Wireless router for P2P/gaming ~$125

Vette Boss

Vette Boss

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Decided now that the Linksys WRT54g v6 just isn't cutting the mustard for me, it drops the connection under anything remotely difficult, resulting in me actually having to restart my computer. This makes it nearly impossible to use BT or play games without having a problem. Yes, I am already using DD-WRT on it and it isn't helping, it's like bondo for routers, the root of the problem is the hardware itself.

I've been looking around at different high-end routers and have very nearly decided on the Netgear RangeMax 240 WPNT834 because it seems to be the top one in several convincing tests. Dear old mumsy needs a decent connection in the study as well, and you guessed it, there's some walls between the router and her computer, making it hard to get a good connection. Even after putting a new wireless card in her rig, it still has some troubles. So I'm sure the new router will help that as well.

I wanted to post to see if anyone here has a recommendation they'd like to put in for another router. I'm planning on getting a very nice one which is quite dear, don't want to waste it on an old brick. ;) My main impression with the Netgear is the sheer amount of RAM it has, 32mb seems to be what you need with so many connections.
 
Nooooo! I just got that Linksys and spent 3 days getting it working. Don't tell me it's going to mess up!:sad: How long have you had it? Sounds like yours is a lot more stressed than mine. My laptop and DS are the only things using wifi. The main pc is just chained to the router with the old network cable.

Avoid Belkin like it's the black death. We've had two and they both just quit working.
 
P2P/BT and gaming are probably the hardest most stressing things a router does, having to deal with a lot of connections simultaneously. Unless you're really an enthusiast about it, the WRT54G will probably suit you just fine. But for me, it just isn't cutting it anymore, it seems to be getting worse with age as well.
I believe the main idea with having the cheapest router in the line is just to get you spending more money on a better one when it dies, which it will do. Sorry to say so. :|
My rig uses an ethernet cable as well, but it still can't seem to cope with the rigours of BT/Azureus.

Has anyone used a Buffalo router and what did you think of it? Some of them look decent to me.
 
Have you considered the WRT54GL? It's essentially a V4 WRT54G (V5 and onwards are just cut down versions of the old WRT54G, basically less RAM/flash and a slower CPU). I like mine just fine. There are only two computers on the network, but I do use BT quite a lot. Also, despite the fact that my house is made of concrete blocks, the wireless signal is excellent in every room.
 
^ That actually was the first one I considered but, after digging around online a bit I found it still wasn't the best for my needs. It was only able to hold 64 simultaneous connections in a test I saw, in my mind, you do need a bit more than that if you really want the best out of BT.
 
Vette Boss said:
^ That actually was the first one I considered but, after digging around online a bit I found it still wasn't the best for my needs. It was only able to hold 64 simultaneous connections in a test I saw, in my mind, you do need a bit more than that if you really want the best out of BT.
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That's odd. When I was using a V4, I set the maximum connections in Azureus to 167 and was able to run like that for two straight weeks with no connection problems. The computer was connected to the router by ethernet cables and not wireless, though. :dunno:
 
This one rocks, for a okish price:
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=12&l2=43&l3=0&model=1121&modelmenu=1
you can also add a usb hard drive to it, webcams and printers.
But you might want to wait till they've released all there Pre-N models, cause I'm pretty sure that they'll bring out a simular model with the pre-N "standard".

Did i mention it also downloads stuff (torrents, FTP and http)? :)
 
You don't really need a fancy router for gaming/p2p....

I'm using an ultra cheapo D-Link and it works flawlessly for BF2, uTorrent, etc.....I have 3 PCs going through it and this lame excuse for a router hasn't failed me yet (had it for about 3 years)
 
i've had my linksys router for about a year and a half, it's worked perfectly and gives good connection to my PSP and my other PC, which has a USB adaptor. great connection for Azureus and LFS.
 
That's precisely the problem with Linksys now, they introduce a good product and cheapen it at each revision, so it gets worse. Those of you with a v3 or v4 WRT54G are fine, but past v5 they're just no good.

What I wanted was to avoid most of the router problems, by buying the best one I could find.
 
Wish I had seen this thread earlier. My vote is for the D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Gaming Router.

It has QoS support, gigabit ethernet built in, and is rock solid. I was having trouble with other routers when doing BT - because of the relatively fat pipe I have (Fiber Internet) when more than 200 computers would peer up with me the router would lose it. Hasnt happened once since I bought this bad boy.
 
Thanks for at least trying to help. I'll definitely look at that router if the Netgear 240 happens to steer me wrong. Gigabit connectivity isn't a real concern for me, seeing as my pipe is only about 6mbit/768kbit now and fibre seems to be slow coming to relatively rural areas.
 
Vette Boss said:
That's precisely the problem with Linksys now, they introduce a good product and cheapen it at each revision, so it gets worse. Those of you with a v3 or v4 WRT54G are fine, but past v5 they're just no good.

What I wanted was to avoid most of the router problems, by buying the best one I could find.
Click to expand...
They still make the v4 WRT54G, it's just called the WRT54GL now. Linux FTW! :mrgreen:
 
you ain't going to get a high end router for $125

add a couple of zero's on the end of that and you'll be a bit closer ;)

seriously though, I haven't had any issues with my linksys, have you changed the TCP and UDP timeouts on the management page?
 
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