Dualband Router

avelanchefan

Anyone have one of these? I have seen Linksys and Netgear promoting them. Just wondering if they truly work as advertised. I stream a lot of movies so I am thinking of ditching my 3 year old netgear router.

Syndil

Dual-band means 2.4GHz b/g/n and 5GHz a/n. Since no one uses a any more, you'll really only see an improvement if whatever equipment you are using wirelessly is capable of 5GHz n. Even then, unless you are actually having problems with streaming now, the improvement will likely only be noticeable when transferring files from computers on your LAN.

Streaming just does not require a large amount of bandwidth. Streaming an HD movie only requires approximately 3Mbps, and your standard 2.4GHz g connection is capable of 54Mbps.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I just picked up an Airport Extreme which is dual band and I couldn't be happier.

Linksys has treated me over the years as I got several years out of my heavily modified wrt54g, which died only recently.

I tried a new linksys dual band (don't remember the model but I paid 169 for it so not the cheapest option), and it didn't have the range of my modded g router so I returned it.

I also tried an Asus router and had problems immediately out of the box but once I got it up and running it was fine. It crapped out on me after a couple weeks of usage so I returned it as well.

I ultimately decided to try the Airport extreme based on numerous good reviews and more so just my bad with with the first two I'd tried.

I'm happy with it, it works beautifully and does everything I need it to do. It has a very strong signal, I can pick it up all the way out in my parking garage.

The dual band is nice although now I don't have any G devices and don't really use it. The guest network feature is also nice to have.

The Airport doesn't have any features the other two didn't, it just has better range and works better for me.

Most of the routers these days also use stupid software ceap to do the installation and I don't like that, all 3 models I bought had this. Just give me an IP address and let me go in and configure things. I think the linksys and Asus routers at least give you that option after you've done the initial setup, I don't think that Option even exists for the apple and that's my one complaint with that box.

disneyjoe7

Got a Netgear WNDR3700 router which is a dualband still working.

avelanchefan

OK when I said dualband I thought that meant that you had a 2.4ghz channel and a 5ghz channel. And that it could increase data transfer speeds when using it.

My netgear does ok, but while streaming movies it will skip every 5 minutes. It gets annoying after a while so its time to upgrade.

disneyjoe7

I use mine as a 1gb wired router.

dragon1952

avelanchefan wrote: »

OK when I said dualband I thought that meant that you had a 2.4ghz channel and a 5ghz channel. And that it could increase data transfer speeds when using it.

My netgear does ok, but while streaming movies it will skip every 5 minutes. It gets annoying after a while so its time to upgrade.

Unless your Netflix wireless connection is capable of 5Ghz it's a moot point. And, like mentioned, 2.4Ghz is fine for streaming unless you've got a lot going on on your network at the same time you're streaming.

Sherardp

Check out Dlink Dir 655. A nice gigabit router, that works well.

BeefJerky

As others have said, your devices also have to be capable of using the 5GHz band for it to have any value.

That said, I use a dual-band setup and find the 5GHz band to be much more stable, so I end up with much more stable throughput. Most of this has to do with the overcrowding in the 2.4GHz band, which is not only from other wireless routers, but many other devices as well. This includes cordless phones, bluetooth, microwaves, some wireless RF remotes, many wireless audio/video senders and baby monitors, wireless speakers and more! The only downside to the 5GHz band is a bit smaller range due to the higher frequency, but that shouldn't be a problem unless you are trying to cover a huge area; if that's the case you can always add additional access points.

As for wireless routers, it's hard to give a solid recommendation. It seems for every model wireless router out there, you find a good mix of people who have good luck with it, and those who have terrible luck with it. As for me, I use a Netgear WNDR3700 dual-band router, and it has worked well for me. It has been stable and provides very good coverage on both bands. It is the original revision of that model, and I've heard that the newer revisions don't have as good coverage.

avelanchefan

So let me ask this, if I have another device that is 2.4ghz (Xbox 360 w/built in WiFi) I cannot use the 5ghz range correct?

disneyjoe7

Correct 5G is for N or A bands, 2.4g is B or G bands. A dual band router is doing both.

AsSiMiLaTeD

avelanchefan wrote: »

So let me ask this, if I have another device that is 2.4ghz (Xbox 360 w/built in WiFi) I cannot use the 5ghz range correct?

That is incorrect. You can use both. That's the whole point of a dualband router, it can do dual bands simultaneously.

BeefJerky

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

That is incorrect. You can use both. That's the whole point of a dualband router, it can do dual bands simultaneously.

There are actually a few exceptions to that. There were at least a couple of D-Link routers that you had to select which band to use, and it would only work on a single band at a time. That defeats the purpose of a dual-band router in my opinion, but there are some models that are designed like that.

dragon1952

avelanchefan wrote: »

So let me ask this, if I have another device that is 2.4ghz (Xbox 360 w/built in WiFi) I cannot use the 5ghz range correct?

If you have multiple devices, some that are 2.4Ghz and some that are 5Ghz you can use both bands simultaneously. The 2.4Ghz devices will communicate on the 2.4Ghz band and the 5Ghz devices will communicate on the 5Ghz band. Some 5Ghz devices will let you choose which band.

DMara

My old Linksys WRT350N ran too slow when multiple computers/phones were streaming from my Synology DS1511+ NAS or playing games / watching online video; the problem was its CPU/memory was kinda limited to the point it could not support too many connections. I upgraded to the ASUS RT-N66U and couldn't be happier. The wireless speed, especially on 5GHz, was phenomenal. No more streaming stutter.
I also can set the download/upload bandwith of the Guest network, so my connection will get much more priority than my friends when there's a party at my house :biggrin:

dkg999

I recently switched to a Netgear WNDR 9000 and it is the only router that will get signal through the multiple layers of plaster/lathe and plaster/wire walls in my house. I've got my WNDR 3700 working as a wireless extension into the far wing of the house.