DLINK 890L triband at $180. Good deal?

[Shashank tripathi]

Hi,
Was looking for modern dual band / triband router which would be comparatively future proof. Shortlisted Asus AC87u / 88u / 3200 / DLINK 890 L / Netgear X6. In india not all great routers recommended in SNB are available so have limited choice. DLINK 390L was not the top of the pack but at $180 seems like a steal give ac 87u is almost $230, 3200 is $275 & 88u is $370 in India. Netgear x4s recom here is $260 but cant really use the 160mhz so on low priority. Primary use is steaming from net and my media (HDD) collection (including 4K sometimes). currently have 6 active devices at home but planning the purchase for atleast 10.

 

[avtella]

The Asus AC88U has better UI, 4 extra ports, link aggregation (if you have a NAS or switch), better 2.4Ghz performance/range, but in terms of 5Ghz performance/range the R7800 is much better; it also has a more mature MU-MIMO implementation, plus it has a significantly more powerful CPU which may be useful for things like OpenVPN and any other CPU intensive add on functions you may use via third party firmwares like LEDE/OpenWRT.

The AC87U is let down by the Quantenna chipset for 5Ghz band which had major issues, I dont know if its resolved. I don't think the X6 or the 890L are useful unless you really need two 5Ghz bands, they are basically like a R7000 but with an extra 5Ghz band.

Of the listed the AC88U or R7800 are probably the best options.

I would consider the AC68U and R7000 as well as they should be cheaper than the ones you listed.

EDIT: I just saw you said you saw the D-Link for $180, in that case its pretty decent you could get that.

 

[pete y testing]

EDIT: I just saw you said you saw the D-Link for $180, in that case its pretty decent you could get that.

the issue with the dlink is lack of features and support , the 890L hardware wise is pretty good

the dir however is only 1300M on its 5 gig so really can only be compared to other 1300M routers

I would consider the AC68U and R7000

like these suggested

price is not the only consideration , you have to look at the feature set and ability level of each

 

[Shashank tripathi]

Thanks for the reply

i was also considering AC 88u but its too damn pricey. R7800 is relatively cheap but still pricey. never used netgear hence apprehensive. BTW AC68u and R700 are pricier/ similar price than 890L in India.

The Asus AC88U has better UI, 4 extra ports, link aggregation (if you have a NAS or switch), better 2.4Ghz performance/range, but in terms of 5Ghz performance/range the R7800 is much better; it also has a more mature MU-MIMO implementation, plus it has a significantly more powerful CPU which may be useful for things like OpenVPN and any other CPU intensive add on functions you may use via third party firmwares like LEDE/OpenWRT.

The AC87U is let down by the Quantenna chipset for 5Ghz band which had major issues, I dont know if its resolved. I don't think the X6 or the 890L are useful unless you really need two 5Ghz bands, they are basically like a R7000 but with an extra 5Ghz band.

Of the listed the AC88U or R7800 are probably the best options.

I would consider the AC68U and R7000 as well as they should be cheaper than the ones you listed.

EDIT: I just saw you said you saw the D-Link for $180, in that case its pretty decent you could get that.

 

[Shashank tripathi]

Thanks for replying. Dlink 890L is cheaper or similar priced than AC68u and R7000 in India. Hence the thought that its extra band for same price might be useful. I could buy 2 890's for price of one 88U :-D

Do you suggest that i go for AC68u even if its pricier than 890L?

the issue with the dlink is lack of features and support , the 890L hardware wise is pretty good

the dir however is only 1300M on its 5 gig so really can only be compared to other 1300M routers




like these suggested

price is not the only consideration , you have to look at the feature set and ability level of each

 

[pete y testing]

Dlink 890L is cheaper or similar priced than AC68u and R7000 in India.

thats cause dlink are flooding the indian market but i can assure you that doesnt make the product any better , dlinks feature set and gui are basic and the after sale support and firmware are lacking ,

Hence the thought that its extra band for same price might be useful.

