Cisco-Linksys E3000 High-Performance Wireless-N Router

Perfect router for home user

Okay my 6 year old WRT54G finally died this week. I was sad to see it go so after looking at all the various manufacturers routers I found myself going to LinkSys (i.e. Cisco) once again. Getting a dual band wireless-N 4-port wired and USB external storage router for $149?? I can't really complain about that (especially since the previous version of this router was $199 and plagued with a lot of issues). Happily Cisco/Linksys has fixed these (well so far it seems that way)



PROS:



Overall I am very pleased with this router. I have a fairly extensive home network system (3 desktops and 2 laptops [using a mix of 32-bit WinXP and 64-bit Win 7 Ultimate] a wireless TiVo Premier (the new Series 4 HD one) a wireless LG BD590 blu-ray player and my wife and I each have a iPhone 3GS). This router handles all this beautifully. All my streaming downloading etc is flawless and all my devices talk to the router and each other without any connectivity drops etc.



BASIC set-up of the router was very easy (for all my devices) and ANY average user should not have any trouble getting everything connected and talking to the router and each other. For the average user having a basic/average network at home this is the router for you! A more advanced user (like myself) may find some areas/features a little lacking





CONS:



The biggest issues I have with this router:



1) we still get the same old web interface that LinkSys has had for years and years. while it is a VERY effective interface for accessing the router I was hoping for something a little less cumbersome and more quick to respond to changes etc (this is where the competition is excelling!). And any more than basic router changes you make will generally eliminate you being able to use the "Cisco Connect" program (this is a basic average user software interface for making very basic router changes). Even merely changing the SSID and password that is created when you install the router will negate Cisco Connect. For me not a big deal since I an a fairly advanced user and know what advanced changes I want to make and don't care about Cisco Connect anyway. But for the basic/average user this might cause some trouble for them.



2) the unit is poorly designed when it comes to heat dissipation. The router has no "feet" to raise it off the surface it sits on and it does get hot. I eliminated this issue by going to Home Depot and buying four rubber bottle stoppers (think black rubber wine bottle corks). They are down the nuts and bolts aisle and cost $1.29 each. They are about 3/4" tall and I use them as "feet" and keep the router stable. They raise my router just high enough to allow heat dissipation under the unit to keep it as cool as my old WRT54G - just warm now definitely not hot. Try this well worth the $5 or so.



3) Not really an issue but a little annoying: it is flat but wide so it takes up a lot of "real estate". I have a very large L-shaped hutch/desk/cabinet combo so I have plenty of room to spare - just wanted to mention to you - could be a problem for some. This wide flat design does lend itself to collect dust - never a good thing for an always on electronic device.



4)the FTP is slow. Even after exhaustive settings changes testing the changes and doing more changes has so far not really improved this. If anyone has figured this out let me know!



I have NOT used the media server portion of the router. Don't really need to because of my TiVo and blu-ray player --they have their own media servers that perform wonderfully so just no need to enable and set-up the E3000's media server. Nor do I have a PS3 or XBox so I can't comment on those uses either. I have read both pros and cons at other sites for PS3/XBox use - check those out for more information.



Hope this helps! Enjoy the router if you get one. well worth your money.More detail ...