E2000 (note that I found it for almost the same price as the others)
45%
[ 5 ]
E2500
27%
[ 3 ]
other (but keep in mind that I am looking for one around $50)
0%
[ 0 ]
Total Votes : 11
Author
Message
Mikey2 DD-WRT Novice
Joined: 03 Nov 2011 Posts: 5
Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 0:07 Post subject: Linksys WRT54GL vs E1000 vs E2000 vs E2500
I was literally just about to buy the WRT54GL when I decided to do a little more research - I did not realize how old that router is!
Anyway, in my price-range, it looks like the E1000 is the "newer" version of this. First off, it supports 802.11N where the WRT54GL only supports b/g.
While 802.11N would be nice, I already have another router that is faster than G. (It is that weird "fake N" WRT110.)
Thus, most important to me is the performance and stability with DD-WRT. (If I buy the WRT54GL I will not even use its wireless...this will be my master Gateway and DHCP server.) While the WRT54GL is older, from my research it seems like it is a mainstay, where the E1000 (especially v2.1) is in more of a development stage.
Both are exactly the same price right now.
Oddly, even after a couple hours of research, I never read a direct comparison: Which one should I buy? (Or should I be looking at something different in the $50 price-range? I guess I am just used to Linksys since the other three routers on my network are all Linksys and I had a bad experience with D-Link...)
Edit - I just found a great deal on an E2000. I cross-checked this site and it seems that it will work too. Aside from the 1GB ethernet ports, are there any other DD-WRT advantages? I am tempted to order this one right now...thoughts?
Edit2 - Now I found the E2500 at a great price. (I apologize for this, I thought both of these were out of my range.) It is promoted as the newer version of the E2000; however, there is little information on the "Supported Devices" thread for this one.
I know nothing about other routers but I can confirm that E2000 works great with dd-wrt when used as a main router. I have yet to find a way to make it successfully repeat (wireless is throwing a fit, it connects to the host router but it doesn't let any clients connect to it).
i bought a refurbished e1000 for $20. running a build of dd-wrt that got pulled(17461) and it's really solid. the main advantage of of the e1000 and its brother the cisco valet m10(dd-wrt support is work in progress but it is slightly cheaper than the e1000 despite having the same hardware) is cost. disadvantage is that you can't run older builds which are relatively more stable than newer ones.
the e2000 has gigabit ports and an 8MB flash chip instead of 4MB. VERY useful if you want to use bigger builds of dd-wrt which have more features.
in short, if you feel like spending the least amount of money, e1000. otherwise an e2000 would be good. i would not get the wrt54gl as it has no n support and as you said, it is rather dated. also the wrt54gl only has 4MB of flash memory. more is better.
Joined: 04 Jan 2007 Posts: 11564 Location: Wherever the wind blows- North America
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 14:37 Post subject:
I have to admit....there have been some pretty bad builds over the past 4-6 months...however, I am running a nightly of 17828 on several of my units...and its been rock solid for me....Just wait til the next build is released...and real testing can begin again...it seems that many of the past problems have been worked out.
redhawk _________________ The only stupid question....is the unasked one.
It is an odd choice in the world of computers-usually one goes for the newest...but if you graphed DD-WRT stability over hardware features you would have opposing graphs.
It sounds like the E2000 is a nice mid-point in this; in addition, I found a really good price on it (the same as the other two! Only the 2500 is more expensive.) Finally, I like the gigabit ports and the N functionality, so I think I will go that way.
We'll see what happens when I get deeper with the rest of my network (ie repeaters, etc...) but this looks like a nice place to start with my upgrade.
I'll still be checking this thread, but thanks again for the help, it really was useful!
MikeY
for a general overview of router choice considerations, spend some time reading the "What's the best router" sticky, in the "General" forum.
If you want stability, and don't need N wireless speeds, stick with the GL. _________________ SIG:
I'm trying to teach you to fish, not give you a fish. If you just want a fish, wait for a fisherman who hands them out. I'm more of a fishing instructor.
LOM: "If you show that you have not bothered to read the forum announcements or to follow the advices in them then the level of help available for you will drop substantially, also known as Murrkf's law.."
Joined: 04 Jan 2007 Posts: 11564 Location: Wherever the wind blows- North America
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 20:59 Post subject:
Actually, the E1000 I consider to be the GL replacement with N-class capabilities....the only drawback...internal antennas...but...I have to admit...they work rather well with this little unit. (as opposed to the older internal models like the 54G2v1,160N units)
It is a 4M/16M flash/RAM configuration and runs quite well on the Std_nokaid_small build of K26.
Its also got a 300Mhz processor.
