Need an affordable gaming router? Thoughts?

posted this under the Gaming Section, didn't get any feedback maybe you guys can help?

 

IMO, "gaming" routers are a marketing gimmick. Get yourself a good Asus router with DD-WRT support and you're good to go.

Asus router:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320023&cm_re=asus_dd-wrt-_-33-320-023-_-Product

DD-WRT:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

 

gaming routers ARE a marketing gimmick. ANY stable router will do you ( I am a DD-WRT firmware fan as well )

all this latency crap has no meaning, when ALL your latency is going to be between your router and your ISP to your server, NOT from your laptop to your router.

actually any game I have watched network packets on you cant even get to saturationg wireless B or G letalone N

me personally, I still use an antique Linksys WRT-54GL with the current VPN version of DDWRT, and its not even an N router but an OLD model G

 

Thanks looks like a nice one as well( I was preferring white )

EDIT: What is the difference between the one you listed and this one WL-520G 11BG 54MB 2.5G Nat Spi Wpa Wep Ez Wireless Router besides the $20, more lol.

Excuse my ignorance but what is this DD-WRT support, and how do I configure it. Would I use it on my desktop which is connected wired and my wireless laptop? Thanks again sorry, but this stuff is all new to me.

 

DDWRT is a third party firmware you can flash on to some routers giving them functionality you can onlu find in MUCH more expensive routers. you do not run it on your computer at all.

the project started when it was found that some broadcom based routers had an actual Linux firmware and the source code was released, and a group got together and decided to make our SOHO routers almost as good as thousand dollar commercial units.

go hit the DDWRT link above and have a nice long read

 

Thanks guys very helpful. I did some reading on the DDWRT but seemed to be confused on how to actually install it.

I just ordered the ASUS WL-520GU Wireless Router which is compatible with DDWRT. Below is the list of available downloads for this router. What do i actually need? I read that if done wrong you can ruin the router. Thanks again for all your help, and patience with my ignorant questions. lol

Asus WL520GU -
Router details

Additional information
Chipset Broadcom5354

* Initial flash via Asus tool or TFTP
* This unit runs at 200MHz due to clock problems!

RAM 16 MB
FLASH 4 MB

Supported by
Description Filename Date Size
Special ASUS Firmware (required for web flashing): *.trx dd-wrt.v24_mini_asus.trx 2009-10-10 2,95 MB
Micro Generic dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin 2009-10-10 1,68 MB
Micro Generic dd-wrt.v24_micro_olsrd_generic.bin 2009-10-10 1,66 MB
Mini Generic dd-wrt.v24_mini_generic.bin 2009-10-10 2,95 MB
Xbox no-kaid Generic dd-wrt.v24_nokaid_generic.bin 2009-10-10 3,51 MB
Standard Generic dd-wrt.v24_std_generic.bin 2009-10-10 3,54 MB
Standard Generic dd-wrt.v24_usb_generic.bin 2009-10-10 3,21 MB
VoIP Generic dd-wrt.v24_voip_generic.bin 2009-10-10 3,57 MB
VPN Generic dd-wrt.v24_vpn_generic.bin 2009-10-10 3,57 MB

 

I use micro generic FIRST then go to VPN generic

if you go to the forums there will be directions on how to do it, but do alot of reading before you try.

 

seems a bit risky especially since I'm very inexperienced in things of this nature. Any routers that I wouldn't need to do this too that are somewhat affordable? Can you point me in a direction towards a few? Thanks.

 

Quite honestly I don't see a reason to buy a router with 16MB RAM and 4MB flash not to mention 200MHz CPU (quite an old one) in 2010.
I know it's something like legendary Linksys WRT54GL but that was the best of 2005.
These days I'd rather look at something closer to 300-400MHz and 32MB RAM for a midrange router. I do however agree on the DD-WRT part- it's not something to install right away though as it tends to lower performance at least on some routers in exchange for more configuration options- another words you need to have it as an option but not necessarily use it.

My recommendation would be TP-Link TL-WR1043ND based on 400MHz Atheros CPU with 32MB RAM, 8MB flash and an USB port not to mention 3 antennas for 802.11n (300mbps) and gigabit Ethernet. It's also supported by DD-WRT and is in the budget

 

Thanks man, I think you finally made me make up my mind. Seems like that's the best bang for my buck at $70. It seems like a fairly newer one too. That was my main issue I didn't know when what types came out and thought I was getting a deal or sale on one, but then realized that it's a 3-4 year old make.

So with this TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND Ultimate Wireless N Gigabit Router I will just be able to switch my old Belkin out run installation and I'm ready to go? Also what capabilities does the USB on the router allow me to do?

Thanks again, I apologize for all the questions.

