRT, Open-WRT, Gargoyle in addition to good stock firmware provided by TP-Link.
In case you're wondering- routing-wise TP-Link is better than Asus so for those of you with faster connections this is the cheap router of choice.

The Good:
+price
+sort of 802.11n capable
+good stock firmware
+good hardware (CPU and RAM)

The Bad:
-none for the price

$46-$75​

Asus RT-N13U

Powered by Ralink 384MHz CPU paired 64MB RAM (version B1). Wireless capable of 300mbps (2.4GHz band only), USB port you can use to connect and share HDD/USB memory (will be slow) or connect a printer (printserver)

The Good:
+hardware
+USB including print server option
+cheap

The Bad:
-LAN ports 100mbps only
-Asus firmware is flimsy at times


TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND v1 or v2



Powered by 400MHz Atheros CPU paired with 32MB RAM. Wireless capable of 300mbps on 2.4GHz only- offers very good throughput (especially downlink throughput) but is undistinguished in terms of range. USB port doesn't offer print-server functionality on stock firmware (it does work on DD-WRT, Open WRT/Gargoule though) but offers FTP and media-server functionality out of the box.
LAN posts are 1Gbps which is nice in this price-range.
Apart from good stock firmware you can use DD-WRT, OpenWRT and Gargoyle.

There is a hardware version 2 of the router available at the moment. The difference is easy to tell since the housing had been changed (see second photo). Upgrades include faster SoC (720MHz vs 400MHz), doubling the RAM to 64MB and new Wi-Fi radio capable of 450mbps connection. If it's available and the price is right go for v2.

The Good:
+hardware
+three replaceable/upgradeable antennas
+USB port
+good wireless throughput
+very good stock firmware and firmware support
+cheap
+1Gbps LAN ports
+Print-server (added to official firmware in May 2012)


The Bad:
-undistinguished wireless range
-<strike>no print-server functionality out of the box</strike>

$76 and more​

Asus RT-N66U


Simultaneous dual-band router capable of 450mbps Wi-Fi connection on both 2.4GHz (at least in theory) and 5GHz band. Built on a Broadcom BCM4706 600MHz CPU and supplemented by 256MB RAM and two USB ports and off-course Gigabit Ethernet it offers a killer specs. It also offers some additional features in stock firmware like support for a 3G modem connected to a USB port (in case main connection dies on you). Wireless range for 5GHz is probably the best in business- not that it's important. Firmware is/was a big buggy and undocumented- as always with Asus' advanced firmwares you never know what the hell are those guys doing.
Mind you some features are unfinished or undocumented- VPN, DLNA, IPv6, USB modem and other things didn't work or were not documented (fully or at all) at different stages if firmware's development.

The Good:
+awesome hardware
+very good wireless performance
+2 USB ports with support for 3G modem
+Good 5GHz with very good range
+print-server

The bad:
-ridiculous price (and name- Dark Knight)
-Asus firmware (nuff said)

TP-Link TL-WDR4300


The new high-end router from TP-Link offers simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi courtesy of Atheros radios. Theoretical connectoin speed is 300Mbps on 2.4GHz band and 450Mbps on 5GHz band. Router is based on Atheros AR9344 SoC running at 560MHz paired with 128MB RAM and 8 MB flash. To top it off you are given 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports and two USB 2.0 ports.
According to tests I've seen so far performance is very good although nothing definitive can be said about the range- at this point it seems like it's undistinguished. Still with three external upgradeable antennas you can fiddle a bit if needed.
Third party support is on its way- at the time of writing this piece OpenWRT Trunk is available but there's still no DD-WRT nor Gargoyle support.
At this time it is the cheapest 450mbps simultaneous dual-band router on the market and with its good hardware and TP-Link's good firmware and support it's definitely a device to consider.

The good:
+Very good hardware
+2 USB ports (printer sharing and drive sharing supported)
+Good wireless throughput
+3 stream (450mbps) on 5GHz
+print server (requires an app installed on a client computer to work)
+DLNA server
+good 5GHz range
+price

The bad:
-no guest SSID
-average downlink performance on 2.4GHz and 5GHz range
-mediocre 2.4GHz range

Best value & best of the rest​

Best value high end router: Asus RT-N66U

Best value mid-range router: TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND



NOTE: Some routers are on my watch-list. I won't recommend them unless I can vouch for them. I'll be updating this list periodically.

