Best WRT54G router replacement?

[od1]

Hi all,

I am running several bittorrent connections and have problems that seem like they have to do with the Linksys WRT54G router. I am NOT running 3rd party firmware. The reason being this is my roommate's router and I don't want to brick it. He is moving out in 2 months so we'll have to get a new router anyway.

For awhile I have thought that there was a problem with the router losing sync with the modem. That is what a tech support person told me one time when I was using a Belkin Pre-N router. I'm not sure if they knew what they were talking about or not.

What happens is that after resetting the router, it will work just fine, but over time the http connections will slow to a crawl...bittorrent and eMule connections continue to work. Also, it seems to affect other parts of the router. For example, earlier I tried to log into the settings, but couldn't. However, upon reset everything works fine. Difficultly logging into the settings tells me it's either the router or the network card, since those settings are before the modem. I'm inclined to think it's the router.

So as far as I can tell it could have been the network card (needing to be refreshed, though my roommates also have problems, so I doubt this is the primary issue), modem and router losing sync, or maybe it's the router that gets screwed up somehow over time (due to the difficulty I had logging into the settings)...or maybe even a combination of these problems. It's hard to troubleshoot exactly what it is. However, like I said the same thing would happen with the Belkin Pre-N when I had a different ISP, so I'm inclined to think the blame can be placed primarily on the router.

If it's the router, I want one that will work well with bittorrent and not have to be reset all the time. If it were the sync issue I thought maybe a wireless gateway would take care of that since it's all in one, but I read reviews where people were having problems with their Motorola gateways and bittorrent.

I've seen recommendations for the D-Link DIR-655. Is this the consensus? Please let me know. I'd like to finally resolve this problem.

One other thing is that I just installed CFOS on my machine just today. It seems like it helps some, but I still had the problem with having to reset the router. I also refreshed my network card's connection. That might have helped as well.

Thanks!

[fatspirit]

Have you tried any guides from this forum before blaming hardware?

[od1]

I can't replace the firmware like I mentioned, and will have to buy a new router anyway, so I'd like some user recommendations, thanks.

[Switeck]

At least you don't have an older Belkin router...they're far worse.

To keep things working as-is for now, try:

DISABLE: UPnP, NAT-PMP, LPD, DHT (both kinds!), and Resolve IPs (right-click in PEERS window on an active torrent).

Keep Peer Exchange enabled...though it only works with public torrents.

Reduce global and per-torrent max connections to 100 or lower.

net.max_halfopen and bt.connect_speed can be lowered to 4 each to reduce the rate at which uTorrent fills up the router's ip tables.

Also possibly disable Teredo (IPv6) and uTP connections.

Custom firmware for routers is a good idea now because most router manufacturers only add minimal features to their routers.

You need to find a router that has at least 16 MB ram and 8 MB flash storage to get the most out of custom firmwares. They can handle more connections at once too...

[Ultima]

WRT54GL?