Comparing my Dir-655 with my new WNDR3700

[techchick]

Hi,

I've been using a Dir-655 for the past 3 years with ok results.
I have this tendency to treat myself to new stuff once in a while so after replacing my iPhone 3GS with an iPhone 4 - I decided to replace my trusty router...

I considered two options: the WNDR3700 and the Apple Airport Extreme.

Reading all the chatter about how amazing the WNDR3700 - I decided to give it a shot.
5Ghz sounded great to me, everybody was talking about the WNDR3700 trouncing every other router with it's amazing range etc...

Well... so far I can't say I'm disappointed - but I'm not impressed.
As far as the usage of this router at my place - I am using: a 6 months old macbook pro, a Samsung netbook, a Dell PC, an iPad and an iPhone 4.

My house has two stories and I've always had pretty good coverage with the Dir-655.

So anyway - I hooked up the WNDR3700 and so far here is my impression:
Range: seems to me (not scientific) that the Dir-655 is (was) a tad better.
Speed: I'd say it's a wash
5Ghz: ok, nice but the signal is shaky in the second floor on my MBP and unusable on my iPad in the second floor - so not sure if this is such a big deal.
Interface: one feature i'm missing is the possiblity to see the signal level of the connected wireless clients to the router which the Dir-655 offers. For the rest - similar.

So, my conclusion (so far) is that the WNDR3700 isn't really an upgrade.

Anyone care to comment ? am I missing anything here?

 

[thiggins]

The WNDR3700 is an upgrade only in that it offers 5 GHz and the 655 doesn't.

The 5 GHz band on all N routers has reduced range vs. 2.4 GHz.

Range on current generation N routers is more alike than different. My throughput tests do show differences, but it's questionable if you can see the difference in real world use.

 

[icerabbit]

Thanks for sharing.

( I have the first rev DIR-655 and am researching a network upgrade for our bigger house )

 

[tipstir]

Thanks for sharing.

( I have the first rev DIR-655 and am researching a network upgrade for our bigger house )

If you do this to that DIR-655 you can have something pretty good.

More here

 

[occamsrazor]

One thing (slightly unrelated but thought I'd mention it given your Mac setup) is that as per this thread Apple wireless clients can't connect to 2.4Ghz access points using 40Mhz channels, if you want 40Mhz channels you need to use 5Ghz. You said you're using 5Ghz so you should be OK, but just thought I'd point this out. That said, I'd still be interested for someone to really confirm this point.

If you have time could you set your WNDR3700 to 2.4Ghz with 40Mhz channels, and try to connect with both your Macbook Pro and a PC computer, and see if there is a difference, specifically if the MacBook Pro will connect at 300Mbps (hold down the option key and click on your Airport icon in the menu bar, it'll show you all the connection details). Thanks... I'm also looking for the fastest router/access point to be used in conjunction with a MacBook Pro.

 

[rkuo]

The WNDR3700 is an upgrade only in that it offers 5 GHz and the 655 doesn't.

The 5 GHz band on all N routers has reduced range vs. 2.4 GHz.

Range on current generation N routers is more alike than different. My throughput tests do show differences, but it's questionable if you can see the difference in real world use.

Tim, I'm really confused as to how your tests show 400 mbps of WAN to LAN throughput on the WNDR3700. I am using this in the real world and I cannot get it to exceed 26 mbps, which is far slower than the 40mbps peak I was seeing from my DGL-4500.

I purchased this router based on the reviews here and across the web, but this isn't even remotely close. Something is wrong here, and I'm not sure what.

 

[thiggins]

Tim, I'm really confused as to how your tests show 400 mbps of WAN to LAN throughput on the WNDR3700. I am using this in the real world and I cannot get it to exceed 26 mbps, which is far slower than the 40mbps peak I was seeing from my DGL-4500.

Routing throughput is tested on a private network (no Internet involved) and using Ethernet ports only.

Wireless performance is tested on the LAN side of the router, so the performance of the routing portion of a wireless router isn't involved.