 

Actually Router's SoC doesn't determine the Routing Performance, it depends on how the firmware OS implements the NATing and Routing as well.

A higher percentage of the RAM is use for running service like DHCP Server, File Sharing Server, WebUI Server. In fact very low percentage of the RAM is used to remember the connection, because the Kernel is designed to expire/timeout old connections so you never run out of memory to store connection.

Not all Client Wifi Adapters support 5GHZ and more than 150Mbps so it might not help even if your Router support 750Mbps.
Some really lousy atheros chip does only 150Mbps.

USB doesn't nessarily mean either printer port or File Sharing.
You can use a USB Hub to 'expand' the ports to plug in more devices, just make sure the power draw doesn't exceed what the router supplies.

 

I remember this discussion between yourself and another user about what should happen and what actually happens. It's not the same

Although in principle I agree with everything you wrote (with some things only partially but still...).

 

For online gaming (GW2, Tera, Diablo 3), HD streaming (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go) would you recommend one of these or would there be a better router I could buy for around $130 US. Since it's summer time I'll have a lot of time on my hands so I'd like a good router that will last hours on end. I'm also getting a new laptop probably a sager np170em with the 1103 killer wireless.

 

Either of the high end would do fine. There are some other interesting routers but I'm hesitant to recommend them for different reasons (i.e. Asus' default firmware is not a byword for quality).

You can also wait and see what comes out of 801.11ac routers. As for now there's no point in buying one but 802.11n used to be bad too just after the initial launch.

 

Someone suggested the Netgear 37AV (possibly Netgear 37AV-100NAS) which seem to be aimed specifically towards gaming/hd streaming with a choice between one of these or the Netgear WNDR3700 which would be the better?

 

There's no difference. It's the same router in different package.
Sometimes it's says WNDR3700 on a router that's packaged in 37AV box.

 

I like this list... though I think the Airport Extreme should be on it. Maybe at the end as a slightly more expensive option. Plus you can get the Mid-'11 model AE for ~$130 which is a deal for what it can do.

Two reasons why I think the AE is the best consumer router: simple to configure and it's extremely reliable. Out of the several I've setup for clients, none of them have ever had any issues whatsoever. The same cannot be said for Linksys or Netgear, since they're decently reliable but your normal person isn't going to have a clue as to how to configure it.

 

Thanks downloads for this great guide. It is very helpful. I'm in the market for a new wireless router and I am probably going to go with your suggestion of the Netgear WNDR3700. Would you be able to confirm if this page from Best Buy is indeed the v2 and not the v3? I'm having trouble telling: NETGEAR - RangeMax Dual-Band Wireless-N Router with 4-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch - WNDR3700-100NAS WNDR3700&cp=1&lp=1 .

The trouble I've had with my ancient Cisco/Linksys WRT54GX4 is it seems to drop connections frequently and then has trouble reassigning IP addresses to various devices (or at least that's my hunch since I get frequent messages saying that multiple devices are trying to use the same IP address). I've also been generally unsuccessful trying to get my wireless printer (HP Photosmart Plus B209) connected into the network (recently while trying to set up the wireless connection I get a message saying that the IP address of the printer is incompatible with the IP address of the host PC). I know it's hard to diagnose issues based on just a few sentences, but do you have a feeling for whether I may have more success with these issues with the WNDR3700? As far as wireless devices go, I generally have three computers (one running XP and two running W7), an iPod, iPad, printer, and a Blu-Ray player attempting to wirelessly access the internet. I also have one or two additional devices that may occasionally be plugged in to the ethernet jacks. Just want to make sure I won't be overwhelming the router.

 

"NOTE: Please avoid v3- it's completely different and nothing that's been written here about v2 applies to v3"

My nephew wanted to buy his parents a wireless router for streaming so I told him about the Netgear WDNR3700 you recommended here and Best buy has it NETGEAR - RangeMax Dual-Band Wireless-N Router with 4-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch - WNDR3700-100NAS

How do you know though if it's v2 or v3?

