D-Link VS. TP-Link

[Krvn]

Hi all, im in a bit of a rut deciding on whether to buy a TP-Link or a D-Link to replace this POS Netgear DGN2200v3 AKA N300 (my 2nd one from RMA).

...

What im planning to go for:

TP-Link WDR4900 N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router for R1300 @ DBG.co.za

-4xGbit ports
-2/5gHz bands
-2x USB

Now does anyone have a good non bias review on this, I would like you to be as critical as possible even if it gets hot etc so i wont have to buy yet another one...

And also a counter review for D-Link.


Thank you.

Hey, I'm a little confused. You are having problems with your ADSL router, but you'd like to replace it with a wireless router with no modem?

You probably want to go for this then, it's the closest to what you want with a modem... TP-Link W8980

Personally, I have owned and used the TP-Link W8968 300Mbps Wireless N USB ADSL2+ Router for the past few months. I'm perfectly happy with it, Haven't had too much problems when streaming through my external HD, but it's a bit of a las to have my external on all the time.

It hasn't dropped any connections while I've been on and the wireless range is good. Take note though, that I have installed the TP-Link 8dBi antenna so that I could watch things wirelessly a few rooms away, Works flawlessly although I think it is a bit of overkill for my application...

 

[sactjt]

It hasn't dropped any connections while I've been on and the wireless range is good. Take note though, that I have installed the TP-Link 8dBi antenna so that I could watch things wirelessly a few rooms away, Works flawlessly although I think it is a bit of overkill for my application...

Is this routers standard dbi 3 or 5 per antenna? I see on tp-link website it states 2 x 5dbi and on uniterm link it states 2 x 3dbi.
Did you change both antennas to 8dbi? Did this make a huge difference? I have an older tp-link with 2x 5dbi antennas which just falls short when it comes to coverage in my house. Hopefully the antenna upgrade will help?

 

[MDKza]

If you have poor line quality TP-Link has shown to be superior.
But yes any high end router with a broadcom modem chip will work very well.

 

[Rickster]

Hey, I'm a little confused. You are having problems with your ADSL router, but you'd like to replace it with a wireless router with no modem?

The TP-Link WDR4900 is a Wireless ADSL router, a router is a modem and a switch combined, the TP-Link WDR4900 is an upgrade of the TP-LINK W8970 which is an upgrade of a TP-LINK W8968.

 

[Rocket-Boy]

I would recommend staying away from both tp-link and d-link if you have a problematic line.
I have a number of sites using everything from netgear to cisco and this is what I have found with routers.
Netgear DGN2000 - 8 out of 10 failed
Netgear DGN2200 - needs frequent reboots
D-link DSL2500u - terrible little thing with no wireless but stable as a rock.
TP-Link various models - need a reboot almost daily
Linksys WAG320N - rock solid and has gb ethernet
D-link DSL 5270u - needs a reboot every 2 weeks or so.

 

[PostmanPot]

D-Link 2500U + D-Link 5 port Gigabit switch + D-Link Wireless N AP/repeater, anyone?

 

[Rickster]

I would recommend staying away from both tp-link and d-link if you have a problematic line.
I have a number of sites using everything from netgear to cisco and this is what I have found with routers.
Netgear DGN2000 - 8 out of 10 failed
Netgear DGN2200 - needs frequent reboots
D-link DSL2500u - terrible little thing with no wireless but stable as a rock.
TP-Link various models - need a reboot almost daily
Linksys WAG320N - rock solid and has gb ethernet
D-link DSL 5270u - needs a reboot every 2 weeks or so.

The problem with my line is it just went bad all of a sudden, hence the suspicion of a faulty router.

 

[Hectic]

IMO, its the host location that is the problem, are you using WMP to create the media server?

Apologies for taking so long, but only finished with work close to midnight.

I'm using PS3 media software on Linux.
Okay it seems that ntfs was the problem.
I formatted a partion to fat32 and everything worked.

 

[falcon786]

Whatever you do DON'T get a Billion router, where I used to work we had a not so great line and the billion router would frequently disconnect up to 20 times in a day,we bought a newer billion model and the problems just became worse so Billions are not good if your line isn't stable that much is for sure.

 

[Hype]

I find the D-links works the best on the telkom network. Using them at a few of my clients sites and they run without an issue for weeks on end. They seem to be more forgiving on the sync speeds if your line is not the best of qualities.

 

[Krvn]

Is this routers standard dbi 3 or 5 per antenna? I see on tp-link website it states 2 x 5dbi and on uniterm link it states 2 x 3dbi.
Did you change both antennas to 8dbi? Did this make a huge difference? I have an older tp-link with 2x 5dbi antennas which just falls short when it comes to coverage in my house. Hopefully the antenna upgrade will help?

I changed both, and it increased the range for me. If this is what you need then go for it. The 5dBi's that came with it perform well, but just have a smaller range.

The TP-Link WDR4900 is a Wireless ADSL router, a router is a modem and a switch combined, the TP-Link WDR4900 is an upgrade of the TP-LINK W8970 which is an upgrade of a TP-LINK W8968.

No, the WDR4900 is not a ADSL router.

The TD-W8980 is an upgrade of the W8970...

The 'R' in the WDR in the Part name indicates Router as far as I can see... Also, check the TP-Link WDR4900 page