Best cheap DD-WRT router?

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UberB
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 10:25    Post subject: Best cheap DD-WRT router? Reply with quote
I am in the market for a new router and I, along with many others are wondering what would be a cheap router that is well compatible and stable with DD-WRT firmware.


Must Be:

Wireless N
Strong signal and speed
Reliable, even after a few years. i.e. it does not continually lose the signal or require reboots
Well compatible with DD-WRT (i.e. it will probably have to be a Broadcom chip)
No more than $60

Does not need to have:
Dual band
Gigabit
And all the other extremely fancy features.

Right now I am looking at the TP-Link WR941ND which looks very good for its price. The only thing is that it's an Atheros chipset and I have heard of compatibility issues. For Broadcom, there is the E1000 but I have read some bad reviews from Amazon and Newegg.

Of course the best router community is DD-WRT ( Laughing ) so that is why I am eager to hear your opinions!
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neo2
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 26 Nov 2010
Posts: 38

PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 13:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just did extensive research on this subject and here are my findings:

Linksys WRT320N
Linksys WRT400N

Both were available recently on amazon and newegg for $60 (new), but I see the prices jumped in the last few days. Maybe they will fall back again.

The differences are:

WRT320N: Broadcom 354MHz (overclock 480MHz), GbE, non-simultaneous dual band
WRT400N: Atheros 680MHz, NO GbE, simultaneous dual band

Both have good DD-WRT support. WRT400N has slightly better wireless performance (although both are very good), simultaneous dual band and faster CPU. WRT320N has Gigabit switch. For me Gigabit switch was important so I ordered WRT320N.
Masterman
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Posts: 2070
Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 13:51    Post subject: Reply with quote
Several options:

Gigabit switch models:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124407



Personally I would go with the RT-N16...You can sometimes find them open box for under $60:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320038

100MB Switches:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122275

Tried and true, no N, but rock solid:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124408

My personal favorite for the price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122273

Ralink based chipset, but very stable from what I've heard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320032


I own one of these and have absolutely no problems:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320039

As well as one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124277

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buddee
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 06 Feb 2010
Posts: 7401
Location: Little Rock

PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 15:20    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not to mention the WRT320N is $40 right now for the refurbished unit, and can be converted to an E2000, hard to beat that for the price.
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UberB
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 23:57    Post subject: Reply with quote
buddee wrote:
Not to mention the WRT320N is $40 right now for the refurbished unit, and can be converted to an E2000, hard to beat that for the price.


Can you elaborate on this? What exactly are the benefits of converting a WRT320N to an E2000?
buddee
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 06 Feb 2010
Posts: 7401
Location: Little Rock

PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 0:56    Post subject: Reply with quote
UberB wrote:
buddee wrote:
Not to mention the WRT320N is $40 right now for the refurbished unit, and can be converted to an E2000, hard to beat that for the price.


Can you elaborate on this? What exactly are the benefits of converting a WRT320N to an E2000?


This can elaborate better...

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=76924&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

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m00nman
DD-WRT User


Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Posts: 406
Location: AB, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 1:12    Post subject: Reply with quote
Asus RT-N12 - 35 bucks
-external antennas
-4MB flash, 32 ram
-Wireless N 2.4GHz

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UberB
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 2:31    Post subject: Reply with quote
buddee wrote:
UberB wrote:
buddee wrote:
Not to mention the WRT320N is $40 right now for the refurbished unit, and can be converted to an E2000, hard to beat that for the price.


Can you elaborate on this? What exactly are the benefits of converting a WRT320N to an E2000?


This can elaborate better...

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=76924&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0


Is it really worth it for 32k of NVRAM and a working reset button?
mrg666
DD-WRT User


Joined: 22 Oct 2009
Posts: 157
Location: North East - USA

PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:10    Post subject: Reply with quote
m00nman wrote:
Asus RT-N12 - 35 bucks
-external antennas
-4MB flash, 32 ram
-Wireless N 2.4GHz


I can testify for that one Smile

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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)
buddee
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 06 Feb 2010
Posts: 7401
Location: Little Rock

PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:39    Post subject: Reply with quote
UberB wrote:


Is it really worth it for 32k of NVRAM and a working reset button?


The choice is your's of course. Those other listings are great deals as well, and also, to dispel your disbelief about Atheros units, they work great as well, i have a wrt400n and a wrt160nl, both rock pretty hard with dd-wrt for me.

IMHO the wrt320n for $40, yes its worth it, the wrt320n has 354Mhz CPU (that can be OC'd to 480Mhz) 8Mb flash and 32Mb RAM (can run the mega and big builds) and has 1 dual band radio (2.4 or 5Ghz selectable), gigabit ports, yea to me, thats a great deal.

The conversion of the 320n to e2000 is once again choice, its not required to do in order for the wrt320n to function with dd-wrt, i have 1 320n that i left as is, and it works great.

Edit: also yes if you use alot of VPN certs, big custom firewall scripts etc, yes having the extra nvram is always good to have, makes dd-wrt run more stable.

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Last edited by buddee on Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:50; edited 1 time in total
m00nman
DD-WRT User


Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Posts: 406
Location: AB, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:48    Post subject: Reply with quote
mrg666 wrote:
m00nman wrote:
Asus RT-N12 - 35 bucks
-external antennas
-4MB flash, 32 ram
-Wireless N 2.4GHz


I can testify for that one Smile


Why not? Is it a bad router?

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UberB
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 Dec 2010
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:23    Post subject: Reply with quote
buddee wrote:
UberB wrote:


Is it really worth it for 32k of NVRAM and a working reset button?


The choice is your's of course. Those other listings are great deals as well, and also, to dispel your disbelief about Atheros units, they work great as well, i have a wrt400n and a wrt160nl, both rock pretty hard with dd-wrt for me.

IMHO the wrt320n for $40, yes its worth it, the wrt320n has 354Mhz CPU (that can be OC'd to 480Mhz) 8Mb flash and 32Mb RAM (can run the mega and big builds) and has 1 dual band radio (2.4 or 5Ghz selectable), gigabit ports, yea to me, thats a great deal.

The conversion of the 320n to e2000 is once again choice, its not required to do in order for the wrt320n to function with dd-wrt, i have 1 320n that i left as is, and it works great.

Edit: also yes if you use alot of VPN certs, big custom firewall scripts etc, yes having the extra nvram is always good to have, makes dd-wrt run more stable.


Hmm you make a great point. I'm really thinking about getting the WRT320N refurb, but I can only find it for $50 on buy.com

Do you have a link for a $40 refurb?

edit: found one here

Also, how safe is it to transform the 320n to a E2000? For what it's worth, I don't know much about DD-WRT but overall I'm a rather tech savvy person. I have no idea what a JTAG or serial cable is, so if I brick my router I would probably be screwed, but I can follow instructions okay Laughing
buddee
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 06 Feb 2010
Posts: 7401
Location: Little Rock

PostPosted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:10    Post subject: Reply with quote
The conversion is pretty safe for me, i've done it many times now, but also remember, its not required.

The wrt320n is a pretty good unit as is with dd-wrt on it, so really the conversion is if you really want to expanded nvram and reset button functionality.

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