 

Assuming info on BestBuy's website is correct (which I'm not entirely sure of) it's v2 as they are referring to a "Powerful 680MHz processor" which is Atheros AR7161 680MHz used in V1 and V2. Version 3 is equipped with a Broadcom BCM4718A1 which is either 480 or 533MHz.
But BestBuy might have just copied the description...

 

Thanks I guess he'll just have to buy it and hope it's v2 then!

 

Any thoughts on my issues below, downloads? The question about the best buy page was answered, but I was wondering if you think the WNDR3700 will do better at holding and assigning ip addresses.

 

Sorry I must have missed your post the first time.
Are you sure that all devices are set to dynamic IPs?
It may be a config issue on the Linksys although it shouldn't drop connections in the first place...

Your current setup won't cause any issued for a WNDR3700 in terms of load.
Something that couldn't be done it those days on Linksys was assigning IP addresses by MAC addresses of the cards so you keep dynamic IPs but router always assigns the same IP to the same device- that way you can configure everything in advance.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm quite certain all of the devices are set to dynamic IPs, though I'm not physically at home to check. Yes...assigning the same IP to a device each time is definitely what I would love to be able to do. I've noticed with the Linksys that sometimes a device has a .101 address and then other times has a .105, and other times .102, etc. The addresses get shuffled around the various devices. Sometimes rebooting a computer seems to collapse the whole network, but it happens randomly as well. So the WNDR3700 will allow me to preset IPs based on MAC address? That would be splendid to be able to assign everything in advance.

 

Yes WNDR3700 can assign IPs by MAC addresses.

 

Great thanks! I'll check out the unit at Best Buy, hopefully tonight.

@mccoady...I'll check with Best Buy (they have this unit in my local store) to see what the processor speed is. If it's 680 MHz then we know it's v2. I'll post to let you know what I find out.

 

Crap, so the Best Buy router is the v3 of the WNDR3700. @downloads, is it a good enough router to keep? Should I keep looking for the v2? There is nothing on the box that tells you it is v2 or v3. I had to bring the thing home and open it up and look at some of the paperwork in order to tell...

 

It's probably not bad but it has nothing in common with WNDR3700- different main chip, different Wi-Fi radio resulting in different range and throughput.
It's up to you if you want to keep it or not- I probably wouldn't.

 

I can't find v2 of the WNDR3700. I could order a WNDR3800 and get it in a few days, or I could get a WNDR4000 in the store. There is another thread in NBR that said WNDR3800 would be the next best thing after WNDR3700v2. Thoughts?

 

Well, does it have to be a netgear, the Linksys E3200 is on sale for 70$ at NCIX if you're in Canada. I know, doesn't help if you're in the US, but maybe there's a similar deal. The Linksys E3200/E3000 isn't as good as the WNDR 3700v2, but at a price point of near 70$, any of those two will perform quite nicely for the price.

 

That's true E3200 for $70 is a great deal.

 

Having trouble finding the E3200 locally. Found it online through Amazon but for $100. I did see that Best Buy has a refurbished E3000 available, but also for $100. I'd like to try to get the router through Best Buy since I bought and opened the WNDR3700v3 and probably will only be able to get store credit.

I definitely would consider any brand/model that you guys think will be reliable. I am trying to escape resetting the router every couple days because the network just dies, which has been the biggest problem with my old Linksys. If I do go for one of the two Netgears above, do you think 3800 would be a better choice than 4000? Or any other brands/models at that $75-$120 price point that you would recommend? I looked for the Linksys E4200v1, but of course Best Buy only has the E4200v2.

And sorry to have hijacked this thread...I do appreciate everyone's advice.

 

Well, i personally have the E3000 and it was the direct competitor of the WNDR3700 as in both are high end routers that can take a lot of abuse, but the WNDR3700 c2 is a tad faster.

My E3000 has been performing very well, my ipod touch doesn't seem to play nice with ip lease time no matter how many other devices are connected to the router, but aside from that i can have as many as 3 game consoles and 5 computers hooked up to it at the same time and it never failed to deliver. Well, i managed to bottleneck the wireless network's capabilities, but that isn't the router's fault, i was simply at the limit of what 2 stream wireless N could do.

