[RndTbl] wireless N router recommendations?

[Adam Thompson]

[This isn't specifically about 'N' routers, but...]

I've used the Buffalo Technology (www.buffalotech.com) routers a fair bit, 
and have been consistently impressed by them.  They also tend to get 
excellent reviews.

Their "high-power" models give consistently better range than stock 
WRT54Gs (for example) *without* burning out the radio.
I found you can get the same range out of a WRT54G simply by turning up 
the transmit power and adding a slightly better antenna, but then the 
WRT54G burns out within a year.

The Buffalo units (I think) keep the standard Broadcom reference design 
that everyone uses, but they add a separate RF amp on the RF output to 
boost power and sensitivity.  (Yes, that boosts noise as well, but it 
doesn't seem to be a problem.)

The unit I've used is the WHR-HP-G54, which among other features can run 
modified firmware (DD-WRT, for example) but for simpler cases also has a 
physical SWITCH on the back to turn it into an AP.  The single antenna 
provided was always good enough for my use cases.

Read all about it at 
http://www.buffalotech.com/products/wireless/routers-and-access-points/airstation-wireless-g-high-power-router-access-point-whr-hp-g54/.

I don't know of any retail stores carrying it, but it's widely available 
online in Canada: http://www.pricebat.ca/search.php?q=WHR-HP-G54, starting 
at around $55.

Their 'N' models also (with one exception) can run custom firmware (again, 
using DD-WRT as my reference, see 
http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database for details) but I 
don't have any personal experience with those (yet).  Following Consumer 
Reports' methodology, "reliability is predicted to be better than average 
based on this brand's repair history".

-Adam