TBH i havnt found any tri band router so called useful at this stage as im almost all cases the lower 5 gig band just doesnt get used

Do you suggest that i go for AC68u even if its pricier than 890L?

yes

 

[Pierino]

You can always install dd-wrt on the dir-890l.

 

[System Error Message]

the problem with dlink is both in hardware and software. If dlink is making their feature set simpler like tp link does and actually makes their firmware better than thats great, as its something they had to do after the stunt they pulled with leaking keys.

Hardware wise dlink has been known to be unreliable too. Asus is more expensive because the stock features and hardware are better, however people know that asus is a good brand and so they overprice everything asus which is what makes them so expensive in some places, but that does not mean every thing asus makes is better. For example the ac87u and ac88u have internal bottlenecks with the ac88u bottleneck being the extra 4 ports. Both devices will do fine if you dont need performance where the bottleneck is.

Netgear seems to have made their stuff as expensive or more expensive than asus as they've built a reputation for good hardware, their firmware however usually sucks and i question their quality for some things. I bought one of their modems and it needed a restart every 2-3 months, not good when running a game server despite that the modem seems well made.

Every brand in networking has a direction now, dlink's may have changed recently as it seems they may have read some of my posts about suggesting simpler but better firmware. I notice even ubiquiti may read my post which is what motivated them to compare their ERL and ERPRO with my suggested mikrotik equivalent but still dont show their flaw in home use with QoS.

Go with the router that bests suites your needs. Dont look at the price, if you can use openwrt, dd-wrt, tomato than its just the hardware that matters.

 

[Shashank tripathi]

Hi,
Thanks for the exhaustive reply. As i said my primary purpose will be hi-def media from web and from my HDD. Also i wanted to future proof my purchase hence looking at top end models. was looking at around 20 devices. What i understand here is that ASUS, even if costly, is better even on stock and will be great in long run. Dlink has issues but a different firmware might make it tolerable. I have been reading a lot of SNB articles too. Asus 88U seems king of the hill. But..

I am not to stingy and can spend dough but hate overpaying just because i am not in US. Asus routers are available here at more than 35%!!! markup to US price even the old ones like 68U. (though most brands have some markup)

Also i read SNB guide to choose router where they recommend Netgear Orbi. TWO set Orbi costs $430 near to ONE 88U in India. And best of all it future proofs with less incremental costs.

So thinking between 890L / X4s/ asus 3200 (/ maybe Orbi). Can a 890L and get a decent AP/ range extender for $60 be a better option? with custom firmware?.

the problem with dlink is both in hardware and software. If dlink is making their feature set simpler like tp link does and actually makes their firmware better than thats great, as its something they had to do after the stunt they pulled with leaking keys.

Hardware wise dlink has been known to be unreliable too. Asus is more expensive because the stock features and hardware are better, however people know that asus is a good brand and so they overprice everything asus which is what makes them so expensive in some places, but that does not mean every thing asus makes is better. For example the ac87u and ac88u have internal bottlenecks with the ac88u bottleneck being the extra 4 ports. Both devices will do fine if you dont need performance where the bottleneck is.

Netgear seems to have made their stuff as expensive or more expensive than asus as they've built a reputation for good hardware, their firmware however usually sucks and i question their quality for some things. I bought one of their modems and it needed a restart every 2-3 months, not good when running a game server despite that the modem seems well made.

Every brand in networking has a direction now, dlink's may have changed recently as it seems they may have read some of my posts about suggesting simpler but better firmware. I notice even ubiquiti may read my post which is what motivated them to compare their ERL and ERPRO with my suggested mikrotik equivalent but still dont show their flaw in home use with QoS.

Go with the router that bests suites your needs. Dont look at the price, if you can use openwrt, dd-wrt, tomato than its just the hardware that matters.

 

[System Error Message]

dont buy things that have the price marked up, basically dont feed the greed and the supply/demand cycle or even hypes.

If your choice really is only dlink than get it but be ready to fix it yourself when things go wrong. Usually it only involves using 3rd party firmware or getting a better PSU.