The best simultaneous dual-band wireless n router?

Tryng to find the best simultaneous dual-band wireless n router for my home network since my old belkin is starting to go.

I've been looking around the net for a few days and i dont think i want to go with either the Linksys WRT610N or the D-Link DIR 825 after reading countless bad reviews about frequent dropouts, firmware problems, poor range etc.

At the moment the Netgear WNDR3700 seems to be my best bet but still a couple of poor reviews out there for it (same with any product though i suppose).

Anyone got any better ideas?

On my network i will have 1 pc and 1 printer wired to the router and 1 pc (wireless g), 2 laptops (both wireless n with 1 being used for gaming) and an xbox360 connected wirelessly, if thats any help.

 

There are, as you noted, bad reviews about all of them. I think you've got it covered with what you have seen so far. I'd probably opt for the D-Link myself as its ratio of positive to negative reviews seems a bit better.

Or, wait until the technology matures.

 

Since I have a Linksys WRT 600-n , wrt 610-n , D-link 825 and a Netgear WNDR 3700 I can say the 3700 is the best of the lot .

5 wireless , 1 wired COMPUTERS , 1 X-Box , 1 NAS , 1 Blu ray player . X-box and Blu ray plugged into D-link DAP 1522 bridge/AP

 

Thanks guys, think i'll opt for the 3700. From reading reviews and such online, and jerrys recommendation, the 3700 seems to be the best of the bunch.

I could wait for the tech to mature, but since i need a new router anyway i may aswell give it a try. If there are any problems, i can always take it back.

 

You probably don't want to hear this, but...

I tried out the Netgear 3700. Got it based on reviews from Amazon, Newegg, and a few other sites.

Easy set up and was up and running in 20 minutes. Fired up the PS3 to play some Modern Warefare 2 and the network was stable for about an hour. Dropped and I had to reboot. Stable again for an hour and again had to reboot. Next, the connection only lasted about 30 minutes. After that, I packed everything back up and returned it to Fry's.

Based on the sales guy recommendation, I got the D-Link 655. Up and running in about 30 minutes. Fired up the PS3 hoping there'll be no problems. I played Modern Warefare 2 for over 5 hours with no drops.

 

I've had great luck with D-Link too.

 

Yes but it only supports 2.4ghz. I wanted a true dual band router so i could have g running on one band and n on another at the same time. If my understanding is correct, if i have it running on mixed mode on one band my wireless n products will only run as fast as my wireless g products. Or have i got it all wrong?

 

PS3 is G band no ? , I have a ps3 , an xbox and blu ray running through a dap1522 bridge and have not rebooted in 3 weeks , between DL and transfers have put over 1 Tbof data through the 3700 with no hiccup .
And Dave you got it right

 

Dave,

The other band is the 5ghz, but it is quite limited. When I tried to connect my PS3 to the 5ghz band, my signal was less than 5%. Unless the component is very close, you'll get a very weak signal with constant drops.

Jerry,

I'm not sure why the Netgear 3700 didn't like my set up. I have a very basic network, but I couldn't keep a stable connection. Also, my wife does vpn 3 days a week and the 3700 doesn't do vpn pass through very well. That was a huge deal breaker.

 

WNDR3700 is currently one of the best wireless routers to get. Another option is WRT610N version 2.0. But for this one, be sure to get the version 2.0, since it has solved problems of the version 1.0. And if it's true that this version 2.0 uses the same chip as WRT320N, then its 5GHz band - 40 MHz channel downlink throughput might outperform WNDR3700, just as WRT320N do (at least according to smallnetbuilder).

 

That is my main concern with getting a dual band router, the range on 5ghz. Should i be expecting to get a decent signal say, on the same level about 30ft away and through 2 stone walls. Or will the signal be so weak or non existant that it would not be worth it?

 

The 5ghz does not penetrate objects as well as the 2.4ghz does. The 11n also requires a higher lever to maintain good speed. The reason it drops off further you get a lot faster than 11g.

