Cisco-Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster
by Linksys
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List Price: Our Price: $12.50 You Save: $87.49 (87%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster
Customer Review: version Differences and DO YOU CARE??...
Summary: 3 Stars
[previous reviewer]- you are absolutely correct that the new version (5) of this router is downgraded compared to others. the "original" router shipped with 32mb ram and 8mb flash, and version 5 shipped with 16mb ram, 2mb flash. you should also take note that you implied that v.4 was a fully featured product; it only has 16mb of ram and a 4mb flash (a downgrade from v.3). but you are correct, the most crippling thing that linksys did to this router was switch the operating system from the open source linux to VxWorks.
So i guess the real question is: DO I CARE?
for most people the answer is no. if you hook this router into your network, it will run smoothly, no problems for the average consumer. the reason so many people are criticizing the router and its new release is because the old wrt54g and wrt54gs were big items in hacker communities, and they afforded people who wanted to modify their router's firmware great flexibility to do so. the added ram fueled the power and speed that people were able to gain from their router.
so if you are !NOT! looking to modify this router, i would give it five stars.
if you !ARE! looking to modify this router, i would give it -1 stars, just because the old product was so good compared to the new one.
/*if you are deciding between the wrt54g and the wrt54gs, you need to have speed booster adapters to gain speed. those adapters will cost 20 bucks over the price of the regular ones (can get pricey if you have many computers) the older versions (1.0-4.0) of the wrt54g can be enabled for speed booster, but you won't have the hardware advantages provided by the wrt54gs.*/
Customer Review: Nice!
Summary: 5 Stars
This router is basically the WRT54G, with the addition of Linksys' Speedbooster technology. It can service all 802.11g, as well as the older 802.11b, based networks. Or it can serve a network consisting of a mixture of those two standards. In short, this is a very versatile router to have.
The Speedbooster technology provides an additional increase in network speed over the typical 54mbs of the 802.11g standard. This is very useful if you like to transfer large files between your computers. The extra speed should help things move along just a little quicker. But keep in mind that this will probably not give you any additional increase over the internet. Probably because the wireless connection between the router and your computer is not the bottleneck. The Speedbooster capability can only be fully utilized if your operating system is either Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Setting up this router was easy. My PCI wireless desktop adapter is also made by linksys. The ethernet card on my older computer is a standard issue IBM.
I highly recommend this wireless router to anyone who frequently transfers large files from one computer to another. I have had the router in operation for over a week, and so far, it has not dropped my internet connection.
For your information, my current network consists of two desktop computers (Dell 8200 and an IBM 300PL). The Dell is connected wirelessly, using a Linksys wireless adapter with the Speedbooster capability. The IBM has the original IBM network card. Speedstream DSL modem. The Dell is running on Windows XP Pro and the IBM has Windows 2000 Server.
Customer Review: Caution - a separate DSL or cable MODEM is required - not built in
Summary: 4 Stars
It is NOT a modem/router - just a great wireless G router. OK, I looked at a lot of different wireless routers including mostly 802.11N models, and reviews were excellent on this WRT54GS - I read several. Skimming the description of "really 3 devices in one", and seeing "Finally, the Router function ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection", I made the purchase to set up a friend's new DSL network. (To resolve a long nightmare on the 10th wireless DSL router/modem from Verizon, DOA or toast after an hour or day or couple of weeks, with techs saying "yeh that unit has a lot of problems, we'd really like to send you this new model that we know works, but we're not allowed because you're an existing customer.")
Then I got the product. Oops. No built in modem. How had I missed that? Well, it doesn't say it's got a modem, but it's implied. Re-evaluating the situation in the face of purchasing a separate DSL modem, I realized we would be better off to return it and purchase an N-standard router with built-in modem. I chose a Netgear DGN2000-100NAS model based on reviews and personal experience, & it looks good for its first day on the job.
Although we didn't install it, the Linksys seems great, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I realize the design has been around since before combo wireless modem/routers and so the original description probably assumes that everyone knows a separate modem is required, but I still took off one star for wasting my time with the combination of implying a built-in modem and not clearly stating that it must be plugged into a modem.
Customer Review: A fast and stable wireless router.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using this router for well over a year and have to say that it is one of the best, if not the best wireless router on the market. I first bought a D-link DI-624, but after using it for a few day, I realized it was more trouble than it was worth, the signal would cut off every now and again, and it was a headache to setup. I returned the D-link and got my WRT54GS. It worked right off bat and was a breeze to customize. Linksys is owned by Cisco Systems (a huge networking giant which is used in many big business networks), I was surprised to find that their consumer brand was just reliable.
Since then I have had the router turned on for more than a year (not all at once), and have yet to have it drop a connection or annoy me. I keep the firmware updated (something everyone should learn to do), and keep my network WPA secured (another thing everyone should learn to do).
Now that I have my desktop connected through the ethernet, and my laptop wireless connected, it is still as stable as ever. I have a netgear router (not wireless) at home which needs to be rebooted every week or so due to slow performance, and tends to stop working from time to time, requiring a short break. Needless to say I bring my linksys while I'm home to use in its place.
I recently added on a high gain antenna and it increased the range slighly (there are also alternative firmwares which boost power output). Getting a signal now in my library from my room, I couldn't be more happy.
If you're looking for a router which does exactly what it says, I don't see how this linksys wouldn't fit your needs.
Customer Review: Very pleased with performance and ease of setup
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this to replace a Netgear WGR614v5 that had started overheating and dropping connections. My signal has always been good, but not ever listed as "excellent" in Vista. I bought this router after much research and I am surprised at how easy it was to set up. Aesthetically, the Netgear looked better - IMO, but the Linksys still looks nice. The signal I get from my wireless network is now listed as "excellent", and my speed has tripled. I had previously been happy with my Netgear, but this router is so much better (I have friends who have Netgear and are extremely happy with them and get great speeds, so mine may have been faulty out of the box.) One of my main uses for a wireless Network is for Xbox Live. My Xbox connected to this router, and with default settings the NAT is Open finally...yeah! (For Xbox'ers that will mean something). I am very pleased with this router, enough to spend time writing a review on it. So, here are my pros and cons:
Pros: Easy setup, Xbox Live compatible, fast speeds, great signal, network mapping software included
Cons: No way to statically reserve an IP to a MAC (not a problem for me but seems to be for some)
One thing to keep in mind, this router is very popular because of its open OS, so there are firmwares out there that will enable pretty much any option you would ever need on the router. On the flip side of this from what I have heard, people enjoy hacking this router. So if you live in an area of hackers -aka teenagers(j/k)- do a little research and make sure you have this thing locked down properly, or buy a less popular brand router.