Really though, I'm not even sure if its a good router so any other suggestions would be helpful. I have some IP cameras and other devices that I want to have under a VPN and I'm looking for something to replace my old crappy router my ISP's gave me. Preferably something around the 50-60$ price range or under 100$. Dual band with 1Gb speeds would be an added bonus. Also wondering if features like MIMO would be beneficial for me?
Joined: 16 Nov 2015 Posts: 6447 Location: UK, London, just across the river..
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:08 Post subject:
yep do some reading ggl first many questions are answered about new router in DDWRT...
best bet for you and your demands will be Netgear R7800
you can get it even second hand from Amazon/ebay
R7800 is the best performance/price/ddwrt support router at the moment..
Do keep in mind routers have a gigabit switch but very few can utilise gigabit speed over the WAN side...
DDWRT uses a software forwarder engine SFE (NAT accelerator) and there will be a performance toll over the stock firmware..
new builds are here ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/
yep do some reading ggl first many questions are answered about new router in DDWRT...
best bet for you and your demands will be Netgear R7800
you can get it even second hand from Amazon/ebay
R7800 is the best performance/price/ddwrt support router at the moment..
Do keep in mind routers have a gigabit switch but very few can utilise gigabit speed over the WAN side...
DDWRT uses a software forwarder engine SFE (NAT accelerator) and there will be a performance toll over the stock firmware..
new builds are here ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/
look for new builds threads there are useful reports about, routers, bugs, mitigation's, useful settings and so on...
Thanks so much, I'll definitely do some more reading up on as I'm still learning this stuff. I looked around for Netgear R7800 routers on amazon and google, they kind of seem a little bit of an overkill for what I need them for at least(only 2 people including me live in my home), unless I'm missing something. Also can't seem to find any under 100$, even used. Since you recommended the Netgear R7800's I also looked around at the lower models and was thinking about the R6700 model.
And also the TP-Link C7 one that was recommended from the wiki, still not sure what the difference between the C7 and the A7 is.
TP-Link Archer A7
Another thing you mentioned. When you say that the SFE software DDWRT uses will have performance tolls over the stock firmware, are you saying that the NAT acceleration DDWRT uses isn't as good as the stock firmwares?
EA8500 has similar hardware to R7800 and you may be able to find it cheaper used.
The caveat is newer stock firmware may be encrypted so be ready for a serial flash with a USB to TTL serial adapter cable such as Adafruit 954 or DTECH FTDI.
The newest models do not have the serial header pins populated onboard so you will need to solder them in. If you see the retail box art with a green aura around the router it's a newer model. If it's just white and blue it's an older model.
EA8500 has similar hardware to R7800 and you may be able to find it cheaper used.
The caveat is newer stock firmware may be encrypted so be ready for a serial flash with a USB to TTL serial adapter cable such as Adafruit 954 or DTECH FTDI.
The newest models do not have the serial header pins populated onboard so you will need to solder them in. If you see the retail box art with a green aura around the router it's a newer model. If it's just white and blue it's an older model.
I did took a look at the EA8500 model you mentioned and I was pretty tempted to return the one I have and get that one but I'm not really a fan of opening up the router and possible soldering. Its not that the instructions were hard to follow or anything, its just I don't want to have to get cables and possible soldering kit for or anything extra. I'm kind of on a tight budget and wanna get some more IP camera's.