# Best Wireless Router



## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Which is the best wireless router among Dlink DIR825, a NetGEAR wndr3700, or a linksys E3200 or others?

I have laptops, Ipad, Iphone, GTV streaming (roku or others in the near future)

Help me find the best deal for the same. 

Budget - Less than $75...lower the better


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I had a Linksys, and had to reboot it several times a month.
Replaced it with a NetGear WNR3500 gigabit wireless N with DD-WRT software, and have not had to touch it in over 9 months now.


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## kiknwing (Jun 24, 2009)

I have the Dlink DIR-825's little brother, the 655 and have never had a problem with it. I have never had to reboot it, and it has good coverage in my house.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

too many devices for the one 'poor' WiFi hot-spot - anyone will be killed if you'll stream a couple HD+SD videos ...


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I'd go WNDR3700.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Except he said under $75


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks.Looks like you all have nice experience with netgear and dlink.

I will keep looking for any deals to get it at lower price.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Davenlr said:


> Except he said under $75


It was in his list, and never said anything about new. There's a refurb right now on ebay, buy it now and free shipping from someone with a 30,000+ feedback, $56.

Actually, I think they were just on the last wootoff.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Whats the difference between these 3 models - D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N™ Gigabit Router, Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Router
and Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router?

Whats the key deciding factor for my usage - *dual band OR Gigabit*?

The last model has both but expensive, so trying to decide between 1 and 2.

Appreciate your response.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

OP - if you're going to run that many high-bandwidth WiFi devices - spring for a better quality router. There's a reason why one model costs $50 and another costs $150 - the more expensive router can do more, more reliably.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

*Silmultaneous* Dual-Band - many list dual band but it's either / or.

And I won't buy it if it's not supported by DD-WRT.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

If I had to choose, I'd go simultaneous dual band over gigabit any day. Gigabit is nice of course, but only matters for local network traffic and things plugged in wired. And both involved in the transfer need gigabit network cards. A DirecTV receiver can do unsupported MRV quite well without gigabit, so even on 100mbps you've got some bandwidth there.

The WNDR is simultaneous dual band. This means it can do 2.4ghz and 5ghz at the same time. The problem with wifi is that one, 2.4ghz is quite crowded. Some cordless phones are at this frequency, neighbors wifi etc. 2.4ghz wifi has 13 channels, but the problem is that only three don't overlap. It used to be fairly easy, most routers defaulted to channel 6 and no one changed it, so you could use channel 1 or 11 and be in the clear mostly. Now people are using routers that change the channel automatically, or change it themselves and it's hard to find a clear channel. 

The other issue is that if you have a 802.11g device and an old 802.11b device, the g unit will not operate at peak speed, even if they aren't directly talking.

5ghz is especially useful for streaming video but doesn't suffer with these limitations. Of course you need a 5ghz device, but it's more futureproof. It can get odd, an iPad2 does 5ghz, but a 4s doesn't.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

I agree with scooper. If your looking for performance then you need to step up to a high end router. Take a look at the Linksys E4200v2.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

dennisj00 said:


> *Silmultaneous* Dual-Band - many list dual band but it's either / or.
> 
> And I won't buy it if it's not supported by DD-WRT.


Thanks dpeters for the detailed explanation.

How to know if the netgear WNDR3400 has or will support the DD-WRT software?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Here is the database:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database

The 3400 is not compatible, the 3700 is.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Thanks everyone for making me understand the concepts behind the router.

I have one last question before making the final decision.

*Netgear 3700 or Linksys 4200?*

Any preferences for one over the other?

I'm willing to go over my budget to get the best one.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I run through my Linksys 4200:

Wired 3 desktop computers, two Dish Network ViP DVRs, a Slingbox PRO-HD, a Wii, my Panasonic BD player (streaming apps), my Yamaha AV Receiver (internet radio), AT&T Minicell tower (for family); and one Dell network printer;
Wireless two iPads, one Kindle Fire, an iPhone, an HP ePrint printer, two notebook computers, and visitors' equipment (which has been as much as two more notebooks, another iPad, and three iPhones).
Obviously, when my wife and I are alone we don't simultaneously use all this stuff, but most everything wired is "hot" most of the time and some of the wireless stuff like the iPads are regularly turned on.

