Router for rural line

[#1]

Hi SarcasticGuy1,
Yes, I bought a total of 3 of them; I found that their firmware did not permit the use of DMT-tweaking, and without that tweaking they performed only averagely on my line. I downgraded one of them to firmware 6.1.4.3 which does permit DMT-tweaking, and I then found it a good performer when the SNRM was tweaked to a lower value; it was among the top 5 routers in terms of speed and medium/low error rates, but the wi-fi strength wasn't as good as some. I liked it tho, and kept it for several months. HOWEVER....the other 2 turned out to be Ex-AOL ones and I could not change their firmware at all, so do not rate them highly at all.
If you need to use a lower SNRM than you can normally obtain, then the 2700HGV is unsuitable; the tweakable ST585V6 is fine, but I'd rate the DG834 V4 (or GT)  better - I don't rate the V5 highly because of no-SNRM tweaking, and for poor review from others. The Billion 5200/7300 are my top choices tho.
DG834 V4 are still advertised for sale - see this  http://www.ebuyer.com/product/119374 - tho I'd phone first to ensure what you buy is the V4.......if it is, then it looks a good deal 'cos you get a £20+ adapter thrown in as well!
Good hunting!

[#2]

@ SarcasticGuy1  I've recently been comparing the merits of the 2700HGV and ST585v6 on my 52dB line. The 2700 will sync at 5200 or more (IP Profile 4500), but every one to four days it will lose sync, usually in the small hours. Often it will re-sync below 4544, resulting in a profile of 3500.
The 585 syncs at around 4832 (profile 4000), and sticks there like the proverbial limpet for weeks.
Other considerations are that it's easy to change the MTU and DNS settings on the 2700; it's apparently possible on the 585 using CLI via Telnet - I've not attempted it yet.
RouterStats works with the 585, but only RouterStats Lite with the 2700. With both routers one can drop and re-establish the PPP session; with the 2700 one can also re-establish the broadband link and re-boot without de-powering.
If you want UPnP, the 2700 doesn't have it, but its firewall is more configurable. I've not used wireless, so can't comment on that.
So there we are - just my observations - I still don't know which I'll stick with in the long run. 

[#3]

Oh rubbish, I bought a Speedtouch 585v6 off eBay recently, but I think it's an AOL one.
Really need to try to find one of those DG834 V4s. Is there a difference in performance between the DG834 and the DG834G?
The DG834G on eBuyer looks OK if it is a V4, but I don't want the WiFi thing. I use WiFi on my laptop and phone, but other than that I dislike it, largely due to the speed or lack there-of.
Is there a better ADSL modem/router that doesn't have a 4-port Ethernet switch? I'm considering a 1000Mbps switch so any ports on the router wouldn't be needed/used.
Sorry, don't mean or want to hijack this thread, but it seems like you're the man to ask about routers.

[#4]

@SarcasticGuy:
Unless you're a whizz-kid with JTAG cables and electronics, my advice is to let the ex-AOL one go back on Ebay
There's a question re DG834 and DG834G tho; there really ought not to be any difference in basic performance, BUT, I have found a marginal difference with another make when using wireless/non-wireless versions of the same router - quite marginal tho - maybe 5%. In fact, I'm just awaiting a DG834 V4 non-wireless to arrive (off Ebay) then I'll reflash it with DGTeam firmware and compare its performance with the DG834G V4, and will pop the results on the Forum. If you do buy the V4 kit you referred to, and don't want the wi-fi adapter, I'll offer a tenner for it.
One of my top-performers (in sync rate terms) is the Billion 5200S which is a single-port ADSL2+ non-wireless model, and which I prefer over the DG834's when my SNRM is 12 or above, maybe even when 9 or above....I can't think of any others to recommend that have just 1 port.
Jack

[#5]

Quote from: SarcasticGuy1

Really need to try to find one of those DG834 V4s. Is there a difference in performance between the DG834 and the DG834G?

They are essentially the same, except the G has wireless.
Or, for certainty, get a DG834GT. There is only one version of these so it's guaranteed to be a Broadcom chipset.
The ex-Sky ones are very cheap and easily (though not quite 100% reliably) reflashed, e.g. to DGTeam.
And you can just turn the Wireless off, even unscrew the aerial too.

[#6]

Thanks very much for the replies. I shall look out for the DG834GT if there are no specific versions to look out for. Can I ask what the difference is between the DG834G and the DG834GT?
The Billion 5200S seems like a nice idea, but I was hoping to get a lower SNR for speed reason (assuming my connection will be stable).
Should've known it wouldn't be that simple to get a decent Speedtouch 585v6!
All the 2700HGV I look at seem to be BT as well, I presume they're locked too and should be avoided?

[#7]

The DG834GT wireless performance is greater than the DG834G V4, but in all other respects it performs much the same - I get no sync advantage using one or the other. The GT is, inexplicably to me, cheaper on Ebay than DG834G V4, though whichever you get, you need to reflash with DGTeam firmware to get the best performance.
The Billion has the advantage that whatever your target SNRM is (6, 9, 12 or 15), it forces the at-boot SNRM to 6, so you get the fastest sync your line will permit. If your target SNRM is 6 anyway, then the Billion doesn't prove any significant advantage.
The BT (2Wire) 2700HGV is a lovely thing; If my target SNRM was 6, I would choose it over any other......the 'locking' is easy to overcome.....but my target SNRM is always higher than 6, and because the HGV can't be SNRM-tweaked, it would give me a lower sync than the Billion (or Netgear).

[#8]

Update: Comparing DG834G V4 with non-wireless DG834 V4
I got a used DG834 V4 a couple of days ago, reflashed it with DGTeam firmware v5.01.12 Rev 0849 "o", and compared its speed/error-rate performance with a DG834G V4 with the same firmware.  The DG834G is the wireless version of the DG834, and is equipped with extra hardware to provide the wireless. The firmware for the 2 of them is the same.
On initial startup, the DG834 gave many more CRC/ES errors than the DG834G - hundreds per minute, rather than the usual 1 or 2. The sync rate and SNRM were similar with  both. I abandoned the test.
A day later, having cleaned all connectors,, I repeated the test; this time the DG834 performed almost identically to the DG834G.....sync and SNRM matched.....if any difference existed (and it is so marginal), then the DG834 maybe had the edge - its error rates were slightly lower than usual - 0.8 CRC errors/min, and 0.7 ES/min rather than 0.9 and 0.8 on the DG834G - but that could easily be explained by normal day-day variation in ADSL performance.
In conclusion, as expected, no performance difference between the two.