|
This is a review of the hardware. [.]. The first thing I did was install the Linux based DD-WRT firmware so I don't know how good or bad the original Linksys software is.Heat does not seem to be an issue for me. The device runs a little warm but no more so than my old router or gigabit switch. reports 52 megabits down and 24 megabits up on my fiber line which is almost twice as fast as I've ever been able to get with my old WRT54G on the same line.The wireless connection has been very stable. No dropouts to report of.
But try to tuck it out of sight on a shelf with other heat-generating components, and watch your downloads grind to a halt several times a day, requiring constant reboots.That was my experience with the WRT310N as well as the D-Link DIR-655. See the nice shiny smooth surface of the router. Contrary to some other customer reviews, the heat issues with the WRT310N have not been addressed. In frustration I gave up on the idea of a single box solution for gigabit wired and wireless networking, instead opting for a pair of components: the tried-and-true 100-megabit WRT54G, along with a super-cheap 6-port gigabit switch. That's a hard plastic shell that doesn't let air circulate.This model shares a fundamental design flaw with other consumer gigabit routers: at ten times the speed of 100-megabit routers, gigabit switch chips generate considerably more heat. Yet Linksys and other manufacturers have inexplicably designed the current generation of routers with fewer air vents.I'm sure the WRT310N works just fine in ideal conditions, standing upright on a desk or table, or mounted to a wall, in a well-ventilated room. In total they probably generate even more heat than the WRT310N, but with proper airflow and separation from the heat-spewing gigabit switch, the router stays cool and happy even in my less-than-ideal environment. Both have been running for weeks without a hitch.
We had an old Linksys 80211b router and replaced it with this one to take advantage of the N speed in our laptops. We have leaned it on its side for venting and this has helped. We had problems with the old router reaching certain areas of the house, but this one reaches all areas without dropped connections.
The PC we used as an network anchor is about 5 years old and the Linksys software slows the boot-up time on the PC a lot. I've read about problems with heat on this unit. Setup was easy.
We've been using it for about 9 months now with N access cards from Dell, Apple, Lenovo, HP, and have had no issues. My guess is this is not a problem with newer PC's. The network works great.
It does run hot, but for us it is not a problem. All in all, this is a very good router.
This is another excellent product from Linksys. Works fine with the existing Wireless-G cards I use, but I purchased a Wireless-N NIC and I see dramatically faster performance. I had waited to go for an N-Wireless router to make sure the IEEE spec was final, but after losing two ports on my old, reliable WRT54G router due to a lightning storm, I went for this puppy. Setup was trivial, as I was able to detect and duplicate my old router settings easily with the setup wizard. Some nice improvements over the older WRT54G router, including the ability to assign a static DHCP address to a device (my print server in this case), and finer control over port forwarding rules. A solid product and a very good buy for the money.
The router is very easy to set up and looks very sleek. A good purchase.
|