Everything seems to work fine. When my Comcast cable ISP goes down, I sometimes reboot the router when I must reboot the modem but don't have to. Wireless range and strength seem great. I watch TV around the house, indoor and out, through the Slingbox on a wireless notebook, iPad, or Kindle Fire and they work fine.

I'm a fan of Linksys system management software.

But since I have never used Netgear products, I couldn't tell you that the 4200 is worth more than the Netgear 3700 and right now at Amazon there is a $56 difference. I paid the $159.99 for the Linksys and have no regrets, but I don't know if the higher price is worth it.


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## ncxcstud (Apr 22, 2007)

Teh wireless on my old DGL-4300 went out around Thanksgiving and I had to go get a new router. I ended up getting the WDR-3700. I must say, I'm pretty impressed with it. The shear fact that I have a router that has the capability to do a 'guest network' is pretty awesome.

I have the following connected to it.

My computer
XBOX 360
DirecTV receiver

Two iPods
Samsung Focus
PS3
Tablet PC


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

quizzer said:


> Thanks everyone for making me understand the concepts behind the router.
> 
> I have one last question before making the final decision.
> 
> ...


I don't think you can go wrong with either one. But if there is a $56 difference in price - I'd probably go for the cheaper one.


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## dorfd1 (Jul 16, 2008)

I have a wrt54gl with dd-wrt as main router and it also provides 6to4 ipv6 tunneling and I have a wrt320n which I converted to E2000 that also runs dd-wrt in my bedroom that is setup as a wds repeater to allow the signal to go father and allow my two wired desktops access to the internet. I also have a wrt300n which also has dd-wrt which I occasionally use as a repeater. 

I almost never have to reboot my main router.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

quizzer said:


> Thanks everyone for making me understand the concepts behind the router.
> 
> I have one last question before making the final decision.
> 
> ...


The Netgear 3700 has consistently received top reviews. In recent years, Linksys routers have been less reliable. Cisco seems to treat the Linksys brand as a poor stepchild these days. I have the Netgear WNDR3700 and have 3 computers, a Wii, PS3, Kodak Digital Theater, 3 Panasonic Blu-ray players, a 3D TV and 3 TiVo HD DVR's all being served wirelessly by it in addition to several wired devices. I'm a happy camper.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

I got the linksys 4200 V1 and happy with the performance.

How do I know if my Ipad2 uses the 5Hz band? Does that happen by default or is there any setup requited?


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

quizzer said:


> I got the linksys 4200 V1 and happy with the performance.
> 
> How do I know if my Ipad2 uses the 5Hz band? Does that happen by default or is there any setup requited?


When you set it up did you assign a different SSID for each band?


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

klang said:


> When you set it up did you assign a different SSID for each band?


No. I just assigned one SSID.I believe it must be for 2.4Hz i guess.

How do i setup the SSID for 5 HZ now?


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

quizzer said:


> No. I just assigned one SSID.I believe it must be for 2.4Hz i guess.
> 
> How do i setup the SSID for 5 HZ now?


Not familiar with your router, hopefully someone else will chime in. On my Netgear, there is one setup page for both bands. I can specify a different SSID and passphrase for each band as well as selecting which channel to use and type of encryption.


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

Found your manual online:



> By default, your dual-band router uses the same network name on both the 2 4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band If you are connecting to your router with a computer that has a dual-band wireless network adapter, you might not be able to determine which band you're using The easiest way to segment your traffic is to rename one of your wireless networks With a separate, descriptive name, it will be easy to connect to the right network.
> 
> To reconfigure your wireless network:
> Wireless > Basic Wireless Settings
> ...


The setup page looks pretty much the same as the one from Netgear.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

klang said:


> Found your manual online:
> 
> The setup page looks pretty much the same as the one from Netgear.


