Router Reviews
- Thread starter JohnT
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2008
- Messages
- 569
I won a D-Link 4300 during the Christmas meeting. Wasn't able to put it too full use until recently, but used it during LAN parties twice. Both times it performed well and didn't give problems. Just this week I had to replace the SysLink router we were using in our home network. The D-Link slipped in nicely and had the network running fine in a under an hour. We have a network of 3 computers all running wireless and one wired. With Gamefuel I can play games with very little hesitation and pings that are a few clicks lower than they were before. I think the 4300 is a great piece of hardware and it even looks kind of stylish out there on the desk. I'd recommend it to anyone that is looking for a good router.
I've been putting this off for a long time. Many moons ago I was lucky enough to win the Dlink DIR-635 Gaming router. I already had several routers here but found a perfect place for it down in my gaming room between a couple machines. I have 3 boxes plugged into it plus the wireless enabled to serve movies and music to my wireless DVR on my tv upstairs. It comes with everything you'd expect from a wireless router plus some extras I haven't seen yet. You can setup email to regularly send you log files, or send you alert messages. The QOS engine is the most advanced I've seen on a retail based router. I doubt I'm pushing this thing anywhere close to it's limit. Unlike a lot of other routers I've owned in the past this one doesn't seem to need a power cycle once a week/month like others I've used.
The DIR-635 has been a very solid dependable fast router for me.
The DIR-635 has been a very solid dependable fast router for me.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2008
- Messages
- 995
I have a D-Link DIR-625 Wireless N router. I remember the day I went to purchase it, I was about to buy a Linksys, and now I'm glad I didn't. The router has worked perfectly for 2 years now and I would definitely recommend a D-Link router if you need one.
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2007
- Messages
- 539
Lynksis has provided me with great connection
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2008
- Messages
- 2,815
I have a Linksys G router, It seems to have a nice program with it, and is pretty consistantly working. Havnt had much trouble with it, Have had it for awhile now.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2009
- Messages
- 267
I've a Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT firmware. Running into the second year now, and going strong. DD-WRT basically opens/adds more features to your router, overwriting the default manufacturer's firmware. My first Linksys was crap, although support was excellent. I've tripped over my fair share of cords, so the router has taken a good amount of beatings, yet it keeps on keeping on.
I have owned a D-Link before, but it was a dinky little black-box that was $25 on clearance at Target, so I won't make any judgments off of that. It served well at a local high school for the robotics team for two years, with a few small technical issues.
I have owned a D-Link before, but it was a dinky little black-box that was $25 on clearance at Target, so I won't make any judgments off of that. It served well at a local high school for the robotics team for two years, with a few small technical issues.
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2009
- Messages
- 4
I use the D-Link 4300 as well. Works great, no problems, I have two wireless computers a 360 and a wired PC (this one) all connected to it. We can all be playing games and I don't get any lag. I have two gigabit LAN ports on this computer and "team" them. Basically, I have a 2 gigabit connection speed to my router. What I would like to know, does anyone who uses gamefuel set it up manually? if so, does anyone know a tutorial on how to set up a gamefuel rule? I know you can just check the enable gamefuel and it is supposed to automatically prioritize packets of the games, but never the less, I would love to know how to manually set it up.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,057
It's not a router, but I recently purchased a D-Link DGS-2205 ethernet switch to replace my ailing Cabletron MR9T-E (which was top of the line when it was manufactured by cavemen 25,000 years ago).
The D-Link was refurbished, purchased directly from the D-Link online store. Great price, and it shipped out almost immediately, arriving at my doorstep in 3 business days. There is no way you'd ever know it was refurbished, as it is in perfect condition. It is 5 port, which is fine for my tiny home network (my gaming machine, my wife's computer, an old battered HP we use as a file server/dump, and the occasional odd laptop.
It is, as one would expect, simple to install and set-up, being a simple switch. A crossover cat-5 from the modem to the switch, then cat-5 to the computers, and that's it. It auto-detects traffic and sends it where it needs to go.
Of course, a comparison to the old MR9T would be unfair, because it's comparing 10base apples to gigabit oranges, but here it is anyway: this thing FLIES! Intra-network traffic sails through the cables like a formula one care driven by cheetahs. A file transfer that would take the old MR9T 5 minutes goes by in a matter of seconds. Internet speeds haven't improved, unfortunately, but I have to blame that on my ISP and my also ancient Actiontec DSL modem that currently doubles as a favorite nap spot for a cat on cold days (oddly enough, cats don't improve heat dissipation on electronics, ruining my plans for a cat-cooled gaming rig).
The final feature of this surprisingly feature-ful (it is a word because I say it is) switch is the power saving feature. It automatically cuts the power to unused ports, saving the power that would otherwise go to them. Probably not a huge power savings, but every little bit counts, right?
Long story short, if you need something simple and relatively dummy proof to hold a small home network together this is a great way to go.
