Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 23:45 Post subject: Atheros Recommended Build
Hello,
I have been recently purchasing Atheros based units instead of broadcom units, as they seem much better for performance, and wanted to know your opinions on which build number works best for your unit so far.
Please list your unit and build you feel has performed best for you.
Currently i am only purchasing 2 different Atheros units, a Linksys WRT400N and WRT160NL.
Joined: 22 Oct 2009 Posts: 157 Location: North East - USA
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 2:51 Post subject:
I have a TEW-652BRP (Atheros 9130) and it works best with 14929. I have tried most of the later versions and went back to this release due to low WiFi performance and frequent disconnections. There is still one problem with 14929 that upload and download (RX/TX) performances are different. Typically, I get 9-10 MB/sec upload rate and 6-7 MB/sec download rate using from WiFi clients. I have tested with uploading and downloading a file from a file server connected to the TEW-652BRP via Ethernet cable. I tested with two WiFi clients using Broadcom and Atheros WiFi chipsets.
One other observation is that when I connect a WHR-G300N wireless bridge to TEW-652BRP using 40MHz channel, I get around 11-12 MB/sec performance but bridge connection drops frequently. When I use 20MHz channel on the WiFi bridge, no disconnections but performance is 9-10 MB/sec again.
Here are my settings:
_____________________
Wireless Mode: AP
Wireless Network Mode: NG-Mixed
Channel Width: Turbo (40 MHz)
Wireless Channel: 6
Control Channel: lower
Short Preamble: Enable
Sensitivity Range: 900
Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 2:13 Post subject:
I been using the latest 15747 with my WRT400N and it seems fine, i have not yet updated my WRT160NL yet. Still using 15506 on it. I am about to remove my E2000 from being my gateway unit and put the WRT400N in its place and see if it does well. _________________ Wireless N Config | Linking Routers | DD-WRT Wiki | DD-WRT Builds | Peacock - Broadcom FAQ
Joined: 22 Oct 2009 Posts: 157 Location: North East - USA
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 14:04 Post subject:
buddee wrote:
I been using the latest 15747 with my WRT400N and it seems fine, i have not yet updated my WRT160NL yet. Still using 15506 on it. I am about to remove my E2000 from being my gateway unit and put the WRT400N in its place and see if it does well.
I would be interested to hear your experience with WRT160NL since it has a similar Atheros chipset to the chipset I have been having problems (AR9130). _________________ WNR3500L DD-WRT-18730-Kong Gateway/Firewall/NAS
WRT54G-TM DD-WRT-14929 Mega (heatsink + 250MHz oc)
WHR-G300N DD-WRT-20548(external antennas)
2x E2000 Tomato-Toastman 0501.2 AP (external antennas)
TEW-652BRP Gargoyle 1.5.9 Client Bridge (antenna upgrade + heatsinks + ventilation)
Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 14:51 Post subject:
mrg666 wrote:
I would be interested to hear your experience with WRT160NL since it has a similar Atheros chipset to the chipset I have been having problems (AR9130).
So far running 15506 on it, has been pretty good, to be honest i have had only 2 real 'issues' with this unit at all since i have flashed it to dd-wrt, with some builds, the USB doesn't automount, and also with some builds i have had DHCP problems, otherwise, i think its the best unit i have, probably why its hard to find them for under $90 a piece.
I originally bought it so i could have an Atheros unit w/ USB so i could possibly try to script up some kind of optware for atheros, like broadcom with 'optware the right way' but the more i used optware the right way, the more i figured out that it installed a bunch of stuff that i would not use, so i didn't ever keep pursuing that path. Instead i just install somethings i like and leave out all the rest that i don't use.
Kinda ironic you asked this to as i was just about to update it to 15747 as well, since it seems to run rock solid on my WRT400N for 2 days now, no drops, no restarts, so it seems a keeper.
Joined: 22 Oct 2009 Posts: 157 Location: North East - USA
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 14:16 Post subject:
buddee wrote:
Well it seems so far that its either 14929 or 15747
I also see over 300 views on this post with only 3 people giving input.
Anyone else please feel free to add some input. :)
best regards
I agree that 15747 seems to be best option after 14929. I have seen that wifi performance is still lower than 14929 but it does not drop connections as frequent as the other 15xxx builds. But the performance difference between RX and TX is still large with 15747. These are all based on my testing on a TEW-652BRP. _________________ WNR3500L DD-WRT-18730-Kong Gateway/Firewall/NAS
WRT54G-TM DD-WRT-14929 Mega (heatsink + 250MHz oc)
WHR-G300N DD-WRT-20548(external antennas)
2x E2000 Tomato-Toastman 0501.2 AP (external antennas)
TEW-652BRP Gargoyle 1.5.9 Client Bridge (antenna upgrade + heatsinks + ventilation)
Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 22:55 Post subject:
So far 15778 seems to be running smoothly as well on my WRT400N and WRT160NL, although some report bricks with this build, i however do not see that effect, its actually running smoother for me than 15747. _________________ Wireless N Config | Linking Routers | DD-WRT Wiki | DD-WRT Builds | Peacock - Broadcom FAQ
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 15:34 Post subject: 15778 and Fry's N not doing well here
I've just gotten a Fry's N Router ( a rebadged Dlink DIR-615 E1), flashed with 15778. It was meant to replace a Belkin Pre N router (effectively just b/g).
But Fry's is much worse than the Belkin! Dropped connections, poor throughput. My laptop is about 60 feet from the routers. Pinging the Belkin:
7 packets transmitted, 7 received, 0% packet loss, time 6010ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 1.635/2.894/9.508/2.702 ms
Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 16:23 Post subject: Re: 15778 and Fry's N not doing well here
seandarcy wrote:
I've just gotten a Fry's N Router ( a rebadged Dlink DIR-615 E1), flashed with 15778. It was meant to replace a Belkin Pre N router (effectively just b/g).
But Fry's is much worse than the Belkin! Dropped connections, poor throughput. My laptop is about 60 feet from the routers. Pinging the Belkin:
7 packets transmitted, 7 received, 0% packet loss, time 6010ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 1.635/2.894/9.508/2.702 ms