Another option is what I do, Is setup 2 AP (1 - 11n, 1 - 11g). You can use 2.4 for both (if you want) just set on to use low ch the other high. I'm a firm believer that you get better performance using AP vs Wireless Routers. AP normally have the same CPU and RAM but do not have to handle router routing functions. I use SMB wired routers which do not bomb when pushed, more advanced functions not found in most residential routers.

 

I'm currently using the WRT610N Ver 2 w/ the latest firmware, and from my experience, it's quite pathetic when you're broadcasting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz with moderate to heavy internet use. The router tends drop the 2.4GHz band every 5 minutes or so. The same thing happened even after I exchanged the unit for a new one.

 

The problem you describe is just firmware issues. With the 11n spec ratified, you may get an update soon that may correct the problem.

 

The 5ghz range is way less than 30ft. My PS3 was only about 12-15 feet away and the signal was pathetic. I highly doubt you'll even get a signal at 30 feet. Much less through 2 walls.

I'm waiting till next year or beyond until the 5ghz band matures a bit before buying a dual band router.

 

Agree on the 610 , that is why I got the 3700 . Not sure how 5 ghz will do through 2 stone walls , mine is 30 ft through 2 wood plaster stucco walls , Streams very well to the bridge with the xbox ps3 and media computer , my dlink 825 , link 600and 610 n would drop the signal constantly , would need reboots almost every day .
Dlink releases lots of firmware , mostly crap then more crap , linksys released 2 firmware updates for 600n over 4 years none worked great ! and 3 for 610n in the last 2 years . I just hope netgear releases FUNCTIONING firmware when needed , or to add services .

 

the 320 is not simultanious dual band and 400 not GB, and looking at ALL the test it only outperforms the 3700 in1 0r 2 positions in all the tests

 

I'm using WRT320N set as 5GHz band wireless n - 40MHz (only). It penetrates well from my living room through 1 partition wall (2 gypsum boards/plasterboards per side) and 1 Japanese style paper door to my study located 9-10 meters away. The connection speed reported by Vista Wireless Network Connection Status fluctuates up to 300Mbps, but mostly steadies at 270Mbps. My laptops are using Intel WiFi Link 5300 and 4965AGN.

Gee... Sorry to hear that. I read good reports of this WRT610N Version 2.0 in the Linksys forum, mainly concerning problems of the Version 1.0. Hope the next f/w solves your problem.

The thing that I'm concerning though is its 5GHz performance. Is it also that bad? Cause I was reading that it might use the same engine as WRT320N which is in my case performing very well set to operate as wireless n - 40MHz at 5GHz (only).

I was to opt for WNDR3700 or WRT610N version 2.0 to replace my 1 year old WRT310N because I needed the 5GHz band due to crowded 2.4GHz freq in my building, but those test results from SmallNetBuilder made me rethink the option of using 2 separate wireless routers for each band. So, I ended up buying WRT320N, set it for wireless n - 40MHz at 5GHz (only), and use it together with WRT310N set for wireless g only.

 

From what i'm experiencing, the 5GHz can get a better signal compared with the 2.4GHz most of the time. At far indoors distances (30+ feet), the 5GHz signal is still stronger, but the wifi speed is slower than the 2.4GHz.

 

Do you mean although the 5GHz signals reach your laptop stronger but the speed is lower than the 2.4GHz?

My laptops with Intel WiFi Link 5300 (including when previously were still using Intel 5100 and Dell Wireless 1510) can only connect to my WRT310N set to operate at ( 2.4GHz) 40MHz channel up to 270Mbps, never 300Mbps. But with WRT320N set as 5GHz 40MHz (same security method are used for both WRT310N and WRT320N), the speed is up to 300Mbps.