The D-Link was refurbished, purchased directly from the D-Link online store. Great price, and it shipped out almost immediately, arriving at my doorstep in 3 business days. There is no way you'd ever know it was refurbished, as it is in perfect condition. It is 5 port, which is fine for my tiny home network (my gaming machine, my wife's computer, an old battered HP we use as a file server/dump, and the occasional odd laptop.
It is, as one would expect, simple to install and set-up, being a simple switch. A crossover cat-5 from the modem to the switch, then cat-5 to the computers, and that's it. It auto-detects traffic and sends it where it needs to go.
Of course, a comparison to the old MR9T would be unfair, because it's comparing 10base apples to gigabit oranges, but here it is anyway: this thing FLIES! Intra-network traffic sails through the cables like a formula one care driven by cheetahs. A file transfer that would take the old MR9T 5 minutes goes by in a matter of seconds. Internet speeds haven't improved, unfortunately, but I have to blame that on my ISP and my also ancient Actiontec DSL modem that currently doubles as a favorite nap spot for a cat on cold days (oddly enough, cats don't improve heat dissipation on electronics, ruining my plans for a cat-cooled gaming rig).
The final feature of this surprisingly feature-ful (it is a word because I say it is) switch is the power saving feature. It automatically cuts the power to unused ports, saving the power that would otherwise go to them. Probably not a huge power savings, but every little bit counts, right?
Long story short, if you need something simple and relatively dummy proof to hold a small home network together this is a great way to go.
Can i still do this?
I just recently got a D-LINK DIR-825 and it is great. The ping is amazing, it never randomly shuts off like my old one did, I can refresh and get EVERY server for css and other games. My old one would only find about 50 servers but this one finds all 10,000 servers which = amazing. Also the download speed is at its max for the amount of speed that i bought for comcast. It has 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless and they both work like they should, the 5 being a little faster than the 2.4. The port forwarding = amazing, you can just pick an application and a computer and it will do it for you. Only problem with port forwarding is that if you do it for CSS it will get you're server up, but won't let you play on any servers. To fix this I just forwarded 27015 and no other ports. I use this router with the motorola surfboard and it's awesome. 9.5/10
I just recently got a D-LINK DIR-825 and it is great. The ping is amazing, it never randomly shuts off like my old one did, I can refresh and get EVERY server for css and other games. My old one would only find about 50 servers but this one finds all 10,000 servers which = amazing. Also the download speed is at its max for the amount of speed that i bought for comcast. It has 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless and they both work like they should, the 5 being a little faster than the 2.4. The port forwarding = amazing, you can just pick an application and a computer and it will do it for you. Only problem with port forwarding is that if you do it for CSS it will get you're server up, but won't let you play on any servers. To fix this I just forwarded 27015 and no other ports. I use this router with the motorola surfboard and it's awesome. 9.5/10
Recently we bought a WBR-1310 to replace an ancient Microsoft MN-700. The performance is excellent. It's wired to this computer, and the one next to this. An older desktop receives a wireless signal from it through three walls across the house, and still gets decent bandwidth. Also a macbook my sister owns gets a signal from it even farther away across the house through several walls. I had to put it pretty high up on a shelf to get the signal to reach the range it gets, so the computer EMI doesn't interfere with the signal, but that's expected, and not a con, although it was challenging to get it in the position it's in now. It also came with a nice disk that shows you how to set it up.
I already knew how to set it up, but that kind of thing would really help some people out. The security features are also pretty nice, but most routers have decent security, since that's a big part of the router. Bang to buck this was a really nice router, since I got it cheap.
I already knew how to set it up, but that kind of thing would really help some people out. The security features are also pretty nice, but most routers have decent security, since that's a big part of the router. Bang to buck this was a really nice router, since I got it cheap.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2009
- Messages
- 165
ive had a dL-54 i think it is for years now its raelly great.
Screw D-Link
I have Linksys Wireless N Router pumping media madness throughout my house! Just upgraded from the WRT54G to the WRT160N and needless to say N rocks. My xbox 360 with an N capable adapter no longer has lag issues, meanwhile we can stream our DVR to any tv in the house. Its also nice I can stream video's to our living room 55" 1080p Samsung and it still be in high def.
needless to say, Linksys > D-link. period.
I have Linksys Wireless N Router pumping media madness throughout my house! Just upgraded from the WRT54G to the WRT160N and needless to say N rocks. My xbox 360 with an N capable adapter no longer has lag issues, meanwhile we can stream our DVR to any tv in the house. Its also nice I can stream video's to our living room 55" 1080p Samsung and it still be in high def.
needless to say, Linksys > D-link. period.
How is it that "Linksys > D-link". They're both great, and they both make great products (though I have had trouble with linksys customer support in the past).
Im am using the D-Link DGL 4500. I have had it for a couple of month now and i really like it. It is much better than my last Linksys. I have 2 computers hooked up to it and 3 PS3's using the Wireless. I still have a good connection with everything running at once.
I've haven't been able to try out DD-WRT yet, since my D-link is older and not on the compatible list. A friend of mine has DD-WRT on his linksys router, and he said it was great because it makes any regular router also a repeater!
I'm going to buy me a new linksys and try out DD-WRT sometime next week and play around with it
