Best router for $40? Newegg or Amazon

[Iceycold]

Hey guys, my Linksys WRT54G2 is starting to fail me, so can someone recommend me a good router for $40? Newegg or Amazon don't mind. Or any other online store, just need me a router .

Thanks in advance.

 

[g0rd0]

Saw a Rosewill ShellShocker for under $20 at newegg earlier. Its downside is it only supports 100 mb LANs.Really you should think about four things, what sort of wireless capabilities do you want, is g good enough or do you want n? How many local devices will you be running on a wire and do they support gigabit? (They probably do) Do you need a USB port to make configuring and connecting to a wireless printer easier? And finally, once everything is plugged in how much control do you want over connections, open ports, mac addressing etc...

And I just gotta say Linksys must have made a fortune with those WRT54Gs I see them everywhere

 

[Iceycold]

Here's what I need:
-3-4 devices connected to it, 1 desktop 24/7, 1 laptop (not all the time), 1 android phone 24/7, and maybe another computer that I currently don't have but just in case.
-Quick speeds (obvious)

I don't want anything fancy, just something to replace this linksys router, it's dropping my internet way too often now.

I'm currently looking at these 3:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320076 (Really don't like the white color)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124456
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127241
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127288

 

[g0rd0]

Well, the only downside I see is that all 4 only support 100mbps LANs, so if you're not concerned with large file transfers over the wire they're all okay. I'd probably go with the ASUS, 2 x 5db antennas will do a lot for your range, but if you're in an apartment this actually turns into a con... and if you don't like white...

Are your devices n compatible? What's on a wire and what isn't, and what may come in the future? Remember that n is a flexible wireless technology, it operates at 150/300/450/600 depending on the number of antennae, there are some awesome (expensive) routers available, but you also need some awesome (expensive) NICs to fully utilize it.

 

[Iceycold]

The desktop is used for gaming and is connected via ethernet to a modem, I don't think the phone nor the laptop use N, but might as well buy if it's available for my budget. I don't mind the file transfers, I rarely download any huge files. Like I said, if this WRT54G2 I have works fine then I assume these are all better.

Yes, sorry, very picky about color >.< is there a similar one to that one's performance that's black?

 

[Iceycold]

Anyone? Got to order pretty soon .

 

[ngrego]

I would say the Linksys E900 hands down! Linksys is surely the most experienced firm of the three in networking, not to metion that it looks better than the others!

 

[Iceycold]

That one has some bad reviews, anything else you can recommend?

 

[ngrego]

Other than lacking guest access and parental control it is the same router as the E1200. All these routers you are looking at are entry level routers. Don't expect too much from any of them. Linksys is a trusted networking brand and you will probably get the best service from it compared to the others!

 

[Iceycold]

Okay ngrego, thanks for the response, what can you say about this one?:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127241

 

[ngrego]

I have a Dlink like that too (but the 802.11G model! Dlinks are also very good devices, I'm sure you will be happy with it too. The 802.11n spec will give you better coverage and a faster connection if you are using a n adapter. It will almost give you 4x the speed you had before.
If you are happy with the reviews get it!

 

[Iceycold]

Okay, sweet, thanks I'll get that one then .

 

[eibgrad]

If you're willing to consider third party firmware (dd-wrt/tomato/openwrt), the best deal I know of is the Belkin Share Max N300 Wireless N+ Gigabit Router (F7D7301) @ expansys-usa.com, $22 shipped!

Broadcom BCM4716 rev1
453 MHz CPU
8 MB Flash
64 MB RAM
2 x USB 2.0
4 Port Gigabit Switch
WPS Button

That's a LOT of router for only $22.

http://slickdeals.net/f/4625240-Thread-Renewed-Belkin-Sharemax-N300-300Mbps-802-11n-4-Port-Gigabit-Wireless-Router-w-2-USB-Ports-DD-WRT-Tomato-OpenWRT-22-Shipped

Stock firmware is far less impressive, and so I would look elsewhere in that case.

 

[Iceycold]

Wow that's a sick deal for $22, but I'll just stick with the D-Link considering it doesn't require the firmware upgrade. Yup, call me lazy.