If you don't need super long range for your setup...then the e1000 is hard to beat for around $30 online.
redhawk _________________ The only stupid question....is the unasked one.
Joined: 26 Jan 2008 Posts: 13049 Location: Behind The Reset Button
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 21:31 Post subject:
redhawk0 wrote:
I have to admit....there have been some pretty bad builds over the past 4-6 months...however, I am running a nightly of 17828 on several of my units...and its been rock solid for me....Just wait til the next build is released...and real testing can begin again...it seems that many of the past problems have been worked out.
redhawk
You got some pull around here.. See about getting some builds posted from the devs.. _________________ [Moderator Deleted]
I did read through much of that (and the other) stickies. (Normally I'm pretty scared to start a new topic.) ..but you can see where I am having a dilemma with this decision-the balance between stability vs. performance is a tough one in this situation. (Plus the issue is very malleable over time.)
Joined: 26 Jan 2008 Posts: 13049 Location: Behind The Reset Button
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 21:42 Post subject:
Mikey2 wrote:
Wow more replies, thank you!
I did read through much of that (and the other) stickies. (Normally I'm pretty scared to start a new topic.) ..but you can see where I am having a dilemma with this decision-the balance between stability vs. performance is a tough one in this situation. (Plus the issue is very malleable over time.)
I am nobody but polls of this nature piss me off.. just ask the question in the thread..
Cheers!
EDIT: get yourself an E3000. The 2000 is a good router but can only do one band at a time. E3000 has two radios, 60K nvram and will do both bands at the same time. The 2500 is not supported yet. The E1000 is not a good choice. The Gl is rock solid but will only do G, and only K24 (k24 is better than K26 at this stage of the game) _________________ [Moderator Deleted]
get yourself an E3000.... The E1000 is not a good choice.
_________________ SIG:
I'm trying to teach you to fish, not give you a fish. If you just want a fish, wait for a fisherman who hands them out. I'm more of a fishing instructor.
LOM: "If you show that you have not bothered to read the forum announcements or to follow the advices in them then the level of help available for you will drop substantially, also known as Murrkf's law.."
Joined: 26 Jan 2008 Posts: 13049 Location: Behind The Reset Button
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 22:00 Post subject:
Murrkf wrote:
Glad we got THAT sorted out!
Murrkf wrote:
stick with the GL.
redhawk0 wrote:
the e1000 is hard to beat
barryware wrote:
get yourself an E3000.... The E1000 is not a good choice.
That is pretty funny actually..
Everybody has their opinions.. I don't like the E1000 cuz it only runs K26 with 4mb flash. So that is like a V8 with K24 (not really cuz the E1000 is an N router)
I got two.. (V1 & V2) I'll sell'em if anybody wants them. _________________ [Moderator Deleted]
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 23:50 Post subject: Linksys WRT54GL vs E1000 vs E2000 vs E2500
have a wrt54gl for years. never a problem. stream netflix without issue. antennas replaceable and upgradeable. it is stable never need to reboot. my use is in a residential home not business. using build 14929 standard. signal spans from first to second floor wood frame house without issue. got an e1000 refurbished ($19.99 from tiger direct) and tried it. was not stable and ran hotter than 54gl. never used the other ones. similar but with more internal memory would be a wrt54gs version 3 or wrt54g-tm. they are still available on ebay and amazon. mostly used though. unless you have to have "N" capability i like the 54g.
Joined: 04 Jan 2007 Posts: 11564 Location: Wherever the wind blows- North America
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 2:18 Post subject:
Well...that may be true...the E1000 does run hot...but...the very first thing I do with I get a router is add heat sinks and/or a fan if necessary.
My E1000 has a big heat sink on the processor.
This unit runs rock solid with 17828. (now installed 17830) but its pretty early in the testing game...only 4 days....but no issues so far except for Repeater mode with K26 builds....V24 repeater has been fixed.
Anyway...the E3000 is also a great unit...I'm running 17828_K26_std_usd_nas_n60k on mine....again...running great except for Repeater mode.
@Barryware...I'll see what I can do about requesting a newer 1783X build get posted....but no promises.
redhawk _________________ The only stupid question....is the unasked one.
Joined: 26 Jan 2008 Posts: 13049 Location: Behind The Reset Button
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:13 Post subject:
redhawk0 wrote:
@Barryware...I'll see what I can do about requesting a newer 1783X build get posted....but no promises.
redhawk
Gracias.. I would really like to see the new stuff in regards to the nvram status in the gui as well as dd-wrt automatically deleting the oldest traff data when nvram runs low.. ATM. I would like to see a K24 std_nokiad build (not being too picky ) _________________ [Moderator Deleted]
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