What Router Companies DONT TELL YOU

[ilia_bro]

I recently I decided to upgrade my router from a crappy technicolor wifi router modem which was provided with my ISP to a modern Netgear R6200 modem/router. 

 

Taking it out of the box, I was really impressed with the design of the router itself, because it didn't look like a router at all because when you think of a router, you think of lots of antennas and cables sticking out. But the R6200 is very elegant and the logo lights up and the cables exit downwards from the router so it makes less mess and just looks neater.

 

Connecting to the internet and setting up the wifi was a breeze...

 

BUT.... as soon as I tried setting up a local cloud, the R6200 did not detect my WD 1TB HD. I was trying for around 20 minutes to get it to work when I finally gave up and decided to search the inter webs for an answer. Soon, I had discovered that my particular router DID NOT support my hard drive, and there was a list (of around 20 makes) that were supported!! 

 

I was COMPLETELY OUTRAGED since Netgear advertised this router as " Connect ANY external USB storage device to store data on a local network"

 

For a freaking router to cost $320, I expect it to have top specs (and it does, regarding speeds) but something SIMPLE as USB storage compatibility?!?!?!?! That is just RIDICULOUS. 

 

If there is ANYONE who can explain why such compatibility issues occur, please comment on this thread!!!!!

 

And I also wanted to WARN people to check with their external USB HD's, that they are COMPATIBLE with routers.

[LAwLz]

Wait, it's not supported? I don't really see why some external drives would be supported and some not supported. Have you tried formatting it to a different file system?
 
Also, if you bought an R6200 for 320 USD then you kind of got ripped off, because you can get it for 135 USD on Amazon.

[qwertywarrior]

$320 ????

[sabot]

Return it and go for the newer asus one!

[Vitalius]

I also would buy a NAS instead of buying router to attach hdd to works way better.

This. $320 for a router? Screw dat.

I built my own (or will):

[Ssoele]

Your old pc will draw more watts then a router and more watts then a nas so pointless...........

 

But it's lots and lots more fun to make ^.^

[Vitalius]

Your old pc will draw more watts then a router and more watts then a nas so pointless...........

Not if you go into the BIOS and underclock/disable cores.

Rolling with an AMD Phenom II X4 Black Edition underclocked to 2.1GHz with 2 cores disabled making it a dual core.

Uses, at most, 150watts when at full load. Which is perfect for NAS.

I could even disable 3 cores and go to 1.0-1.5GHz for pfSense and pull even less power for a router.

But it's lots and lots more fun to make ^.^

Yes. It is. And you have far more freedom and features to do stuff with.

Like pre-fetching. And stuff.

An example Logan gave is to have it download Youtube videos and such before you go to watch them so it's instant. :P

[rufee]

I see this from time to time, guys you buy a router to route not to make a NAS out of it. I mean you can't expect everything to work on it.

[LAwLz]

Not if you go into the BIOS and underclock/disable cores.

Rolling with an AMD Phenom II X4 Black Edition underclocked to 2.1GHz with 2 cores disabled making it a dual core.

Uses, at most, 150watts when at full load. Which is perfect for NAS.

I could even disable 3 cores and go to 1.0-1.5GHz for pfSense and pull even less power for a router. Yes. It is. And you have far more freedom and features to do stuff with.

Like pre-fetching. And stuff.

An example Logan gave is to have it download Youtube videos and such before you go to watch them so it's instant. :P

It will still use A LOT more power than a normal router. It will also be much louder and take up far more space. Oh, and it will be a lot more expensive.

I guess "it's fun" is a valid point though, and it will have some more features but most of them will be fairly useless. Other than that though, it's inferior to a normal consumer router in every single way.

[Vitalius]

It will still use A LOT more power than a normal router. It will also be much louder and take up far more space. Oh, and it will be a lot more expensive.

I guess "it's fun" is a valid point though, but that's about it.

While that's true, a router made from an old pc costs less than a new router (you can't be "free") with more features.

Not hard to choose when you already have an old computer that's collecting dust.

[FMQ203]

maybe is wrongly formatted, if you can, try all FAT, exFAT, FAT32, NTFS, try with an external key

[ilia_bro]

Wait, it's not supported? I don't really see why some external drives would be supported and some not supported. Have you tried formatting it to a different file system?

 

Also, if you bought an R6200 for 320 USD then you kind of got ripped off, because you can get it for 135 USD on Amazon.

 

I got it fro 320 New Zealand Dollars, which is still too expensice, but what can you do when you live on an island in the middle of no where

[Darren]

TP-Link told me my router was dual band, but those two bands can't run simultaneously.

[Marc030]

TP-Link told me my router was dual band, but those two bands can't run simultaneously.

Mine can :O?

[Ssoele]

TP-Link told me my router was dual band, but those two bands can't run simultaneously.

 

What do you mean? Like 1 system that uses the two bands at the same time? Or 2 systems using each 1 band?

[LAwLz]

What do you mean? Like 1 system that uses the two bands at the same time? Or 2 systems using each 1 band?

