Informal tests of Buffalo G54S and Buffalo HP G54

R

raul

Adept
Hi Guys, just wanted to drop a note regarding these 2 highly regarded routers. I had originally wanted HP G54 but due to unavailability had to settle for G54S, its younger sibling so to speak - had to pay 2.6k for it in Pune though, available for 2.2k everywhere else.

I was concerned whether it would give the range I needed in my setup. I have 2 2 bedroom flats adjoining, and the PC is my bedroom in one flat on one end and I needed wifi in the living room in the other flat, that's and L shape basically with my bedroom at one end and the living room at the other end of the L about 50-60 feet I think and lots of walls. All research suggested HP G54 is what I needed and I was pleasantly surprised to see G54S working quite well. The signal varies between 1 and 2, and very usable all over the other flat.

So I got the Buffalo HP G54 recently temporarily to see if I would get a better signal and I can report the signal quality and throughput is the same, surprisingly. I was expecting maybe 3 on the signal range. I tried throughout the other house and the signal quality was more or less the same.

For those considering a router and Buffalo is really superior going for the G54S which is 2.2 k as opposed to the HPG54 at 3.6k might be a better idea, at last for home use. Maybe in an office setting with long corridors HP G54 might be better because it has an amplifier inbuilt and a more powerful antenna, but for home use G54S appears to be good. Of course keep i mind these are very informal tests. But G54S comes off as a decent router, rock solid and good range.

You can see the layout of my flat and a thread about this here:
http://www.techenclave.com/forums/will-wifi-work-2-flats-same-101629.html
 
Hi Raul,

I finally bought a Compaq B1214 TU notebook. http://www.techenclave.com/forums/advice-on-budget-13-1-laptop-103826-post737116.html#post730585

Thanks for your inputs. I intend to buy a wireless router for home use. Its a 2BHK flat.
Setup is as follows :

1. Broadband connection outlet in the drawing room .
Reception through Airtel - 512kbps ADSL modem.

2. I have a desktop connected to the modem here.

3. I suppose I will have to keep the router here and beam wireless throughout the
house.

Will G54S suffice... please advice. Also would like to state that we have concrete walls instead of the brick ones.

Thanks,
sameer
 
Yup, it will. I am getting coverage from the G54S across 2 flats without any problems at all. And its rock solid. A good router indeed. And better get it from Bombay because the Pune distri is always looking to get more money for it. In Bbay its widely available for 2.1k, here he charged me 2.6k. You can try him though, that was 2 months ago.

Hey, congrats on your laptop purchase.
 
raul said:
Yup, it will. I am getting coverage from the G54S across 2 flats without any problems at all. And its rock solid. A good router indeed. And better get it from Bombay because the Pune distri is always looking to get more money for it. In Bbay its widely available for 2.1k, here he charged me 2.6k. You can try him though, that was 2 months ago.

Hey, congrats on your laptop purchase.
Click to expand...

Thanks buddy. I called up the distributor. He quoted 2.4k and that includes installation by his personnel at the premises. What do you feel ? - as such going to Bombay and then to Lammy --:no:

btw the compaq seems to be good. Wife liked it ;)
 
hmm If you want more range, you could buy a high gain antenna and replace the stock one. You would get a much better range.
I think the stock antenna is 2db, the whr-hp-g54 (the one funky has) I think his version is the high gain antenna 4db.
You can easily replace it with a 9-10bd one. 3rd party firmware + antenna ;)
Then a single router maybe enough for both the houses.
 
nice post there raul..

it would definitely prove useful for some potential buyers..

and as sandy rightly said, G54S plus a high gain antenna should do very well...although i have not come across cheap 9-10 dbi antennae in India..any idea where one can find some sandy??

i ended up buying 2 rosewill 8Dbi antennae from newegg..definitely a big improvement..

lookin back in hindsight I should have done the same thing...should have tried the G54S before buying the HP-G54...whatever it is, both are great routers.. :)
 
Hi, high gain antennas would definitely make a big difference because stock on the G54S is only 2dbi and on the HP model is 4dbi. But in my informal tests with the HP version I really didn't see the difference, maybe in a different setting it will show its true colours and everyone online vouches for its quality.

If you go to freeantennas.com here:

Ez-12

you can get some simple and easy DIY designs for 8-12dbi parabolic antennas that everyone says works wonders but unfortunately I couldn't get much benefit. Maybe I didn't do it right, some of you should try this and see if it works. All it requires is a cardboard and some foil. Getting some 7dbi plus antennas will definitely increase range significantly, perhaps Guptaji will post a comparison between the Rosewill 7dbi antennas he's got and the stock one

I haven't tried the tomato firmware yet, maybe I will in some time. However the stock firmware is working quite well for me. Its stable and rock solid. Tomato helps if you want to do traffic shaping/QOS and stuff which I don't at the moment and also if you want to increase the power levels. FCC rules mandate the power at which you can broadcast but with opensource firmware you can bypass these to amplify range and signal quality though overdoing it might reduce signal quality and increase noise, the router will also run much hotter.

Check out this interesting post on some comparisons of different firmwares on the buffalo router:

DD-WRT Forum :: View topic - WHR-HP-G54 Transmitter power measurements
 
Hi Raul,

Got the G54S for 2400. Had it delivered to the house.
Installation was a breeze - Used AOSS. I have the desktop connected to the router through ethernet cable and using the laptop all over the flat. Signal strength is 3 in a bedroom and 1 in the other bedroom. !!
 
I have two WHR-G54S routers and one WHR-HP-G54.

Personally, I cannot tell the difference, all work mighty fine though.

I'm using DD-WRT v23 SP1 on all of them, works like a charm.
 
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