TP-LINK N600 Wireless N Dual Band Gigabit Router w/ 2x USB Ports (TL-WDR3600) $39 after $15 rebate + Free Shipping

So its safe to say for a reliable router that you dont want worry about using 3rd party firmware, the Asus is the way to go? (Granted its 4x the price)

Quote from oopsz : Note that it's now a manufacturer's rebate, not a newegg rebate.

So how are Tiplink rebates?? Any chance of getting back?

If it supported Tomato, I'd be in.

Quote from dealmonkey : So its safe to say for a reliable router that you dont want worry about using 3rd party firmware, the Asus is the way to go? (Granted its 4x the price)

As an FYI - I've been using this router for almost 2 months now on stock firmware, and have had no problems. Granted, my apartment is very small, so I can't comment on the range.

Do u need a compatible network card for dual band? Can u disable one of the bands?

Quote from CoBrA2168 : As an FYI - I've been using this firmware for almost 2 months now on stock firmware, and have had no problems. Granted, my apartment is very small, so I can't comment on the range.

It is 4 * rated on newegg and Amazon. Many of the bad reviews are old ones when it shipped with bad firmware. I see most people telling that once you update the firmware it is very good.

Quote from webazoid : Do u need a compatible network card for dual band? Can u disable one of the bands?

According to one of the reviews, yes you can configure the router to disable one of the bands. The 5Ghz is usually the sucky band that people might want to disable it.

Quote from slick5150 : I have DD-WRT on one of these routers. It's still buggy but it works for the most part at this point (using the latest nightly builds).

I had wireless issues on DD WRT where the either the 2.4 or 5 Ghz band would not show up. It was usually the 2.4 Ghz band which most devices used. Also would get slow connections sometimes randomly.

Quote from CoBrA2168 : Has anyone tried both OpenWRT and DD-WRT on this router? I've used DD-WRT on all of my routers, so it makes sense for me to put that on this router. However, I've heard mixed results from both sides.

I used both so look above for DD-WRT results. I switched to OpenWRT and it's been much better with wireless. I did have issues with the 2.4Ghz band disapperaring when I was trying to change settings such as 20 or 40Mhz and channel. I think the problem is that you need to know which channels has a 20 or 40 mhz band. Not all channels 1-11 can do it and if you choose one of these channels the router will just disable the wireless. It kind of sucks cause you need to get to your hardwired PC to fix it.

As for OpenWRT it's more lightweight than DDWRT. You need to install packages to get things you want. I needed a DDNS service so you go to software section in the routers gui and download the DDNS package. If you need the Qos then you download the Codel package. There are torrent and usenet packages although I didn't install it. Once you set it up then you should back up your firmware with the settings you like.

Quote from dealmonkey : So its safe to say for a reliable router that you dont want worry about using 3rd party firmware, the Asus is the way to go? (Granted its 4x the price)

If you don't like to mess around with flashing I would go Asus. I read great things about stock firmware although there are custom firmwares out for that router also. I looked at the Asus but couldn't bear to spend $180 for the AC version. I decided to try this out for only $40 and flashed it to OpenWRT.

Flashing is very easy. I used the version and instructions from the Wiki from the last deal.

http://slickdeals.net/f/5793456-T...outer-39AR

I switched from a DDWRT Linksys wrt 54g and so happy I made the change to OpenWRT. I am now able to stream 1080p MKV wirelessly on the 5GHZ band and 2.4ghz most of the time. My phone and iPad mini have the 5GHZ bands which makes streaming so much consistent.

Quote from drawz : No Tomato for Atheros-based routers, such as this one.

nm. google lied to me.

Quote from yazyazoo : I used both so look above for DD-WRT results. I switched to OpenWRT and it's been much better with wireless. I did have issues with the 2.4Ghz band disapperaring when I was trying to change settings such as 20 or 40Mhz and channel. I think the problem is that you need to know which channels has a 20 or 40 mhz band. Not all channels 1-11 can do it and if you choose one of these channels the router will just disable the wireless. It kind of sucks cause you need to get to your hardwired PC to fix it. As for OpenWRT it's more lightweight than DDWRT. You need to install packages to get things you want. I needed a DDNS service so you go to software section in the routers gui and download the DDNS package. If you need the Qos then you download the Codel package. There are torrent and usenet packages although I didn't install it. Once you set it up then you should back up your firmware with the settings you like.

Hmm...interesting. I might have to mess around with this and see what I can do.

How do you know what packages are available, and which ones will I need? All I really want is a router which can reliably do Ethernet and WiFi (both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz). Wireless security is a must.

So, is the signal strength reliable? I don't want a router that constantly drops or slows randomly

In for 1 , I know SDers love N66. It is too pricey for me . Just got the ATV2 from newegg for 89 and now this . yay !

Does this support IPV6? I dont see it on the specs page.

Quote from Tnyc : According to one of the reviews, yes you can configure the router to disable one of the bands. The 5Ghz is usually the sucky band that people might want to disable it.

Yes, you can disable a band or just not use it, but you're wrong about 5 Ghz being "sucky." Yes, the range is lower with the higher frequency band (can't beat physics here), but there is much less congestion and interference on 5 GHz as compared to 2.4 GHz, so the speed tends to be much faster. This will vary depending on whether you live in an apartment or a house, in the city or in a more rural area. Don't forget there are also cordless phones, bluetooth, and good old fashioned microwaves in the 2.4 GHz spectrum.

If you don't have a dual band wireless adapter in your laptop (or whatever), then you only have 2.4 GHz available and the choice is simple.