Router Suggestions
 

So I've got a shitty old DIR-605 that i'm still using for some reason at home, which is in bad need of being replaced. It drops its wireless signal every two days and even the hardline signal is starting to drop occasionally. So... I need a new one.

My requirements:

Strong wireless - My house is half brick and for some reason my current router has issues trying to push the signal through that portion of the house. I'd also like to be able to use my wireless in the backyard and driveway for when I'm doing DIY yard work and car repairs (my repair manuals are all stored on my server)

HD streaming - I have hundreds of gb's of video data stored on my server for editing videos and one of my programs constantly streams those videos while I edit. It would be nice to be able to have that going and, at the same time, be able to do other stuff on the network. The 605 sucks for this... as soon as I start streaming from the server and upload something to it at the same time, everything grounds to a halt. The server is fast enough to handle it... there's just a bottleneck at the router's end.

Dual band - just because.

Other features would be nice, but those are what I need. I've taken a look at some of the Buffalo routers from NCIX, as well as the standard Linksys, Cisco and D-Link units, but I'm uncertain as to what is good anymore. Any suggestions would be great. Price really isn't an issue, unless you start suggesting >$200 units... lol

These two are the highest rated on Newegg:

Newegg.ca - NETGEAR WNDR3700-100NAS Wireless Gigabit Open Source Router/ USB port Rangemax 2.4/5GHz Simultaneous N600 Dual Band IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.3/3u/3ab

Newegg.ca - ASUS RT-N56U Wireless Router Dual Band N600 Multimedia Ultra Slim Gigabit 802.11a/b/g/n support USB Storage, Print and Media Server (top performance review at smallnetbuilder.com)

Whatever router you choose, check that it supports DD-WRT. ASUS are really solid hardware but every firmware of theirs I've seen sucks bobo. First thing I do with any ASUS router is flash it to DD-WRT.

Linksys E3000 series for me. Streams HD 1080p across my network no problem to a multitude of devices. Runs like a beast.

I was able to pick up a Asus RT-N56U for about $65 b/c of a price error. Great router. Using with this custom firmware:

rt-n56u - ASUS RT-N56U custom firmware - Google Project Hosting

No problems at all with multiple devices connected, streaming netflix, and downloading.

The Asus N66u is an awesome router. I believe it has tomato firmware support as well. It's currently near the top of smallnetbuilders wireless charts. I'm using a refurbed e4200 v1 with tomato which is also supposed to be pretty good however if the N66u ever drops in price I'm upgrading.

Linksys E4200. Wireless signal on that thing is awesome.

Linksys EA3500 or 4200V2.. good reviews from Smallnetbuilders