Linksys - D-Link - Netgear - Who Do You Like?

Discussion in 'hardware' started by DasFox, May 13, 2009.

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  1. DasFox

    DasFox Registered Member

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    Well I've been a big user of Linksys routers for the past 10 years, but over the years their quality has seemed to drop, along with their customer support. So when I was out yesterday shopping locally for a new router, this time wireless, I picked up a Netgear WGR614. It seems like a great little wireless router, one problem, I just found out yesterday that Netgear doesn't include a firewall log for the firewall in all of their Home products.

    Well because of this stupidity I'm about to return my router and possibly pick up a D-Link. I can't believe the stupidity of Netgear to include a SPI firewall and then no log to help you assess and troubleshoot with...

    For small 4 port wireless routers for home/small office, who do you think is putting out the best one now?

    THANKS

    P.S. The only thing I like about the Netgear WGR614 is it seems to have pretty good encryption, here's the site for it:

    http://www.netgear.com/Products/Rou...essGRouters/WGR614.aspx?detail=Specifications
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2009
  2. Kerodo

    Kerodo Registered Member

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    I've had a cheap D-Link for about 5 years now, and never a problem....
     
  3. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    Out of the three, Belkin N+
     
  4. DasFox

    DasFox Registered Member

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    I don't know why I've never ever considered Belkin before for a good security router, maybe time to rethink, hehe...

    Personally they've never come across to me as the security experts to go with...

    Like Netgear as an example this is all they do, whereas Belkin makes a lot of different products they dabble in.
     
  5. tipstir

    tipstir Registered Member

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    Popular...

    Dlink DIR-655, DIR-825, DIR-855 (cost a lot for this one)
    Each one has its issues when it comes to N Wireless.
    Max connections speeds for P2P is 200
    LAN to WAN
    WAN to LAN
    DIR-825 and DIR-855 are better than the DIR-655

    NPU = network processing unit is 300MHz on 825, 276MHz on 655
    They all have 16MB of RAM with 4MB of Flash.
    They all have Gig Ports on the 655 it has 838KB for Packet Buffer
    Signal band on the 655 only 2.4GHz
    Dual band on both 825 and 855 have 2.4GHz/5.3GHz
    Triple ANT 2dbi 655 and 3dbi 855
    Dual ANT 3dbi on 825
    OLED Panel for 855

    825 has better performance but now if you get B1 hardware you can start to use Tomato and DD-WRT firmware. As with the 655 you're stuck with faulty dlink firmware.

    If you have to get Linksys get WRT-610N, 310N isn't bad both work with DD-WRT. Stay clear of Netgear has had there issues.
     
  6. Arup

    Arup Guest

    My vote would be for Belkin followed by Netgear, both give solid power supplies which is necessary, D Link's performance is good but they give a puny little power supply which tends to die when it faces surges and brownouts. I will stay the hell away from Linksys.
     
  7. DasFox

    DasFox Registered Member

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    Well so far the Netgear WGR614 is working quite well and it has pretty impressive firmware options, all except as I said before no firewall log, so maybe the Kiwi Syslog can work as a log replacement for it.
     
  8. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    I don't think it matters that much - especially with Ethernet, a technology that has been around for a long time. Makers have it figured out. But of course, even the best router still requires a full arsenal of anti-malware tools on each client, including a firewall. That said, I would stick to major brands.

    Wireless, on the other hand is different. The various makers have taken years and STILL have not settled on a new 802.11n standard, so they all use "draft" versions. This means they may, or may not be compatible with other devices. So to minimize incompatibility issues, I recommend if going wireless, buy all the wireless devices from the same maker. Of course, that is probably EXACTLY what makers want, and why they have failed to settle on the standard. :( :mad:
     
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