Netgear WNDR3800 N600 Premium Edition Dual

Update Oct 21, 2011: At the one month mark, this router has been functioning without reboots/restarts/drops in a house full of network bandwidth hungry clients – still @ FW 1.0.0.18. I’ve even forgotten that I swapped routers – the true test of a good invisible appliance :)Update Oct 03, 2011: While I have not encountered any problems, there are complaints about the 1.0.0.18 firmware dropping wireless connections in 2.4GHz 802.11n mode and with DNS issues that require reboots of the router. A 1.0.0.19-DNS beta update has been released to fix the latter problem.###############In a span of about 6 months, Netgear has released the WNDR4000, the WNDR3800, and the WNDR4500. Unfortunately, unlike most normal product naming schemes, higher model numbers do not necessarily translate into more functionality.For instance, the WNDR3800 will have a greater impact on my own home network simply because:1. Most of my devices (incl. consoles and media devices) use the 2.4GHz spectrum (where Clear Channel helps).2. Most of my needs center around media streaming (where video mode helps).So how does it perform?################I ran some benchmarks using iPerf between two computers, connected wirelessly on the 2.4GHz band. Impressively, the WNDR3800 gave me a constant throughput of about 24 to 26 Mbps.inSSIDer also indicates that with the WNDR3800’s amplifiers, my RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) amplitude is at least 10dB better than when using my WNDR3700.In real world tests – streaming Netflix and other content was great on all my media devices.Enumerating the Pros:###############1. Easy install. Follow the simple procedure outlined in the comments below, and you’ll be online in minutes.2. Solid, stable connection with great rangeNo feature set in the world could make up for dropped connections. Fortunately, my connection is steady even diagonally across my home, through multiple walls/floors.3. Clear Channel technology.When interference is detected on the 2.4GHz band (e.g., too many packets dropped), the 3800 automatically moves its clients to a different channel. Using inSSIDer, you can see this happen over time.4. Video ModeThe 3800 can prioritize video packets on the 5GHz band, to minimize stutter.5. ReadyShare storage and CloudRouter based storage usually trades off features and performance, for convenience. Still, the WNDR3800 performed well on my network. I was even able to attach 2 drives via a USB 2.0 hub. The ReadyShare Cloud made these drives available to me over the Internet (using a downloaded applet) – even through a corporate firewall!6. USB printingI was …
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