The Asus RT-N56U is also a possibility, the firmware won't be as good as on the Netgear or the Linksys, but again at the time the WNDR3700 was netgear's top performer, it's direct competition was the E3000 and RT-N56U which are both good routers too.

 

Downloads do you have any other suggestions for JP$ and me since it looks like the WNDR3700 v2 isn't available are you now recommending either a Linksys E3000 or E3200?

These recommendations are a great service but maybe it's time to go out on a limb and recommend some newer models it would be so helpful for us novices. Thanks!

 

Looking at Amazon prices E4200 v1 should be available for $110 which seems OK. Neither E4200v2 nor EA4500 are worth their prices though ($150 and $170 respectively).
Netgear WNDR3800 is a good choice too if you can get WNDR3700v2. For around $110 it's interesting.
Asus RT-56U for ~$115 is quite decent too although their firmware is less than stellar and for something like that a price should be less than $115.

Netgear WNDR4000 can be (on occasion) bought for some $70- that's a great deal.

Basically none of the current routers costing more than $120 is worth the money.
If you can get a deal on E3000/E3200 for around $70-80 or for a WNDR3800 for ~$100-110 go for it.
If you come across a WNDR4000 for $70-80 definitely buy one.

 

Sage advice. Best Buy has the WNDR3800 on sale for $112, so I think I'm going to pounce on it.

Thank you both for your help. Rep all 'round!

 

You won't regret it, ever since i switched to a high end router, i've been feeling the difference. I can actually transfer files over wireless at a not too bad speeds. LAN to WAN transfers are somewhat comparable to USB 2.0 speeds and WAN to WAN aren't bad either which means i can grab files from my desktop whenever i need them no matter where i am and either not wait or wait a few minutes only if the file is a couple of GB in size. Oh and 5GHz is just awesome and the reason i'm getting the transfer speeds i'm getting.

 

I purchased a refurbished Netgear WNDR3700v2 from a reputable eBay seller for $59 (winning bid) last month, and it's working flawlessly. It looks like they're available if you're still in the market.

 

Thanks for the tip...I did actually check out eBay, but the only WNDR3700v2 that I saw originally was selling for over $230! I do see the ones starting at $50 now. I'll keep my eye on it.

 

I'm looking to get rid of this cheap 40 dollar netgear router and replace it with a linksys e3200 or e4200. Is the only difference the 3x3 on 5ghz on the e4200 vs 2x2 on both channels on the e3200. It will cost me 40 dollars extra to get the e4200 and if that is the only difference then it is an unneeded feature as my internet connection is 50/5 so 300mbps is more than enough and I do not share files on my network plus I have the only device capable of 3x3 anyways in my house.

So is 3x3 on 5ghz the only difference between the 2 routers?

 

E4200 uses good amps and as a result it offers superb range on 2.4GHz band.
It also uses a semi-hardware routing feature that results in greater routing throughput or to put it the other way- less load on CPU with the same routing load compared to E3200.
The second feature isn't very important but the first may be.

If you don't need wireless throughput nor range you should go for E3200.
Mind you it's not like E3200 offers bad Wi-Fi range- it's just that E4200 is much better.

 

hmmmm the e4200 may allow me to share my wireless connection with my neighbor then he can cancel his service and split my bill with me and we just share it and get half price internet. gotta look into this. I'm paying 100 a month for 50/5 service love to reduce that to 50. Maybe even split it with 2 neighbors 33 dollars each!

OK scratch both of those. What router has the furthest range if money is no object well nothing over 400. If I can strike a deal with my neighbors to reduce all our bills and split cost of the super range router then I may just do that. I know my next door neighbor also has the 50/5 plan as we have complained about the 100/month price before and even if my other next door neighbor only has the cheapper 50/month if we all throw 33 we all can use the 50/5 its win win win for everyone.

Can the cable company really prove you are sharing your connection with ur neighbors and splitting the bill? I'm sure they wouldn't be happy about losing the subscribers and every 1 sharing 1 bill thats less money for them but can they stop you from doing it, i dont thnk so

 

Speaking of routers, since i have an addiction to buying new tech, is there anything worth ditching my E3000 for or nothing yet?

I am in a rather crowded 2.4GHz environment, but i can use 5GHz on most of my devices.

