Dlink DGL-4500 or Netgear WNDR3700

[salvarez83]

Hey,

I currently have a Belkin F5D8321-4. Just got another Xbox 360 in the house, and with this router both can't be online at the same time So I'm looking for a replacement.

What I wan't mainly is a WELL working router can handle two xbox's, a ps3, and several PC's at the same time. The dlink looks sleek and has "Gamefuel" which is a QoS service that helps redirect gaming traffic to help support your gaming needs. But, the firmware I hear is a problem, HOWEVER I also heard it was fixed by late january with update 1.22NA. The Netgear on the other hand has much better reviews, no "gamefuel"(still has QoS), dual band(at the sametime), and a faster cpu.

I'm stuck guys, which should get my money??

BTW I need them to work with two xbox 360's at the sametime.

Thanks.

 

[sk1939]

Anything would probably be better than that Belkin you have right now. The whole thing with Gamefuel is that is more designed for PC's and probably won't help PS3/Xbox traffic that much. I would go with the Netgear, especially if wireless is important to you.

 

[salvarez83]

Hmm,

So gamefuel is made mostly for pc games? Will it show any improvement on Xbox 360 or PS3 Games? How is QoS on the WNDR3700 compare? What makes a router able to have one xbox not kick the other offline?

Sorry for so many questions. I just don't want to spend the money on the wrong router. But I have to say, they don't seem great.

Thanks!

 

[sk1939]

Nothing would cause one to kick the other offline unless you were signing into the same Live account or using the same gamertag AFAIK. Gamefuel is mostly just advanced QoS, it's packet prioritziation...what it does is talked about here. QoS is QoS, it's quality of service and is standard on alot of equipment, it does alot of things GamerFuel does, but gamerfuel sounds like something you could benefit from, especially if the PC's and Xboxs are in use at the same time. The Netgear is better in a more PC oriented enviornment. The biggest improvement that will be shown is when everything is in use at the same time, otherwise the perforamce should be similar.

 

[salvarez83]

OMG :/

Which to get then? sorry!

 

[sk1939]

Well, in your case I would say get the DLink it would probably suit you just fine. Really you can't go wrong with either I think, and the Gamefuel might help your connection speed a little.

 

[salvarez83]

Thanks sk1939! I'm still open to others people's opinions though.

 

[salvarez83]

Any other opinions?

 

[Kewlx25]

Gamefuel should work independent of your games. Games typically(almost always) use a steady flow of small packets. Not lots of data, but it needs to get delivered in time.

Gamefuel assumes any stream of small packets is a "game" and prioritizes that stream, regardless of the port.

There may be a few more things it looks for, but that's the gist of it.


My 3700 QOS works just fine. The only issue I really have are the game browsers. When in BC2 server browser, all the pings will still show up as horrible, but actual in-game play is just fine. The reason for this is the ping is ICMP and I can't prioritize that, but the game itself plays over certain ports and I can QOS those ports.

I have a 2/16(sustained speeds over large transfers is 2.1/16) connection with power boost. I tested the QOS out a week or so ago. I got a few downloads going to peg my 16mb connection. Then I fired up my Blizzard D2 install client. The install client is bit-torrent for the download. Since my powerboost is per stream based, my average download speed was now over 20mbit sustained and my 2mbit up was actually sustaining 2.5mbit and bursts of over 3mbit about 2-3 times per minute (again power boost).

(bit torrent is constantly opening/closing streams which actually lets me use more of my power-boosted speeds)

The BC2 server browser showed my entire server list with either 999 or "-" (aka timeout). But I had a few Favorited servers that I reliably get 15ms pings and ~90ms in game(BC2 in game lag includes server overhead along with network latency which is why it's always higher). When I connected, I had ~100ms lag which is VERY good for BC2. I had no stuttering/rubber-banding/etc in game. I assume the QOS works just fine.

 

[jrel209]

Was searching reviews on WNDR3700 found this post.

So WNDR3700 is good for gaming and bitorrent, which is my main use for internet. There are no known issues w/ router having to be reset? And does QoS have to be manually set or is that something automatic?

 

[buwish]

Best answer selected by buwish.