Thanks Klang. I did change the SSID for 5GHZ and connected my ipad2 to this. I see a huge jump in download speed.

Which all devices can i connect to the 5GHZ?

I have a HP G72 laptop, iPhone 4, ipad2 (already connected to 5Ghz), Logitech Revue (google tv) and Roku.


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

quizzer said:


> Thanks Klang. I did change the SSID for 5GHZ and connected my ipad2 to this. I see a huge jump in download speed.
> 
> Which all devices can i connect to the 5GHZ?
> 
> I have a HP G72 laptop, iPhone 4, ipad2 (already connected to 5Ghz), Logitech Revue (google tv) and Roku.


iPhone 4 should work, don't know about the rest. If the device claims to support 802.11n it should work with the 5GHz band. Older devices that only support 802.11b or 802.11g should use the 2.4GHz band. You should find 5GHz has a shorter range.


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## ncxcstud (Apr 22, 2007)

connected my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to the 5ghz network, wow, huge increase in speed.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

ncxcstud said:


> connected my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to the 5ghz network, wow, huge increase in speed.


Only my Ipad2 is able to see and connect to the 5Ghz. Huge increase in speed.

others including iphone 4 can only see and connect to the 2.4Ghz.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

quizzer said:


> Only my Ipad2 is able to see and connect to the 5Ghz. Huge increase in speed.
> 
> others including iphone 4 can only see and connect to the 2.4Ghz.


My iPhone 4 is connected to my 5 GHz band. Funny, it doesn't show the 2.4 as being available at this time....(?) My iPad2 shows both.


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

quizzer said:


> others including iphone 4 can only see and connect to the 2.4Ghz.


You might go into settings and tell it to forget the 2.4GHz network and scan again. Mine doesn't see my 5GHz network at the moment but I don't stream much of anything to it anyway.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

klang said:


> You might go into settings and tell it to forget the 2.4GHz network and scan again. Mine doesn't see my 5GHz network at the moment but I don't stream much of anything to it anyway.


How to do this?

I went into settings, changed my wifi settings, but still cannot see the 5GHZ SSID.

Please advise.


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## zxmuffkenxz (Sep 6, 2011)

ncxcstud said:


> Teh wireless on my old DGL-4300 went out around Thanksgiving and I had to go get a new router. I ended up getting the WDR-3700. I must say, I'm pretty impressed with it. The shear fact that I have a router that has the capability to do a 'guest network' is pretty awesome.
> 
> I have the following connected to it.
> 
> ...


Was reading thru the comments, and came up with a question also. I have the dlg-4300 also but never seen anything about assinging 2 SSIDs. Does this model also need to be setup with two SSIDs? I basically have the same setup as yours, minus the xbox, and ipod, but I have another pc that is connected wirelessly(not used very often though), and an now the nook tablet as well. The internet runs very smoothly on everything, but call of duty seems like I get killed very quickly.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"klang" said:


> iPhone 4 should work, don't know about the rest. If the device claims to support 802.11n it should work with the 5GHz band. Older devices that only support 802.11b or 802.11g should use the 2.4GHz band. You should find 5GHz has a shorter range.


iPhone 4 and 4s can't see 5ghz at all.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> iPhone 4 and 4s can't see 5ghz at all.


Thanks


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

dpeters11 said:


> iPhone 4 and 4s can't see 5ghz at all.


My bad, after a little googling I see you are correct. I had never tried to make it work on my iPhone.


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## Twister18 (Dec 22, 2004)

Guys, sorry for the dumb question but in simple terms, what are the benefits of dd-wrt? I am running a Netgear WNDR 4000.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

While the firmware on most consumer routers has improved in the last year or so, dd-wrt offers many more options -- the best one allows the router to become a wireless bridge (or game adapter). You can even assign the WAN port to the switch for an additional port. 

It also provides more data on the configuration and clients. You can also set up Virtual Wireless configurations with different SSIDs and security.

Improved stability is also there. I go for months without rebooting the router.


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