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Excellent and underrated little router
Pros
Wireless N (3 internal-antennas), Gigabit switch, fast, good value, looks nice
Cons
Runs hot, takes up desk-space (UFO shape)
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you are fimiliar with router setups, this is a breeze, and this unit really has some great features (and speed) at a nice price.
I had a dilemma, much like many of you may have faced or are currently facing: my current router had died. It was a fantastic router, a Netgear wireless N with gigabit ports, and I purchased it refurbished. It had lasted fine for about a year, when finally it just refused to work, only the power light would light up, but the rest was toast. So, I borrowed a Belkin wireless G router from my parents, and that worked fine for a while, but it had severe limitations, and quite frankly my stress levels were through the roof while playing online games on the PS3 because of the lag, so for sanity's sake I decided to find a better replacement.
After much debate, I took a chance with the Linksys WRT310N Wireless Router after finding it on-sale. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed!
The Features
So for starters, the features on this router are precisely what I was looking for. Wireless N is becoming more and more of necessity in many homes, and while I was an early adopter, its great to see many consumer devices making the switch. Because of the technology used for Wireless N (I won't go into details here), the speeds are significantly increased over wireless G, as well as the distance.
The wireless function on this router works fantastic! I have a wireless N adaptor on my media PC about 30ft away, with two walls blocking, and with the Belkin G router, I would get about 70% signal strength; the Linksys N router I get a full 100% signal strength! The PS3 in the same distance also has significantly increased speeds as well. Sharing video from a PC next to the router to the media center, I average 6 megabytes per second (actual speed), which is pretty decent, meaning a 700MB movie takes about 2-3 minutes to transfer.
The gigabit switch can make a significant difference when PCs are connected via ethernet, and have gigabit ethernet adaptors. Transfers are pretty much real time, with transfers taking approximately the amount of time it takes to write to the HDD (OK, a tiny bit longer, but really not much).
So, for the average consumer, you may be wondering if you need any of the garbage I just talked about, and my response is yes and no. This technology is really no longer "the future" and is really becoming the "now", and the price you pay for a decent router (this is not considered a high-end router, nor is it priced like one), can save you significant heartache over time. If you have more than one computer, and you don't want to be kicking yourself in a year, spend the extra $20 or so and get a router such as this.
The Hook-up
The hookup for this linksys rotuer was a breeze, assuming you know how to setup a router. I have not ever attempted to install the software (read below), but it was functional right out of the box. I connected the cable modem via ethernet, two more computers via ethernet, a network printer via ethernet, and have a media-center PC connected via Wireless N and PS3 connected via wireless G. I have read that others installed DD-WRT (a type of firmware), but I didn't find it necessary, the stock firmware on my build worked great, and had many features (layout was a little odd though).
I apologize if I derail here, but I feel I should share a little tip with as many as I can here and now (and maybe save tech support a lot of trouble). As a recovering tech, and as someone whom has worked with network engineers and setup several networks himself, I'm going to pass along a little bit of knowledge. Essentially no router you buy by any of the main brands I've ever encountered will ever need software installed. Its just 100% not necessary, and many times what people think is a defective router is really just bad or incompatible software.
Stay with me folks, I promise I won't be too confusing, and yes you will have to learn a few very minor "tech" items, but if you do, you will be able to setup any router that comes along your way.
For starters, connect a PC via ethernet (don't use USB, some routers have that functionality, but you don't need it). You will then log into the router. You can do this by putting in the IP address of your router. You can always find this (and this is very useful) by opening up command prompt (start-run-cmd, or just type cmd with the startmenu open in Vista/7). With the command prompt open, type "ipconfig" without the quotes, hit enter, and viola, your router IP will be shown under "default gateway".
Now, with IP in hand, open up your browser, and type that ip into the address bar and go, and viola you have just logged into the "firmware" of the router. This is where you can "name" your wireless signal (SSID), and setup protection, which should always be the highest possible (keep adaptors in mind, they have to be compatible with that encryption).
This process is the same with all routers, and is the exact process I used for this router, although the firmware can be slightly different amongst routers. Also, I recommend never performing firmware updates until you have tested the router. Updating the firmware can result in a "bricked" (paperweight) router if an error occurs, so don't update unless you have an issue.
In Action
Much of this was covered under the "Features" section, but I will reiterate that the speeds really fly with this baby; you may have slightly better results with a "gaming" router, but I can say from personal experience that lag is no longer an issue; if I can't shoot somebody in MW2, its because I have terrible aim, not because of the router!
This router runs hot, but the majority of modern routers I've worked with run hot; I think its only a matter of time before they start having fans in routers (routers are essentially mini computers at this point). This hasn't been of any concern for me, I've had it set on my desktop for about a month and it hasn't overheated, but some have said it runs cooler if you prop it up (much of the air vents are on the bottom of the unit; maybe get felt feeties to prop it up?).
Also, your opinion of the look will depend on your taste, I think it looks pretty nice, a little UFO-ish, but because it lies flat it uses more desk space than an upright. The lights are nice, not too bright like my previous Netgear router at night, but are certainly visible during the day.
