Wireless router buyer’s guide 2012/2013

[mccoady]

"NOTE: Please avoid v3- it's completely different and nothing that's been written here about v2 applies to v3"

My nephew wanted to buy his parents a wireless router for streaming so I told him about the Netgear WDNR3700 you recommended here and Best buy has it NETGEAR - RangeMax Dual-Band Wireless-N Router with 4-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch - WNDR3700-100NAS

How do you know though if it's v2 or v3?

[downloads]

Assuming info on BestBuy's website is correct (which I'm not entirely sure of) it's v2 as they are referring to a "Powerful 680MHz processor" which is Atheros AR7161 680MHz used in V1 and V2. Version 3 is equipped with a Broadcom BCM4718A1 which is either 480 or 533MHz.
But BestBuy might have just copied the description...

[mccoady]

Thanks I guess he'll just have to buy it and hope it's v2 then!

[JP$]

Any thoughts on my issues below, downloads? The question about the best buy page was answered, but I was wondering if you think the WNDR3700 will do better at holding and assigning ip addresses.

Thanks downloads for this great guide. It is very helpful. I'm in the market for a new wireless router and I am probably going to go with your suggestion of the Netgear WNDR3700. Would you be able to confirm if this page from Best Buy is indeed the v2 and not the v3? I'm having trouble telling: NETGEAR - RangeMax Dual-Band Wireless-N Router with 4-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch - WNDR3700-100NAS WNDR3700&cp=1&lp=1 .

The trouble I've had with my ancient Cisco/Linksys WRT54GX4 is it seems to drop connections frequently and then has trouble reassigning IP addresses to various devices (or at least that's my hunch since I get frequent messages saying that multiple devices are trying to use the same IP address). I've also been generally unsuccessful trying to get my wireless printer (HP Photosmart Plus B209) connected into the network (recently while trying to set up the wireless connection I get a message saying that the IP address of the printer is incompatible with the IP address of the host PC). I know it's hard to diagnose issues based on just a few sentences, but do you have a feeling for whether I may have more success with these issues with the WNDR3700? As far as wireless devices go, I generally have three computers (one running XP and two running W7), an iPod, iPad, printer, and a Blu-Ray player attempting to wirelessly access the internet. I also have one or two additional devices that may occasionally be plugged in to the ethernet jacks. Just want to make sure I won't be overwhelming the router.

[downloads]

Sorry I must have missed your post the first time.
Are you sure that all devices are set to dynamic IPs?
It may be a config issue on the Linksys although it shouldn't drop connections in the first place...

Your current setup won't cause any issued for a WNDR3700 in terms of load.
Something that couldn't be done it those days on Linksys was assigning IP addresses by MAC addresses of the cards so you keep dynamic IPs but router always assigns the same IP to the same device- that way you can configure everything in advance.

[JP$]

Sorry I must have missed your post the first time.
Are you sure that all devices are set to dynamic IPs?
It may be a config issue on the Linksys although it shouldn't drop connections in the first place...

Your current setup won't cause any issued for a WNDR3700 in terms of load.
Something that couldn't be done it those days on Linksys was assigning IP addresses by MAC addresses of the cards so you keep dynamic IPs but router always assigns the same IP to the same device- that way you can configure everything in advance.

Thanks for the info. I'm quite certain all of the devices are set to dynamic IPs, though I'm not physically at home to check. Yes...assigning the same IP to a device each time is definitely what I would love to be able to do. I've noticed with the Linksys that sometimes a device has a .101 address and then other times has a .105, and other times .102, etc. The addresses get shuffled around the various devices. Sometimes rebooting a computer seems to collapse the whole network, but it happens randomly as well. So the WNDR3700 will allow me to preset IPs based on MAC address? That would be splendid to be able to assign everything in advance.

[downloads]

Yes WNDR3700 can assign IPs by MAC addresses.

[JP$]

Yes WNDR3700 can assign IPs by MAC addresses.

Great thanks! I'll check out the unit at Best Buy, hopefully tonight.

@mccoady...I'll check with Best Buy (they have this unit in my local store) to see what the processor speed is. If it's 680 MHz then we know it's v2. I'll post to let you know what I find out.

[JP$]

Great thanks! I'll check out the unit at Best Buy, hopefully tonight.

@mccoady...I'll check with Best Buy (they have this unit in my local store) to see what the processor speed is. If it's 680 MHz then we know it's v2. I'll post to let you know what I find out.

Crap, so the Best Buy router is the v3 of the WNDR3700. @downloads, is it a good enough router to keep? Should I keep looking for the v2? There is nothing on the box that tells you it is v2 or v3. I had to bring the thing home and open it up and look at some of the paperwork in order to tell...

[downloads]

It's probably not bad but it has nothing in common with WNDR3700- different main chip, different Wi-Fi radio resulting in different range and throughput.
It's up to you if you want to keep it or not- I probably wouldn't.