Wireless router differences

Humboldt · Post by **Humboldt** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 10:27 pm

Stopped by Costco and got a Belkin N750 DB for $90 (cheaper of the 2 they carried)

Normally Costco has great prices but just found the same one for about $20 cheaper on Amazon.

Anyways, on my way home I stopped by Staples and picked up a Netgear N300 for $45.

Both are 300 Mbps and have 4 LAN ports. The Belkin has 2 USB ports as well.

Beyond that, any comparisons? Is the Belkin twice as much just because of the USB ports, or is it higher quality?

Any feedback appreciated.

I don't really need the USB but they come in handy. Bought the wireless primarily to be able to use my new tablet around the house.

Thanks

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:52 pm

I would skip both.. go with a Dlink - you will be much happier with the quality and the ease of setup. Never too late to return it for one of these.

As for the comparison... I'm not sure why you would need USB slots on a router anyway?

Humboldt · Post by **Humboldt** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:09 am

Sava700 wrote:I would skip both.. go with a Dlink - you will be much happier with the quality and the ease of setup. Never too late to return it for one of these.

As for the comparison... I'm not sure why you would need USB slots on a router anyway?

Set the Netgear up and seems to be working fine.
Now that I had a chance to check them out, looks like the Belkin is dual band 300 Mbps and 450 Mbps...but I have nothing that will recognize that extra speed right now.
The USB would be handy to have external drives on a network that I could access directly from my PC or new tablet...but I don't have any need for that either

Ease of setup was fine, just waiting for the tablet to charge so I can make sure the wireless is working ok. Short of using a iPaq w/ custom inventory program at work I've never done much with wireless. If this works ok my next purchase might be a wireless adapter for my Samsung BluRay player so I can stream Netflix.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:49 am

Belkin review
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless ... r-reviewed
Very fast 2.4 performance, poor 5.0 performance. A higher end Belkin model.

Netgear 3500 brief review
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless ... r-with-usb
Average performance for its older generation, entry level single band router.

Bang for the buck wise, the Cisco e3000 router had been produced in massive quantities and Cisco slashed the price on them and most places are selling that once flagship router at about 50 bucks lately.

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:04 am

If you already have an existing router then just get a plain access point to add to the network. Easier, more efficient and more stable.

mnosteele52 · Post by **mnosteele52** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:32 am

Buffalo.... been using them for a few years now and have been very impressed. Their range in excellent, covers my sister's 5,000 sq/ft home, my entire fire station. And they are inexpensive. I have not had an issue with one yet and they now come preinstalled with DD-WRT firmware, newegg has them.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:34 am

TonyT wrote:If you already have an existing router then just get a plain access point to add to the network. Easier, more efficient and more stable.

I find a few things that make getting a new wireless router the better approach.
*Newer generation routers are much stronger in performance, faster processors that those of years ago, more memory, much better QoS, and far superior throughput. Old routers are becoming bottlenecks with todays faster internet connections (especially if you have cable). Newer routers with their additional memory have much higher state tables and won't get bogged down by heavy traffic, those that torrent, or several users at once. I can have 4x people streaming hidef youtube videos at once, wirelessly too, with my e3000.....there's no way I could do that with my prior generation wireless router..that could hardly handle 1x person doing it. Plus a new wireless router is about the same prices as an access point...sometimes even less expensive.

Post by **Philip** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:19 am

What YOSc said... And as far as brands, I'd pick Cisco/Netgear/Buffalo before DLink, and definitely before Belkin.

Humboldt · Post by **Humboldt** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:22 pm

Thanks guys.

Have the Netgear set up and seems to be working fine. Does seem like a really cheap piece of hardware though.

I'll look into the other ones suggested.

RaisinCain · Post by **RaisinCain** » Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:27 pm

YeOldeStonecat wrote:Belkin review
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless ... r-reviewed
Very fast 2.4 performance, poor 5.0 performance. A higher end Belkin model.

Netgear 3500 brief review
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless ... r-with-usb
Average performance for its older generation, entry level single band router.

Bang for the buck wise, the Cisco e3000 router had been produced in massive quantities and Cisco slashed the price on them and most places are selling that once flagship router at about 50 bucks lately.

This. I just bought one and I LOVE it. All of my wireless N devices are fast as hell now (coming from a single channel a/b/g/n POS D-LINK).