Two Wireless N routers but what to get?

[zurge]

I have been doing a lot of research trying to find a router that offers reliability, speed, dual-band and features. (in that order).

I have narrowed my search down to two devices:

1. DIR-825 N Dual Band Gigabit Router
and
2. Netgear RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router

Both of these routers seem to offer plenty of speed and features. I have two Macbooks, that both have 802.11n, and a Linux server connected via cable. That is all that I have using my network at this point. I don't do many torrent downloads, but i do stream some video from Hulu, Youtube, etc... I also play files (music and video) from my Linux server too.

The D-Link has printer sharing which I would REALLY like whereas the Netgear does not. (I don't care about sharing a USB drive)

The main thing that I am stuck wondering is which router is going to be the more reliable of the two? Is the Netgear that much faster than the D-Link?

Any thoughts, comments, etc... would be appreciated.

 

[BBurgDave]

I assume you mean the Netgear WNDR3700? Based on reviews (I have been researching both routers for a while now), I think that the Netgear router is superior for straight router performance. DLink has the advantage you mention (printer sharing) and my impression is that QOS for things like games or streaming is better on the DLink than on the Netgear. The DLink is generally about $40 cheaper too ($160 vs $120).

So, tough decision - why I have not made up my mind yet!

One comment on both printer and drive sharing though, most of us have been managing to share printers and drives on networks for quite a while without specific help from the router, so not sure this should really "weigh" as much as straight router performance and reliability. Additionally, many of the new printers have WiFi connections anyway, which makes printer sharing on the router moot.

So, personally, I would not put too much weight on that.

 

[zurge]

Sorry, yea I do mean the Netgear WNDR3700. The print functionality isn't a MAJOR point but i would use it. Reliability is definitely the MOST important part. The D-Link seem to be pretty stable when you have Rev. B hardware and firmware version 2.02NA, most of the complaints about the D-Link seem to be with older Rev. B firmware version and Rev.A hardware.

The Netgear does have the speed in its favor but the D-Link it pretty close behind. The QOS does seem pretty nice on the D-Link Dir-825, which is very interesting.

I also wonder what which company would be better at releasing firmware to fix/add things?

 

[thiggins]

Remember also that the print servers bundled in routers are very simple. And they don't support all the features of multi-function printers (scanning particularly).

D-Link and NETGEAR are about equal in terms of firmware release frequency.

I am currently using an WNDR3700 and it hasn't given me any trouble. But I don't stress the wireless much and use it just for web browsing via my iTouch.

 

[zurge]

So Tim, do you have the majority of your networked items all hard-wired then?

Also, I have read that the D-Link will allow you to connect 3G cellular cards to it via USB, does this functionality actually work? If so, is it plausible that it could accept 4G cards as well?

I too don't stress my wireless TOO much. Probably at least 85% of my wireless usage is web browsing, email, etc...., nothing overly demanding.

 

[thiggins]

So Tim, do you have the majority of your networked items all hard-wired then?

Yep. But I had the good fortune of moving into a new home with Ethernet drops in all rooms. No way was I going to depend on wireless for any video streaming!

Also, I have read that the D-Link will allow you to connect 3G cellular cards to it via USB, does this functionality actually work? If so, is it plausible that it could accept 4G cards as well?

Not the last time I looked at it. I got the impression that this "feature" was more in name than in function. Others may have more current experience.

I too don't stress my wireless TOO much. Probably at least 85% of my wireless usage is web browsing, email, etc...., nothing overly demanding.

For that, most any wireless router, G or N should serve you well.

 

[tipstir]

Even though you have wired drops the wire can be everywhere. Wireless is here to stay. I like you have wired connections everywhere even in the garage. But still I can use 802.11G or 802.11N anywhere in the home and outside on the patio deck or even in the woods.

 

[zurge]

WNDR3700 Bugs

The Netgear WNDR3700 looks like a pretty full featured router but it seems like many are having problems with the DNS portion of the router? Is this an epidemic type problem?

I wasn't totally sure I understood the DNS issue, the issue is with the router properly obtaining/using the DNS addresses from your ISP correct?

Does a reboot typically fix this?

Are there any other quirks in the firmware?

 

[thiggins]

I have no problems with WNDR3700 and DNS.

 

[zurge]

The WNDR3700 does not support port translation. Is this a feature that anyone has ever needed? I personally have not used it ever but was wondering if it is a feature I should get if I were to buy a router (since i usually keep my routers until they die).

 

[thiggins]

Port translation is needed in some cases if you're hosting a server or other application that has to be accessed from the Internet.

 

[zurge]

Wrt54gl

So since the LARGE portion of my wireless usage is internet related, I could go with a Linksys WRT54GL. This router seems to be reliable, stable, and offer third-party firmware if I wanted to get different features or just plain want to switch things up.

If I took this route, if i needed 802.11n wireless speeds later in life could I use a 802.11n Access Point?

I would assume a system like that would have my devices connect to the access point (or WRT54GL if the devices are G) and then the N devices could communicate with the access point, which would in turn communicate to the WRT54GL in order to get on the internet or transfer to wireless G devices, otherwise the N devices would talk to each other ONLY via the access point when transferring data internally of the network.

Does this seem like a good way to do things or would just getting a 802.11n router make more sense?

 

[thiggins]

Yes. You can start with an 11G wireless router and later add an N AP or router-turned-AP.

Just set different SSIDs and you'll be able to have clients connect to the appropriate AP.

 

[zurge]

Alright, I am getting the WRT54GL then since my wireless needs are not very demanding right now. The other thing is that the WRT54GL seems to be the goto reliable router. Since reliability is more important to me than Wireless N speeds I'm going with this one.

Another nice feature is the third party firmware that I may play with in order to help speed up the router a bit. Thanks for the help and info.