JJJohnson
join:2001-08-25 | WRT54GL or WRT54G?
My brother needs a new wifi router and I'll be picking up one or the other model. He doesn't need to do anything fancy, so assuming that the stock firmware will be left running on the GL, which model would be preferred? |
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pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland |  The GL will let you (him?) upgrade later. Most other new low cost Linksys routers won't. |
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JJJohnson
join:2001-08-25
1 edit | Right, I understand that, but that's not very likely to happen. I'll set it up for him and mostly forget about it. Probably won't even bother upgrading when newer firmware comes out, unless he's having specific problems. |
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no_one
@qwest.net | reply to JJJohnson
have not kept up on these routers. Still use my older gs version.
Question for others is does the gl have more memory than the current standard version? |
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pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
 ·ooma
·Future Nine Corpor..
 ·Comcast
| Yeah, the GL has more memory than the most of the newer Linksys low end b/g routers.
If he's never going to upgrade it and is happy with stock firmware I guess it doesn't matter which version he buys.
Personally I'd still buy a GL, to keep options open.
These days, flashing at least to Tomato from vanilla Linksys firmware is so easy and supported that it just makes sense (on a GL or better router).
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
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RevMortis
I Hear Dead Silicon
Premium
join:2005-05-10
Saint Paul, MN
 ·Qwest.net
| reply to JJJohnson
I know you said "setup and forget", but you also need to consider future usage.
When all else is equal, buy the more robust hardware - more memory, bigger CPU, better wireless, etc.
As more applications become internet aware and internet dependant, your network (headed by your router) will have to be able to keep up with that demand. Each computer you add to the router multiplies the number of connections that the router will be responsible for maintaining. Apps that do P2P (even behind the scenes) use a lot of connections.
In this case newer is not always better. Do your homework. A limited amount of memory will choke the number of conversations/connections the router can maintain. A slower CPU will be a choke point. A small flash memory will limit your brothers upgrade paths if it ever becomes necessary.
Of course, that all costs money. To get the most for your money, first figure your price point. Then make a list of all the routers in that price range. Then get the specs for those routers. Even if you're not planning to use a third party firmware, the third party firmware websites tend to have the most detailed information about the hardware specs.
good luck! |
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PeteC2
Got Mouse?
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT
clubs:
·AT&T Yahoo
| reply to JJJohnson
Not knocking the other responses at all, but for a "set it and forget it" scenario? Whichever one saves you a buck will do just fine.
Tomato and DD-WRT certainly have their uses, but for many, even most folks, there is nothing wrong with the stock firmware. If that is the case for your purposes, then there is no intrinsic advantage to the WRT54GL (though it is a good router!)
--
Deeds, not words |
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jp0469
JP
join:2000-12-13
Rochester, MA | reply to JJJohnson
The GL is currently on sale for $50 at Newegg. I agree with others about keeping future options open and the price is right. |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| reply to JJJohnson
As others have posted, straight Out The Box(OTB) any will be fine.
Flashing is possible even with this particular model though.
A standard WRT54G v8 can accept DD-WRT v24 micro - this post is going through one.
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera |
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PeteC2
Got Mouse?
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT
clubs:
·AT&T Yahoo
| said by dadkins  :As others have posted, straight Out The Box(OTB) any will be fine. Flashing is possible even with this particular model though. A standard WRT54G v8 can accept DD-WRT v24 micro - this post is going through one. Exactly so. Not at all saying that the WRT54GL is not a better model, but that there would be no point in paying more for it, if you can nab a WRT54G v8 for less, which I believe that you can.
The main reason that I would really recommend staying with the Linksys firmware is that if his brother ever needs help, and for some reason the OP is not around, his brother will find it easier getting help with a standard set up, especially if under warranty.
For most networking assistance that I've done for other folks, I generally keep to the K.I.S.S. paradigm...saves a lot of potential headaches down the road.