He means he can't have both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands active on the access point at the same time.

There are two types of dual band access points on the market.

 

Selectable dual band:

You can use either 2.4GHz or 5GHz, but not both at the same time.

All devices will be on the same network.

 

Simultaneous dual band:

It creates two networks. One on the 2.4GHz band and one on the 5GHz band.

Devices on the 2.4GHz band will be isolated from the devices on the 5GHz band.

 

As far as I know, host devices can't be connected to both the 2.4GHz and the 5Ghz bands at the same time (I don't see why it wouldn't be possible in theory, but I don't know of any device that does this), but the access points will use both bands at the same time (which is why you often see 300Mbps + 300Mbps on access points).

[gibbsy81]

I recently I decided to upgrade my router from a crappy technicolor wifi router modem which was provided with my ISP to a modern Netgear R6200 modem/router. 

 

Taking it out of the box, I was really impressed with the design of the router itself, because it didn't look like a router at all because when you think of a router, you think of lots of antennas and cables sticking out. But the R6200 is very elegant and the logo lights up and the cables exit downwards from the router so it makes less mess and just looks neater.

 

Connecting to the internet and setting up the wifi was a breeze...

 

BUT.... as soon as I tried setting up a local cloud, the R6200 did not detect my WD 1TB HD. I was trying for around 20 minutes to get it to work when I finally gave up and decided to search the inter webs for an answer. Soon, I had discovered that my particular router DID NOT support my hard drive, and there was a list (of around 20 makes) that were supported!! 

 

I was COMPLETELY OUTRAGED since Netgear advertised this router as " Connect ANY external USB storage device to store data on a local network"

 

For a freaking router to cost $320, I expect it to have top specs (and it does, regarding speeds) but something SIMPLE as USB storage compatibility?!?!?!?! That is just RIDICULOUS. 

 

If there is ANYONE who can explain why such compatibility issues occur, please comment on this thread!!!!!

 

And I also wanted to WARN people to check with their external USB HD's, that they are COMPATIBLE with routers.

Great sales tactics but just so you know the sharing capabilitys in most modems and routers are usualy crap.

Run gigabit cable everywhere and build a free nas box and get great transfer speeds.

[Gob]

It will still use A LOT more power than a normal router. It will also be much louder and take up far more space. Oh, and it will be a lot more expensive.

I guess "it's fun" is a valid point though, and it will have some more features but most of them will be fairly useless. Other than that though, it's inferior to a normal consumer router in every single way.

 

I made a pfsense router of an old dual core laptop. It does not pull that much power, it is whisper quiet (40% of the time the fan isn't even running), I built it for $30 (had to buy a nic), and it probably performs better than any other consumer router.

[LAwLz]

I made a pfsense router of an old dual core laptop. It does not pull that much power

It does compared to a real dedicated router.

 

 

it is whisper quiet (40% of the time the fan isn't even running)

That's still the fan running 60% of the time, but with a dedicated (consumer grade) router you got a fan running 0% of the time.

 

 

I built it for $30 (had to buy a nic), and it probably performs better than any other consumer router.

Well you paid 30 dollars, and you could also argue that you could have sold the laptop and made maybe 100 dollars or so. So for the same price as your laptop router, you could have gotten a 802.11AC router from Gigabyte (the same as OP). Oh and yes, a fairly high end dedicated router will most likely perform better than some laptop which has to do switching in software, while the router will have dedicated hardware for hardware accelerated switching. I doubt that it would make much of a difference in most situations though.

[Vitalius]

Well you paid 30 dollars, and you could also argue that you could have sold the laptop and made maybe 100 dollars or so. So for the same price as your laptop router, you could have gotten a 802.11AC router from Gigabyte (the same as OP). Oh and yes, a fairly high end dedicated router will most likely perform better than some laptop which has to do switching in software, while the router will have dedicated hardware for hardware accelerated switching. I doubt that it would make much of a difference in most situations though.

The last sentence is the important bit. Yes, it will perform slightly worse than a dedicated router (though the laptop is dedicated) in certain situations.

However, the functionality is phenomenal compared to just about any router. Worth the trade off of slightly lower performance gains in certain, usually rare, situations and a little more power usage.

[Gob]

It does compared to a real dedicated router.

 

 

That's still the fan running 60% of the time, but with a dedicated (consumer grade) router you got a fan running 0% of the time.

 

 

Well you paid 30 dollars, and you could also argue that you could have sold the laptop and made maybe 100 dollars or so. So for the same price as your laptop router, you could have gotten a 802.11AC router from Gigabyte (the same as OP). Oh and yes, a fairly high end dedicated router will most likely perform better than some laptop which has to do switching in software, while the router will have dedicated hardware for hardware accelerated switching. I doubt that it would make much of a difference in most situations though.

 

20 watts more power? That might cost me $5 a year (and that is being generous).

 

The point is, its a laptop with the fan 20%, and I can't hear it WHEN it is running, and it doesn't even run a large fraction of the time.

