These charts summarize the upload and download speeds of the routers we've tested. Did you find any surprises?

Yes I did! This would explain my problems with my first SMC router... and why the WRT54GS it got replaced with has taken the same and heavier loads and not given me a single problem...

I have a question though, what would get a router to qualify for QoS? I ask because the WRT54GS offers QoS tools and options for bandwidth management, but it is not listed as having them in the chart.

Since the Linksys WRT54G is exactly the same router just without speedbooster, I'd assume it would also have the same QoS options?

True, I have a 54G v5.0 (which I bought for a really good price, otherwise would have gotten one of the older Linux-based versions). It has QoS on it that worked rather well. I am now using it as just a WAP and switch, with an old computer running IPCop for my router. But the features are there, since the latest firmware at least. I wonder if they are on any of the other routers, just unadvertized.

I own the Linksys WRT54GS V3.0 and too very surprised about the throughput. Right now the router is sitting on a shelf and using an old PIII PC running IPCop with 4 NICs. Running like a champ. I picked up Kill-A-Watt to find out how much this old Dell OptiPlex GX150 uses and according to the meter it uses 31 watts which isn't bad at all. As for wireless access I am using the WAP54G connected to blue network.

So I'm happy with the PC setup for a router.

I noticed alot of ISPs are on a race to increase speed so it'll be matter of time when the current routers can no longer support the higher speeds.

Darkk

Thanks for the info on the QoS features in the Linksys routers. It had been awhile since I tested those routers, which didn't have the QoS features at the time. I've updated the chart.

One of the niftiest routers out there is the Yamaha RT57i, voip, sip, nat, goats, everything and a serial console. Oh, wirespeed PPPoE, and pptp too.

If you have more money, then the Yamaha RTX1100 is the way to go, it adds vlans, QoS, hardware accelerated VPNs, even more goats and SNMP.

Unfortunately for most of the readership here, they aren't marketed outside the country, probably because you have no ISDN ^^;

RT57i
RTX1100

If you ever do get one for testing (I would find it interesting to see how they compare), then the magic command you need is "console character ascii".

I had a big surprise - although, looking back it makes some sense.

I had a 3COM 3c510 router from way back,... '00~'01... its internals are similar to the old SMC barricade. Whenever I used it to connect to either a DSL modem or cable modem, I always felt a bit disappointed in not seeing a serious throughput improvement later on in years. I assumed that since its WAN port was 10Mbit, I should see a difference in modem speed increases. But I had not. The latency never decreased significantly enough.

I even tried a Linksys BEFSX41 for awhile, but didn't see an improvement over my older 3COM - the Linksys also loved to cut my sessions short randomly. I switched back.

The 3COM recently died (aka a month ago), so I decided to splurge as I had back then on the 3COM, on the D-Link DGL-4300......

wow.

Now looking at that chart I am surprised to see the Linksys was supposed to be a better performing unit.

Thank you for that chart - I like to refer friends, etc., to examine the performace charts here for their buying decisions. This will help greatly as have the others.

Glad to help. We are one of the few (perhaps the only) places that published throughput data on these products. Router speed didn't used to matter much in the buying decision, but higher throughput (at least for download) Internet connections are becoming more common.

Wait until we start to publish UDP (streaming) data. Many more surprises there!

I just got the Belkin Pre-N router from Costco. How do you think that will rate compared to this lineup? Any ideas?? (I have the DI-604 right now)

BTW, awesome job on the lineup!! I've always wondered how different routers compared to one another and I've never seen it anywhere else like this, so this is some cool info!

Thanks!

Good question. I have the router here so will try to get it added soon.

Awesome! Thanks!!

I have RCN cable connection 10Mb down and 700Kb up.
I feel a major boost when I upgrade from my old netgear router to 3com router.
Guess my 3com router is good enough for now.

I have a D-Link DGL-4300 and a 10 megabit (both directions) fiber pipe. The D-Link DGL-4300 maxes out at about 1.8 megabits/sec up the WAN. I had hoped, based on the THG review and other postings, that it would do better than this. Why did they bother putting a 10/100 port on the WAN since it can't even come close to filling the 10?

My test is to run eMule. This machine fills the upstream pipe (a megabyte a second, sweet!) if I put it straight into the fiber box. I tried the 1.6 firmware. I tried putting the machine in the DMZ. I've contacted D-Link tech support to see if they have any ideas. The only good news is so far at least the router doesn't crash or lock up like the SMC Barricade did. Note also that the gigabit LAN does not support jumbo frames.

If anyone has any other ideas I'm game.

I'm confused about your test setup

So you're saying that if you connect a computer running emule directly into your fiber modem, you get around 8Mbps upstream?

The DGL-4300 has built-in QoS to manage upstream bandwidth (GAMEFUEL) that could definitely affect you. Make sure GAMEFUEL is DISABLED.

The fiber box has a single static IP with a single port (I think 100Mbit since they offer 20 and 100Mbit service, and say ask for quote for gigabit service). If I use no NAT router at all, just computer straight to fiber box, eMule reports Upload of 1000 KBytes/sec. The correct number when I insert the DGL-4300 in between the computer and the fiber port is: 200 KBytes/sec. I always figure you'll lose 10% to overhead of some kind.

When you upgrade the firmware, the DGL-4300 forgets all the old settings. In its initial dumb settings, most stuff is turned off, including GameFuel. I will double check though.

The comparison chart is a great idea! As far as sucking up all the upstream possible, I suggest that eMule is a very good real world test. Does eMule strain the UDP or the TCP though?