The Bottom Line
This router is seriously under-rated, and I unfortunately think a lot of it has to do with people not understanding how routers work, and how to properly set them up. For me, it was a great deal when I found it on sale, and I'm so glad to have moved back up to Wireless N and gigabit speeds. Also, seeing as to how there are many refurbished versions of this router, there may be some defective products out there, but then again I see many routers that have refurbished versions out there (you may want to pick one up yourself, they can be a great value). All in all, I think I got a great value, now its just up to how long this baby lasts!
After much debate, I took a chance with the Linksys WRT310N Wireless Router after finding it on-sale. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed!
The Features
So for starters, the features on this router are precisely what I was looking for. Wireless N is becoming more and more of necessity in many homes, and while I was an early adopter, its great to see many consumer devices making the switch. Because of the technology used for Wireless N (I won't go into details here), the speeds are significantly increased over wireless G, as well as the distance.
The wireless function on this router works fantastic! I have a wireless N adaptor on my media PC about 30ft away, with two walls blocking, and with the Belkin G router, I would get about 70% signal strength; the Linksys N router I get a full 100% signal strength! The PS3 in the same distance also has significantly increased speeds as well. Sharing video from a PC next to the router to the media center, I average 6 megabytes per second (actual speed), which is pretty decent, meaning a 700MB movie takes about 2-3 minutes to transfer.
The gigabit switch can make a significant difference when PCs are connected via ethernet, and have gigabit ethernet adaptors. Transfers are pretty much real time, with transfers taking approximately the amount of time it takes to write to the HDD (OK, a tiny bit longer, but really not much).
So, for the average consumer, you may be wondering if you need any of the garbage I just talked about, and my response is yes and no. This technology is really no longer "the future" and is really becoming the "now", and the price you pay for a decent router (this is not considered a high-end router, nor is it priced like one), can save you significant heartache over time. If you have more than one computer, and you don't want to be kicking yourself in a year, spend the extra $20 or so and get a router such as this.
The Hook-up
The hookup for this linksys rotuer was a breeze, assuming you know how to setup a router. I have not ever attempted to install the software (read below), but it was functional right out of the box. I connected the cable modem via ethernet, two more computers via ethernet, a network printer via ethernet, and have a media-center PC connected via Wireless N and PS3 connected via wireless G. I have read that others installed DD-WRT (a type of firmware), but I didn't find it necessary, the stock firmware on my build worked great, and had many features (layout was a little odd though).
I apologize if I derail here, but I feel I should share a little tip with as many as I can here and now (and maybe save tech support a lot of trouble). As a recovering tech, and as someone whom has worked with network engineers and setup several networks himself, I'm going to pass along a little bit of knowledge. Essentially no router you buy by any of the main brands I've ever encountered will ever need software installed. Its just 100% not necessary, and many times what people think is a defective router is really just bad or incompatible software.
Stay with me folks, I promise I won't be too confusing, and yes you will have to learn a few very minor "tech" items, but if you do, you will be able to setup any router that comes along your way.
For starters, connect a PC via ethernet (don't use USB, some routers have that functionality, but you don't need it). You will then log into the router. You can do this by putting in the IP address of your router. You can always find this (and this is very useful) by opening up command prompt (start-run-cmd, or just type cmd with the startmenu open in Vista/7). With the command prompt open, type "ipconfig" without the quotes, hit enter, and viola, your router IP will be shown under "default gateway".
Now, with IP in hand, open up your browser, and type that ip into the address bar and go, and viola you have just logged into the "firmware" of the router. This is where you can "name" your wireless signal (SSID), and setup protection, which should always be the highest possible (keep adaptors in mind, they have to be compatible with that encryption).
This process is the same with all routers, and is the exact process I used for this router, although the firmware can be slightly different amongst routers. Also, I recommend never performing firmware updates until you have tested the router. Updating the firmware can result in a "bricked" (paperweight) router if an error occurs, so don't update unless you have an issue.
In Action
Much of this was covered under the "Features" section, but I will reiterate that the speeds really fly with this baby; you may have slightly better results with a "gaming" router, but I can say from personal experience that lag is no longer an issue; if I can't shoot somebody in MW2, its because I have terrible aim, not because of the router!
This router runs hot, but the majority of modern routers I've worked with run hot; I think its only a matter of time before they start having fans in routers (routers are essentially mini computers at this point). This hasn't been of any concern for me, I've had it set on my desktop for about a month and it hasn't overheated, but some have said it runs cooler if you prop it up (much of the air vents are on the bottom of the unit; maybe get felt feeties to prop it up?).
Also, your opinion of the look will depend on your taste, I think it looks pretty nice, a little UFO-ish, but because it lies flat it uses more desk space than an upright. The lights are nice, not too bright like my previous Netgear router at night, but are certainly visible during the day.
The Bottom Line
This router is seriously under-rated, and I unfortunately think a lot of it has to do with people not understanding how routers work, and how to properly set them up. For me, it was a great deal when I found it on sale, and I'm so glad to have moved back up to Wireless N and gigabit speeds. Also, seeing as to how there are many refurbished versions of this router, there may be some defective products out there, but then again I see many routers that have refurbished versions out there (you may want to pick one up yourself, they can be a great value). All in all, I think I got a great value, now its just up to how long this baby lasts!