 

USB doesn't support print server function for some reason (it's pretty rare- only Asus routers offer it on regular basis) but it allows for a USB thumb-drive/pendrive or HDD to be accessible from computers on the network so it's sort of a NAS but will probably end up as media server if you decide to use it at all. Keep in mind it's not particularly fast- none of these are- although it would be enough to watch 720p videos (MKV at least) live so it's not terribly slow either.
As for DD-WRT- TP-LINK offers good firmware and update quite often so unless you run into problems with default firmware or need some specific option that's available only in 3rd party firmware don't bother with DD-WRT.
DD-WRT is an insurance policy of sorts- you have to be able to use it if needed but it doesn't mean you have to use it unless you need it.
Installation should be easy- if you ever did set up a router you're gonna know how to deal with this one. One last thing to remember- if you want 802,11n Wi-Fi speeds- set security to WPA2+AES

 

So your saying I can plug say a flash drive into the router and anyone can access the information the the flash drive?

I'm going to place the order now on the TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND. You say it isn't fast? It is much faster then my $30, 3 year old Belkin, I know that.

Security? How do you set security on a router?

Again thanks for all your help and patience, much appreciated.

 

The USB allows you to share a USB storage device on your network. It will probably connect at 1.1 speeds though. Still a really nice router.

EDIT: It's actually a 2.0 port. Cool!

http://www.tp-link.com/products/productDetails.asp?class=&content=spe&pmodel=TL-WR1043ND

EDIT--I gotta learn to type faster

 

Not everybody has to have access to the flash drive but-yes they can if you allow them to.
As for speed- the router itself is fast but the speed at which you can read or write to or from a flash drive isn't. It should and probably will be improved in future firmware upgrades.
As for setting wireless security- you'll see when you log in to the router.

 

@ downloads... All this talk about routers I didn't realize that I'm still using the stock cable modem from the cable company lol. Any suggestions on a good( hopefully not to expensive) modem to match my newly ordered TL-WR1043ND? Thanks again man.

 

downloads is really helpful when it comes to routers and network questions. he, and leslieann, really helped me with my netgear WNDR3700.

as for the wireless security settings. all he is saying is that when u set up yur router's security password and SSID information, u will need to use a certain type of encryption to obtain optimal N speeds. that encryption type he is referring to is called 'WPA2+AES'. hope that clears it up a little better for u. i had a similar problem with my WNDR3700 cuz i was stuck at 54mbps on my 5ghz channel. after downloads told me to switch my encryption type to 'WPA2+AES', i am now connected at 300mbps with full bars. i haven't had one drop yet on this baby.

one tip with your old cable modem is that if u've had the modem for a very long time. u can just goto yur nearest cable company's office and exchange yur old modem for a newer model, free of cost, and see if that helps performance any. i know that if u haven't changed yur modems in the last 3-5 years, then u really should cuz most cable companies have come out with newer cable/dsl modems that have better/new hardware to support voip and new features. then if that doesn't help, u could always go out and pick up yur own cable modem.

 

I partially agree with houstoned on the cable modem thing- although in my opinion replacing a modem with a new one is not necessary.
Cable modems have standards to conform like DSL modems- in DSL you have DSL, DSL2 and DSL 2+ whereas in cable modems you have DOCIS 1, 2 and 3.
What you have is most likely DOCIS 2 so you can possibly upgrade to DOCIS 3 that supports IPv6 (among other things) but that depends on your ISP (if the implemented DOCIS 3 or not).
Basically DOCIS 3 modem won't be any faster than DOCIS 2 and if the one you are using is stable there's no reason to replace it. You may call your ISP and ask for a new upgraded modem if you want but I wouldn't pay for a new one out of my pocket if I were you.

 

Thank you guys. Yeah I'm just going to save the cash, and shoot up to Cablevision and switch it for the newest modem, I think it's free of charge. The one I have just looks cheap that is why I thought it was inefficient. My current one is a Webstar by Scientific-Atlanta Inc. It's only about a year old though, so who knows if they even have a newer/better one. Is it worth the trip to swap the modem for a newer one?

 

I don't think it's worth it. This modem is also sold as Cisco DPC/EPC2100 which doesn't make it look so cheap after all. It's DOCIS 2.0 compatible too. I'd leave it as it is unless it starts causing problems.

 

OK, guys just finished setting it up, everything went fine. I just had one question. Below is my router settings. I am currently on the web based page, is there anything I need to update/change to maximize my router's performance. Thank you all for your help, I am pretty 'good' with computers however routers/modems I have always had issues with, but you guys made my installation simple.


EDIT: What is the QSS button the the front for?

Also I think I found what you guys are referring to... On the web based page under Wireless Security, I see:

WPA/WPA2
Version:
Encryption:
Radius Server IP:
Radius Port: (1-65535, 0 stands for default port 1812)
Radius Password:
Group Key Update Period: (in second, minimum is 30, 0 means no update)

We do not recommend using the TKIP encryption if the device operates in
802.11n mode due to the fact that TKIP is not supported by Draft 11N specification.
WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK
Version:
Encryption:
PSK Password:
(You can enter ASCII characters between 8 and 63 or Hexadecimal characters between 8 and 64.)
Group Key Update Period: (in second, minimum is 30, 0 means no update)


Everything is set to Automatic. Is this where I change settings to PA2+AES?

EDIT: I changed both sections(WPA/WPA2 and WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK) to the WPA2-AES, I think I finally got it! I updated the firmware as well. I should be ready to go now right?