TR Forums

So, I moved to a new apartment and we are in dire need of a new router. It's been a few years since I've been interested in home routers, so, what seems to be the best buy?

Stuff I'm looking for:

• Available in Canada (newegg.ca/ncix/direct canada/tiger direct/memory express, etc.) Or not... I can arrange to get it shipped to a US address, if it's that good!
• Have gigabit Ethernet
• Have at least 4 Ethernet ports
• Support G/N wireless networks (A/B doesn't matter)
• Able to withstand torrents
• Able to be flashed with DD-WRT or Tomato

I have found one here that is of interest. It's flashable to custom firmware and has the requirements listed above. Has anyone had any problems with this router? I really don't have any experience with this brand, either.

What are your other recommended choices? I eagerly await your replies! Thanks.

I was thinking TP-Link when I opened your post. I'm not sure about all of your requirements (I'm guessing you can just check the stat-sheet), but we've got a TP-Link that we're happy with (and I used to have a WRT54something too). It is a big company (#1 in China I read) and they're competitive price-wise. Our router has lower requirements than what you're talking about, but setup was a cinch and it has good range.

Here you go:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 3320038CVF

Captain Ned wrote:

Here you go:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 3320038CVF

Is that draft version of n wireless going to be a problem?

Nitrodist wrote:

Is that draft version of n wireless going to be a problem?

Shouldn't be, as it's been around since 2007.

I just bought this:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 20WNR3500L

Neatgear WNR3500L. Supports both DD-WRT (confirmed) and "Teddy Bear" Tomato USB (confirmed). Sports wireless-N and USB storage support (yay!). Fast CPU (480MHz), plenty of RAM (64MB), and plenty of NVRAM (8MB). The Asus linked above has the same or better specs. But I did not like the white color. And because I live in a small apartment and don't need 200 yards of wireless coverage, I appreciate that it does not have ugly, external antennas.

Been running stable all weekend.

Spyder22446688 wrote:

I just bought this:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 20WNR3500L

Neatgear WNR3500L. Supports both DD-WRT (confirmed) and "Teddy Bear" Tomato USB (confirmed). Sports wireless-N and USB storage support (yay!). Fast CPU (480MHz), plenty of RAM (64MB), and plenty of NVRAM (8MB). The Asus linked above has the same or better specs. But I did not like the white color. And because I live in a small apartment and don't need 200 yards of wireless coverage, I appreciate that it does not have ugly, external antennas.

Been running stable all weekend.

Have you flashed it with Tomato yet?

Flying Fox wrote:

Have you flashed it with Tomato yet?

Yes, it's currently running "Teddy Bear" Tomato USB Build 50 (based on Tomato 1.28). It seems 100% stable, with no bugs, although my uses are admittedly pretty pedestrian.

I find Tomato to be much more user friendly and intuitive than DD-WRT. On the flip side, I find DD-WRT's documentation and user support to be much, much better. I have a few questions about setting up file sharing on a USB drive, and the Tomato Wiki documentation is less than stellar. In any event, I intend to donate $$$$ to the Tomato author(s) because their firmware has changed my life.

Spyder22446688 wrote:

Yes, it's currently running "Teddy Bear" Tomato USB Build 50 (based on Tomato 1.28). It seems 100% stable, with no bugs, although my uses are admittedly pretty pedestrian.

I find Tomato to be much more user friendly and intuitive than DD-WRT. On the flip side, I find DD-WRT's documentation and user support to be much, much better. I have a few questions about setting up file sharing on a USB drive, and the Tomato Wiki documentation is less than stellar. In any event, I intend to donate $$$$ to the Tomato author(s) because their firmware has changed my life.

I am still not sure if the reported DD-WRT problems with the 3500L still exist. I like Tomato's cleaner UI myself, but doing the double flash dance is not exactly my cup of tea.

Flying Fox wrote:

I like Tomato's cleaner UI myself, but doing the double flash dance is not exactly my cup of tea.

Once I knew how to do it, it was a piece of cake. However, getting up to speed took about three hours and risked bricking my poor router. Seems silly, really, the entire process.