--
Deeds, not words |
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dikbozo
join:2004-07-14
Regina, SK
| reply to RevMortis
Unless you have or need or get a greater than 100 Mbps net connection, (would I like that), you can have an internal network using a Gbit switch and all the wired connections you want will easily hook up at that speed. The internet connection you have is not going to be Gbit in the near future, mark my words. For a wireless connection it really doesn't matter because you will not see even 100 Mbps speeds, period.
I have a vanilla WRT54G V2.0 running on Tomato 1.23 and my current neighborhood has 14 networks. Not bad on 13 channels. With a 5Db antenna, I regularly see 3 dozen and more. The radio interference these cause limits the throughput. Using an 802.11n set up with its multiple radio usage will result in even more crosstalk and chatter to interfere with. I don't see 5.8 GHz as a solution, either, just moving the problem to a less used frequency band. |
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Phil
Rojo Sol
Premium
join:2001-06-11
Camarillo, CA | reply to JJJohnson
Since the WRT54GL is about the same price as the WRT54G and a better product it's a no brainer which to buy. |
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public
join:2002-01-19
Santa Clara, CA
·DSL EXTREME
| said by Phil :Since the WRT54GL is about the same price as the WRT54G and a better product it's a no brainer which to buy. WRT54GL is WRT54Gv4 |
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Phil
Rojo Sol
Premium
join:2001-06-11
Camarillo, CA
 ·Verizon FIOS
·DSL EXTREME
| said by public :said by Phil :Since the WRT54GL is about the same price as the WRT54G and a better product it's a no brainer which to buy. WRT54GL is WRT54Gv4 Your point? Current retail version is version 8. |
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PrntRhd
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA
·Comcast
·Comcast Formerly ..
4 edits | Phil,
The point that should be made is the WRT54Gv4 had full memory and the subsequent versions (v5-v8) had about half the original memory and other tweaks to make it cheaper.
edit:
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_WRT54G_series
The WRT54GL has full memory like the WRT54Gv1-v4, also the Linux OS. |
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Phil
Rojo Sol
Premium
join:2001-06-11
Camarillo, CA | However true that point is, it's not really relevant now as only the WRT54GL and WRT54G v8 are readily available via retailers and can add confusion to the thread. That was my point.  |
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Bill_MI
Bill In Michigan
Premium,MVM
join:2001-01-03
Royal Oak, MI
·Comcast
1 edit | reply to JJJohnson
said by JJJohnson :...so assuming that the stock firmware will be left running on the GL, which model would be preferred? Only little mention has appeared here about the advantage of the Linksys Linux-based firmware (WRT54GL) vs. Linksys VxWorks-based firmware (current WRT54G). Unfortunately, those that really tax their firmware have long ago gone 3rd party firmware.
Could anyone please update this comparison? My data is too old to be worthwhile (2000-2004) on long obsolete routers (BEFSR41 v1, BEFSR81 v1) which made me vow to never touch VxWorks-based firmware again.
EDIT: One simple but arguably invalid point is the GL has twice the memory so the VxWorks firmware *has* to cut corners. The old stuff sure did! |
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PrntRhd
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA
·Comcast
·Comcast Formerly ..
| reply to Phil
said by Phil :Since the WRT54GL is about the same price as the WRT54G and a better product it's a no brainer which to buy. I will agree the GL is more capable.
If stock firmware is run, do be certain to upgrade either model to the latest version for whichever model you choose. |
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SA Spurs1
join:2008-04-16
Georgetown, TX | reply to JJJohnson
The WRT54GL will have better resale value down the road |
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danclan
join:2005-11-01
Midlothian, VA
·Verizon FIOS
| said by SA Spurs1 :The WRT54GL will have better resale value down the road no, it wont. There are plenty of other linksys routers with faster and better capacity and options that run 3rd party firmware. Joe use could care less that this particular one runs 3rd party from factory. |
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