fhiga's Full Review: NetGear WGR614 Wireless Router
Some background on this story. I bought my first wireless router in 2002, it was a Linksys 802.11b wireless router with 4 port switch, around $69.00 with a $10.00 rebate.
This router out of the box inherently developed so many problems, and I even kept the firmware upgraded all the time. I was really upset with it, and having to reset it once a week, I went ahead and got this Netgear.
Read a ton of bad reviews for the earlier models, saying that it needed to be reset every once in a while as well, but people talked about the earlier models (v4)
I like the fact that it has a pretty good setup, that walks you through the initial configuration. Even though my knowledge about networking allows me to set up this router manually, I walked through the setup wizard, and I was up and running about 10 minutes after taking it out of the box.
One thing I noticed, is that this router, with the new Comcast high speed internet PowerBoost, I can achieve throughput speeds (peak) of 24MBits/down, when gauged against a local server. The max throughput I got with the linksys was 4MBits. So this was definitely due to the router.
Also, my Vonage home phone, when connected to the linksys box, caused random disconnects and loss of audio. I haven't gotten these problems with my new NetGear router.
Wireless network coverage is excellent. Comparing it range-wise, it has 10% more range than my old router, standing at the same spot in my house, I get 100% signal strength, vs. 90-92% strength with the old one.
In terms of functionality, it is pretty much the same: built in DHCP server, allows port firewall, wireless security, router management. It has a built in firmware checker, uploader and installer, something that the Linksys clearly lacked.
It has a couple plastic stands, that allow you to place the router flat on it's side on a surface to save a little bit of desk space.
The LEDs up front are bright and light and big enough so they can be seen at a distance, but kinda tacky if you ask me.
So far, in about a month of use, this WGR614v7 gets the thumb up from me. I haven't had to reset it so far, we'll see how far it goes!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 59.00 Driver Availability: Windows, Linux, and Mac
NETGEAR's WGR614 Cable DSL Wireless Router lets you experience blazing-fast network wireless speeds of up to 54 Mbps making it a snap to surf the Web,...More at eBay
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