Carrying on the Linux heritage for enthusiasts is the WRT54GL, a device with essentially the same Linux kernel, 200MHz processor, 4MB Flash, and 16MB RAM as the old WRT54G v4. Since the majority of aftermarket firmware won't work on the WRT54G v5's crippled hardware, the WRT54GL is now your only Linksys option for third-party-compatible fun if you can't score an older model. It's the same story with the neutered WRT54GS v5, Linksys's SpeedBooster–equipped line that flaunts enhanced Wireless-G speeds. This ExtremeTech's guide will show you how to use these firmware utilities to optimize your wireless internet performance for gaming, VOIP, security, or increased signal strength:

Say you're sharing a DSL or cable connection over a WRT54GL with bandwidth-hogging BitTorrenters and need low pings for World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2. You can customize traffic prioritization by assigning different bandwidth classes to selected services, netmasks, MACs, or Ethernet ports. The four classes are broken down into premium, express, standard, and bulk. Premium, the highest priority class where you want minimum delay, should be assigned very selectively. It'll include top-priority traffic like ICMP, DNS, handshaking, maybe VoIP. Other interactive stuff that doesn't quite fit into premium, such as browsing and SSH, fits under express. Standard includes everything else. Down at the bottom there's the bulk classification for P2P, BitTorrent, FTP, and other applications for which latency isn't a vital consideration.