WRT54G dying, need new router.

For the last couple months, my trusty Linksys WRT54G that I have for a few years now kept on dropping the internet connection. Sometime once every couple days, sometime 3 or more times a day and the only way to get it to connect again is to do a factory default reset. Frustrating to say the least. Currently I’m eyeing a D-LINK DIR-655, it got some good review and its only $100 dollars. Is that a good router to get or can anyone here recommend something better for the same price range?

DBZ said:

For the last couple months, my trusty Linksys WRT54G that I have for a few years now kept on dropping the internet connection. Sometime once every couple days, sometime 3 or more times a day and the only way to get it to connect again is to do a factory default reset. Frustrating to say the least. Currently I’m eyeing a D-LINK DIR-655, it got some good review and its only $100 dollars. Is that a good router to get or can anyone here recommend something better for the same price range?

Click to expand...

$100 should get you a good router.

Here's my recommendations.

1) Linksys
2) Netgear

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122235

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124319

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122316

DBZ said:

For the last couple months, my trusty Linksys WRT54G that I have for a few years now kept on dropping the internet connection. Sometime once every couple days, sometime 3 or more times a day and the only way to get it to connect again is to do a factory default reset. Frustrating to say the least. Currently I’m eyeing a D-LINK DIR-655, it got some good review and its only $100 dollars. Is that a good router to get or can anyone here recommend something better for the same price range?

Click to expand...

have you tried an alternative firmware like DD-WRT? My WRT54G was unreliable with connections, dropping like yours. I don't remember if I had to reset it to regain connection, but now its stable with DD-WRT.

Yeah, the stock firmware kinda sucks... I dunno if it's the source of your problem, since yours was working fine before, but an alternative firmware is worth a try since it's free.

I'd recommend Tomato over DD-WRT, though. I found it a bit easier to set up, plus I had problems with DD-WRT needing a reboot every couple days if I had heavy traffic.

DBZ said:

Currently I’m eyeing a D-LINK DIR-655, it got some good review and its only $100 dollars. Is that a good router to get or can anyone here recommend something better for the same price range?

Click to expand...

It's a good router, definitely a step up from many, including the aged WRT54G line. If you want to spend less, you could consider the DIR-628 instead -- it's based on similar underlying routing hardware. Neither of these support third-party firmware at this or in the expected near future, but the firmware they come with out of the box is fairly rich to start.

Avoid the aging and budget Linksys lines. If you want state of the art legacy standard-g hardware, get the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 or Asus Premium instead.

Thanks all for your input. I think I'll pick up the 655 and use the WRT54g to connect my 360 and WD HD media player.