The only reason i could see to switch is increased throughput since i do transfer a lot of stuff over the network, but my E3000 is already performing very well on that front so i'm not sure i can get any meaningful gains. I know my basic router stuff, but downloads is much more knowledgeable than me so i'm giving a shot at asking rather than just telling myself it's not worth it like i've been doing since the E4200 came out.

 

I would wait until 802.11ac has its teething problems behind.
As of now it's a good idea if you're running corporate APs or something like that- it has great total wireless throughput but a throughput for any single machine is far less impressive.
Hopefully new routers will be able to increase speed for a single user to a decent level where you could transfer at around 30MB/s.

 

I sincerely hope so, 17MB/s isn't too shabby WAN to LAN, same for 6-8MB/s WAN to WAN, but sometimes it still feels slow. Not that i'm complaining, i was surprised i was getting those kind of speeds in the first place.

 

Does the new ac format offer increased range in general over n?

Will ac have the same problem N has where if one device is connected at legacy G than everything runs at G speeds? Like if you have one device connected over N on an ac router will all other devices run at N speeds?

 

There is a mixed mode where you can run both devices at N and G speeds simultaneously, i assume it'll be the same for AC.

 

dont u have to have 1 on 2.4ghz and the other on 5ghz if you have a G and an N on same router?

if i'm gonna split my internet bill with my neighbors i know they wont have ac wifi cards so dont know if ac will be worth it for me.

 

No, mixed mode usually allows for N devices to be connected at 150Mbps (theoritical max) and G devices at 54Mbps. Most routers i've seen had N-only, mixed and G-only modes for the same band. My game consoles and ipod touch are G devices, doesn't prevent guest's computers connecting at 144Mbps on 2.4GHz (I'm keeping the 5GHz goodness all to myself). Granted, i haven't done any testing to see what actual throughput was.

 

It doesn't offer increased range- with the same operation frequency and exactly the same transmit power you end up with identical range.

That is assuming you have identical amps and antennas.

So to sum it up - 802.11ac or 802.11n makes no difference in range- what makes a difference is if you buy a good router or a <strike>D-Link</strike> a bad one.

 

Still trying to recover from laughing too hard. Seriously, D-Link is bad compared to the competition though.

 

Bad? I think you mean Belkin. Worst... Routers... EVER. Not even fit for door stops.

 

Never tried Belkin routers, but i got burned badly by D-Link so i checked them out and the competition has much better offerings. I know some people who have no problem with their D-Link routers, but they're all using 3rd party firmware IIRC.

 

alright, I decided to try the 3700v2 so I got an used one for 69 bux (as somebody did 3 bids in the last 15 sec, duhh). Hope it works fine.

I plan on putting the last stock firmware that I found, ver. 1.0.0.12. Let me know if another 3rd party firmware works better.

 

I would stick to stock firmware unless you need specific features that are not available there.
I did a comparison of 3rd party firmwares that is mostly valid for WNDR3700 as it uses Atheros chipsets from the same family I tested on and the same firmwares are available for WNDR3700 that are available for TP-Link TL-WR1043ND.

 

Read through this thread and managed to find a refurbished WNDR3700 V2 (yes it specifically said V2 in description) for $65. Thanks for the tips. +rep downloads

 

Well, just got myself a refurb E4200. Didn't really need it, but the itch to get new tech got the best of me. It was on sale for $100 though otherwise i wouldn't have grabbed it.

Even faster than my E3000. I just tested 2 stream clients for now, but i'm getting a consistent 3-4MB/s (~20MB/s now) LAN-WAN and 2MB/s (~8MB/s now) WAN-WAN over what i got with the E3000 for file transfers. I also have better range on 5GHz as well, can't really test 2.4GHz range for now. I'll be putting the router through it's paces in the coming months and with ambients in the 25-26C range. My E3000 never overheated though, so i'd be surprised if the E4200 did, it's got more aeration than the E3000.

The only thing i don't like, my E3000 was like that too, is that i can't force 2.4GHz on 40MHz so it drops back in neighbor friendly mode automatically and tops at speeds consistent with one stream. It wouldn't do much though.

 

That's what w Wi-Fi certified router has to do. Otherwise it should have never been certified (like mine )