 

Strange I get much better transfer rates on 5ghz band

 

Ok so I bought the 3700 and set it up this morning. Set the 5GHz to n mode at 40MHz and after playing around with the channels found the one where I get the best connection. On my laptop at the distance I mentioned before, 30ft and 2 walls, I am getting 3 bars with a speed between 80 and 120 Mbps with no dropouts so far. From what i've read this is a pretty good connection considering the locations of my equipment no? I'll just have to see how it goes over the next few weeks in regards to dropouts, but so far i'd say i'm happy with what i'm getting at the moment.

 

very good . hope it lasts .

 

You can always use any program such as InSSIDer to scan all the used channels in your neighborhood, thus you can set your WNDR3700 frequencies to unused ones.

How about when your laptop is close by, does it get faster connection speeds?

 

When I am up to about 6ft away I am getting 300Mbps then it starts going down, about 18ft and 1 wall I am down to 150Mbps.

 

play with dif channels , some will give better distance

 

have you tried dd-wrt firmware on the linksys , I have a wrt310n , and it is much better than original firmware .

 

I have the WRT610N v1, but with the latest firmware! The original firmware sucked. After flashing it with the latest firmware, it runs incredibly well.

I am still tempted to get v2. Does anyone have any experience with v2, or better yet, a comparison between v1 and v2?

 

Have you check Linksys own forum?

 

My home network is composed of a Motorola 6120 with docsis 3.0, and a Netgear 3700. When I setup the Netgear 3700 the 2.4 ghz channel's default was 130mb/s so I changed it to 300 mb/s. Now my laptops show 300 mb/s rather than 130 mb/s. The signal has NOT changed, only the maximum indicator.

I use Speedtest.net to judge the strength of my signal. I have gotten up to 50 mb/s through one wall at 15-20 ft. on the download.

My upload speeds appear to be approx. 10% of my download speeds... why? Is this a factor of my ISP or the way that I have setup my network? I do not see anything that would control the upload speeds.

I also tried my Apple iTouch on the home network and then again inside the Apple store. The upload speeds inside the Apple Store are substantially better while my download sppeds at home are much stronger. Any ideas why?

 

To be exact, what you did is more to the testing your internet connection speed than testing your wireless connection speed.

If you want to test the speed of your wireless connection, then you should test it within LAN/WLAN. Make test of file transfer between computers or by using Network Attached Storage/NAS.

 

Im quite happy with my D-Link Dir-855 (with latest firmware).
Does both 2.5 & 5 GHz band.
2.5 GHz is configured for G, N (no b) while 5 GHz is N only.

 

try and find the 855 , it was so buggy they took if down

 

looks like the WNDR3700 has a bunch of bad reviews.... dropping signals, rebooting constantly.... firmware not ready for primetime just yet....

I'm leaning towards an Apple Airport Extreme even though i'm running a windows/linux environment (no MACs but will use a couple of iPhones over wi-fi).

There seems to be less negative feedback on this router than the rest.

Anyone have experience with this router?

 

I use one at work and as much as I'm not an apple fan I admit it works great.

 

I have the WNDR3700. In terms of using it to connect to the Internet, it's absolutely fantastic. The connection is super fast and reliable.

Its biggest problem is USB-connected devices, such as storage. There is a bug in the system that often makes the router drop the connection a few minutes after you connect something to it via USB. There is a lot of threads about it on the Netgear forum. I sure hope it gets resolved soon...

 

Ever since the B18 firmware came out from Linksys, my WRT610N v1 router has been giving me the single best performance of any router that I have ever owned before it, both in terms of speed (although, this is, in large part, due to my Time Warner 30+ Mbps connection), as well as reliability is concerned. It plays nice with the Intel 5300 WiFi N card, and will soon give me 450Mbps, once I get my hands on the Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300.

Apparently, this is as good as it gets, though, as I tested my connection with a Cat5E cable through my Gigabit Ethernet port (1000Mbps wired vs. 300Mbps wirelessly), and there is literally no difference. In both cases, I get maximum speeds of up to 34Mbps.

There has been a hardware refresh available for the WRT610N, v2, but I see no reason to upgrade from my v1. Anyone with any input on the WRT610N v2?