Need Router suggestions for HOME NETWORK

[edrod13]

My brother needs some help tweaking his home network. He currently has Time warner cable with about 7 devices at any given time. 2 Ipads, 2 laptops, XBOX, Printer, and wireless Blue Ray player. He has been noticing a lag when the ipads and XBOX are in use. His current router is a Netgear N300 and realizes that he should upgrade to a dual band router. He asked me for help so we looked at a few routers and have settled on a Netgear WNDR-3700-100NAS but was wondering if we have better options. I have not purchased a router in years and to be honest I just read about DD-WRT? Not sure if thats an option for us. He does live in a two story home so having a strong signal in any part of the house would be ideal. Thanks

[glc]

Newegg.com - ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router, DD-WRT Open Source support, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.3/3u/3ab

[Takeda]

I've been very pleased with this router:

Newegg.com - NETGEAR WNDR4500 N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Open Source Router - IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n

[edrod13]

Glc, thanks for the suggestion. If we go this route is it just like any other router or do I have to customize it via firmware and settings? I will be doing it and have set up various routers, but mainly just let them DHCP, enable WPSK and sometimes MAC filters. Nothing fancy so I'm hoping I have the ability to optimize it for him.

[edrod13]

Takeda, checking out your suggestion. Thanks

[glc]

I have NEVER cared for ANY Netgear routers. I think the Asus is going to be better because it has external antennas. I used to be a big Linksys fan - and I still think the old WRT54GL is a great router - but Cisco is making a mess out of their new line.

You don't HAVE to customize it, but you may WANT to.

[kstatefan40]

I have to agree with George on this one - Netgear routers are not anywhere near the top of my recommendation list. I've seen too many fail hard on my customers and I am not a huge fan of that.

The new Cisco/Linksys home routers are not as good as I would like. I've been a loyal Linksys user (primarily WRT54GL) for years and have them deployed on over a dozen networks for family and home customers. Unfortunately, they are nearing end of life, and I've had to replace a few. The last batch of Linksys routers I bought came with firmware that wouldn't allow a connection to the internet until it was flashed. Their configuration software also leaves a lot to be desired.

With that being said, he's spot on with the DD-WRT recommendation for your particular situation. That is a VERY solid firmware that allows for customization if you need it, but runs well out of the box if you don't want to dig too deep. Again, I've been running DD-WRT on those WRT54GL routers for years with absolutely no problems.

Good luck!

[jdeb]

TP Link seems to be a good brand and nice price point. That's what I have been stocking and so far, they have been solid. No problems at all. Advise me if I am heading down a slippery slope. No more Netgear for me.

[glc]

TP-Link and Trendnet are both good value-priced brands, I'll take them over Belkin, D-Link, or Netgear. I don't know how many of them are DD-WRT compatible. For the OP's use I think he needs a higher end router, and it looks like Asus is doing a real good job here.

Looks like WD just got into the router business.

[MaxRat]

Never been a fan of Belkin, Netgear or Linsys or D-Link either....

I will say that I am currently running a D-Link DGL-4500 Gamer Xtreme and it's been rock solid but its costly

[kstatefan40]

George, that Asus looks awesome. Dual-band, gigabit, open source... that's probably the direction I will end up going if I ever get a "real" job. Very nice setup.