Best WRT54G router replacement?

[od1]

Hi all,

I am running several bittorrent connections and have problems that seem like they have to do with the Linksys WRT54G router. I am NOT running 3rd party firmware. The reason being this is my roommate's router and I don't want to brick it. He is moving out in 2 months so we'll have to get a new router anyway.

For awhile I have thought that there was a problem with the router losing sync with the modem. That is what a tech support person told me one time when I was using a Belkin Pre-N router. I'm not sure if they knew what they were talking about or not.

What happens is that after resetting the router, it will work just fine, but over time the http connections will slow to a crawl...bittorrent and eMule connections continue to work. Also, it seems to affect other parts of the router. For example, earlier I tried to log into the settings, but couldn't. However, upon reset everything works fine. Difficultly logging into the settings tells me it's either the router or the network card, since those settings are before the modem. I'm inclined to think it's the router.

So as far as I can tell it could have been the network card (needing to be refreshed, though my roommates also have problems, so I doubt this is the primary issue), modem and router losing sync, or maybe it's the router that gets screwed up somehow over time (due to the difficulty I had logging into the settings)...or maybe even a combination of these problems. It's hard to troubleshoot exactly what it is. However, like I said the same thing would happen with the Belkin Pre-N when I had a different ISP, so I'm inclined to think the blame can be placed primarily on the router.

If it's the router, I want one that will work well with bittorrent and not have to be reset all the time. If it were the sync issue I thought maybe a wireless gateway would take care of that since it's all in one, but I read reviews where people were having problems with their Motorola gateways and bittorrent.

I've seen recommendations for the D-Link DIR-655. Is this the consensus? Please let me know. I'd like to finally resolve this problem.

One other thing is that I just installed CFOS on my machine just today. It seems like it helps some, but I still had the problem with having to reset the router. I also refreshed my network card's connection. That might have helped as well.

Thanks!

[rvgdse]

Sounds to me like you indeed have a faulty Linksys WRT54G router.

These things have been around for a LONG time and have gone through many revisions, so I'm not surprised that something is up!

The D-Link DIR-655 seems to be (from what I've read) quite reliable. The added bonus is that it has Wireless N and Gigabit ports.

But if you're not going to use these features I don't know if I would bother shelling out ~120 CAD (Canadian Currency) without the need for these options.

Currently I'm using the Linksys WRT54GL, where the L stands for Linux version. This version of the Cisco Linksys router supports open source firmware so there are all sorts of awesome third party firmwares out there (Tomato or DD-WRT to name two) that offer a ton of amazing features. Including MLPPP (which gets around ISP throttling for DSL connections).


It's only $60 CAD here, which is good value, but only supports 802.11b/g so no N. Also, no 802.3z (gigabit ethernet) either.


As far as N goes, IEEE 802.11N is still in draft, however I'm not sure where I read it but soon (I.E. within the next year) the final version of the spec is supposed to be out, which would make any draft products essentially obsolete....


Just my two cents!

[od1]

Hi, thanks for your reply. It might have to do with the firmware. Maybe I should have mentioned this, but the resetting isn't necessary for days, maybe weeks, but it seems like the problem keeps on creeping in over time till it's just unbearable, which is annoying.

Like I said we're going to have to get a new router anyway, so the 655 split between a few people wouldn't be too pricey. I just want to get something that works.

I suppose I could try flashing the firmware to test how it would work, but I don't want to be responsible for bricking it since it's not mine, and we're going to have to get a new one anyway.

Anyone have comments on the 655, or one that they prefer?

Also, just out of curiosity are Tomato and DD-WRT equal for bittorrent purposes, or is one recommended above another?

[rvgdse]

The thing about your router is that it might actually be physically broken as it could be many years old (The first WRT54G came out in 2002!)

You'd have to take a look on the bottom and find out what revision it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrt54g

The WRT54GL is a different updated version of the router based on linux.

They are extremely popular and very reliable.

Tomato and DD-WRT aren't designed specifically for Torrenting, but support other beneficial featured such as bandwidth monitoring, QoS and VPN and ensure that your WRT54G is running at it's best performance.


I just checked the DD-WRT site and you might even be able to install the custom firmware on your existing WRT54G router and fix the problem (check your revision/model number).

In all honesty if it's an old WRT54G it wont be worth much, and the chance of bricking while applying the firmware update are rather slim (assuming you follow instructions properly).

With a quick flash it might work nicely, and save you a couple of bucks

[od1]

Hi again, thanks. I'll take your recommendation for the 54GL. I suppose what I could do is buy it at a local store like Best Buy or something, and flash it. If it bricks I'll return it.

I'd still like to hear from other users though about the 655 or whichever they prefer. I'd like to make the most informed choice going in since I've had this problem with 2 routers on 2 different ISPs.,