 

I had to replace the TIM on the laptop cpu, because it was so old and overheating (and Acer was a crappy vendor at the time). It was not designed to completely taken apart, so the laptop could not be put back together. It was not going to get sold to anyone, and there was no way that I could get $100 for it anyway.

 

You contradicted yourself a little bit here. " Oh and yes, a fairly high end dedicated router will most likely perform better than some laptop which has to do switching in software, while the router will have dedicated hardware for hardware accelerated switching. I doubt that it would make much of a difference in most situations though."

 

Well I can't say I know much about router hardware, but I can tell you this blows my old Buffalo wireless N router running DD-WRT out of the water. It was not top of the line, but it probably cost 70$.

[LAwLz]

20 watts more power? That might cost me $5 a year (and that is being generous).

And that is still a fairly big amount compared to a dedicated consumer router. Your point is? I was just listing some of the drawbacks and you are currently just confirming that the drawbacks I listed are true.

 

 

The point is, its a laptop with the fan 20%, and I can't hear it WHEN it is running, and it doesn't even run a large fraction of the time.

In your certain scenario the extra sound might be very small, but that's not true for all scenarios. Also, it does sound more than no fan at all (as in a consumer grade router).

 

 

I had to replace the TIM on the laptop cpu, because it was so old and overheating (and Acer was a crappy vendor at the time). It was not designed to completely taken apart, so the laptop could not be put back together. It was not going to get sold to anyone, and there was no way that I could get $100 for it anyway.

OK again, in your specific scenario you might not have spent/lost that much money by turning it into a router, but that's usually not the case.

 

 

You contradicted yourself a little bit here. " Oh and yes, a fairly high end dedicated router will most likely perform better than some laptop which has to do switching in software, while the router will have dedicated hardware for hardware accelerated switching. I doubt that it would make much of a difference in most situations though."

When did I contradict myself? You said that it will perform better than any consumer grade router which is simply not true. Chances are that it performs worse than a lot of them. I then went on to say that even if it performs worse, it wouldn't really matter. I didn't contradict myself, I first told you that you were wrong and I then told you that it doesn't really matter anyway.

 

 

Well I can't say I know much about router hardware, but I can tell you this blows my old Buffalo wireless N router running DD-WRT out of the water. It was not top of the line, but it probably cost 70$.

That sounds a bit strange. Do you mean wireless or wired performance and what router did you use to have? Oh and are you sure other variables haven't changed either? In what way does it blow it out of the water?

 

 

However, the functionality is phenomenal compared to just about any router. Worth the trade off of slightly lower performance gains in certain, usually rare, situations and a little more power usage.

What kind of functionality?

[Vitalius]

What kind of functionality?

It can pre-fetch/pre-download sites you visit regularly. Like an SSD with Fancy Cache or wtv for your HDD, but for the internet.

It provides a robust Firewall that's leagues above most, if not all, other "routers" (since it's technically not a router, but a PC).

You can put in a high-grade Intel NIC. I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet most routers use Realtek NIC's and those suck.

Better user interface, as compared to "some" routers I've encountered (Linksys, my ISP's, etc)

Better traffic management (prioritizing streaming over torrenting, for example).

I think that covers all the basics.

[Gob]

And that is still a fairly big amount compared to a dedicated consumer router. Your point is? I was just listing some of the drawbacks and you are currently just confirming that the drawbacks I listed are true.

 

 

In your certain scenario the extra sound might be very small, but that's not true for all scenarios. Also, it does sound more than no fan at all (as in a consumer grade router).

 

 

OK again, in your specific scenario you might not have spent/lost that much money by turning it into a router, but that's usually not the case.

 

 

When did I contradict myself? You said that it will perform better than any consumer grade router which is simply not true. Chances are that it performs worse than a lot of them. I then went on to say that even if it performs worse, it wouldn't really matter. I didn't contradict myself, I first told you that you were wrong and I then told you that it doesn't really matter anyway.

 

 

That sounds a bit strange. Do you mean wireless or wired performance and what router did you use to have? Oh and are you sure other variables haven't changed either? In what way does it blow it out of the water?

 

 

What kind of functionality?

 

My point is that the power consumption drawback is not worth spending 100$ on a router.

 

I am aware that this is not true in all scenarios, I am not talking about all scenarios.

 

You contradicted yourself because you said that a dedicated router will likely outperform a pfsense , and then you said it wouldn't make a difference in most cases. It is only going to "likely" out perform the router if I am doing a lot routing that benefits from the router specific hardware, if that case is rare, I, as a user, am going to see no performance difference.

 

Both wired and wireless. The router's memory buffer is tiny compared to my pfsense box (50MB vs 1GB), and it would get bogged down while torrenting, trying to maintain connection state for many connections. So that dedicated switching hardware was not very useful when the bottleneck was memory.

 

As for the functionality, the user above posted a few, but options are endless really. I especially like ssh support!

[Vitalius]

I especially like ssh support!

That too. Being able to manage/monitor your network from anywhere? Awesome.