VStarMan
join:2001-12-01
Nazareth, PA | WNDR3300?
Has anyone tried this router yet?
»www.netgear.com/Products/Routers···300.aspx |
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stephenju
Premium
join:2002-05-17
Bedford, MA | I am interested in this router too. But so far, BestBuy seems to be the only place has them in stock.
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Cookies! »www.jujubakery.com/ |
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mrmyth
@sbcglobal.net
| reply to VStarMan
Actualy been using it for about two weeks now. Besides the giant disco light on the side of it (easily disabled), its been a good router.
I'm not actually using N, though. My setup is DSL,PC hardwired to router, 360 and laptop using A, and PS3 using G. I stream HD to 360 in living room or to Vista Media Center on laptop. Game online from both systems no problem.
Router reset by itself the first night I got it, updated firmware and its been running constantly since.
I've used Dlink and Netgear before, had a DI784 die on me, replaced with WGT624 that's been a a rock. Bought another for my mom that died in a month, replaced that one with a DOA one. Finally gave her my 624 and bought a Dlink WBR2310. Had constant drops on the laptop. Wandered into BB and saw that the WNDR3300 used the A band. Bought sight unseen, would buy again. |
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husky55
On Long Island Sound
Premium
join:2005-03-25
Madison, CT
 ·AT&T Yahoo
| Good reviews at Bestbuy
»www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp···rReviews
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Madison, CT, home of the Hammonasset State Park |
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Piel
@comcast.net | Look at the Netgear forum
»forum1.netgear.com/forumdisplay.php?f=32 |
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fr33man
@saic.com
| reply to VStarMan
This was my review on yahoo:
Pros: Great coverage, solid performance, priced right, flexible configuration options
Cons: No Gigabit switch. No drive/media server support. No wall mounting kit.
I bought this to replace an older Netgear dual band wireless router (WGU624) because I wanted the draft n support. I was content with my old router until my wife rearranged the funiture and put my office/desk in a deadspot. I tried the Dlink DIR-655 but I didn't like the coverage and the fact that I couldn't use it as a pure AP to add on to my existing network. It needed to interface directly with my ISP which was not an option for my service (unless I spend more static IPs). It also reminded me of why I bought a 5GHz band in the first place; the 2.4 GHz band in my area is congested! I was skeptical about getting another Netgear becuase I was less than pleased with their technical support. There were also a lot of bugs and firmware fixes that introduced more bugs in the WGU624 model. But I took a chance with the WNDR3300 and I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I paid $109 for it at Best Buy. The software interface is just like the old router but without all the bugs. The coverage is amazing. I was able to hide the WNDR3300 behind my television set and still get perfect coverage throughout the house. The performance is rock solid with the Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG and 4965ABGN adapters in my laptops. What really sealed the deal for me is that it works fine as a pure AP, so I don't need to replace my existing router just to use the product. ... |
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK
 ·Cingular Wireless
| reply to VStarMan
I wanted to give a mid term report on mine. Although I absolutely hated getting it at Worst Buy, it has proven to be a very good router. Range is tons better than my WL-500G Asus. I don't use the N support, but I had been wanting to try the .11a and it works great on my laptop.
I don't need media or drive support because I have that with an HP Media Vault already....I suggest a solution like that because it doesn't put all of your eggs in one basket.
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"WHEN THE LAUGH TRACK STARTS THEN THE FUN STARTS!" |
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claykin
join:2003-08-22
Fort Lauderdale, FL | reply to VStarMan
As I understand it, the WNDR3300 does not support N in 2.4Ghz mode if using the dual band radio (2.4 and 5Ghz). If you want N support in 2.4Ghz, then only 2.4Ghz can be used. |
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higginst
VIP
join:2005-04-16
Earlysville, VA | That is correct. |
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physicsguy52
join:2005-08-25
Cupertino, CA | Is that (only one "N" mode on 5Ghz when 2.4Ghz also used) a limitation of all simultaneous dual band routers (e.g., the DLINK DIR-855 if it ever comes back out)? Or is that peculiar to this Netgear model? Thanks. |
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higginst
VIP
join:2005-04-16
Earlysville, VA
| It's just for this model. The router uses two radios, but one is dual-band draft 11n, the other is 11b/g. This was done for cost savings.
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Small Network Help @ »smallnetbuilder.com |
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dualband4ever
@verizon.net
| reply to VStarMan
It's onsale at bestbuy this week, $109. (I got it for $100 + tax after a 10% RewardZone coupon.)
So far, I've found the radio-performance to be lackluster. I've set the router to dual-band mode (AN+BG), and in that mode, the G-radio is mediocre. My (ATT-provided) 2Wire 2701HG-B gives slightly better reception (same location/setup/channel#.)
But I bought the Netgear for its 5GHz (802.11a) radio. First things first: Sadly, the Netgear configuration-menu doesn't let me disable the 2.4GHz radio -- I'm limited to the choice of NO-radios, 2.4GHz radio only, or BOTH-radios on. There's no setting to just turn-on the 5GHz radio by itself. Anyway, I shutoff the 2Wire's wifi-radio, and I'm now trying out the Netgear, as a AN+BG access-point....But I don't have any 'N' clients, so basically I'm just using the Netgear as an A+G access-point.
On my A+G clients, I checked the Netgear's A+G radio-reception. As expected, G-reception is always slightly better than A-reception. Unfortunately for me, the A-reception is borderline in my room.
Funny thing is, if I 'tilt' the router upward 45 degrees, reception improves a notch! (haha) After playing a little solo-game of "can you(WIFI) HEAR me now?" between router and laptop, I've improved the A-reception to a useable state. It re-trains between 24/36/48 Mbps (as expected), but it least it's stable and doesn't disconnect in XP.
..
Oh, to save other people some frustration, I encountered two annoyances:
1) When I change certain settings, the router sometimes hangs, and I have to unplug/replug it. (Not a big deal, since setup is usually a one-time thing.) This turned out to be a Firefox-browser+Netgear. When you save settings, Firefox waits about 15 seconds, then tries to reload the page. If the router isn't back up and running by that time, Firefox times-out. If I then click the reload button, Firefox re-submits the changes (causing the router to reboot again, heh.) I wasted 5-10 minutes trapped in this loop, until I noticed the router responded to pings *until* I hit the Firefox reload-button. Quitting Firefox and launching a new sesion fixed it. This wasn't a real complaint against the Netgear, but their webmanagement page should guard against that kind of deadlock.
2) This problem is more serious. On my unit, changing some of the Netgear settings caused the radio to die. The router menu is still accessible from the LAN-side, but the radio shuts-off and I could only fix it by manually cycling-power. Since I eventually will locate the router where it's only accessible by the WiFi-interface, that's a real annoyance.
On the plus-side, the netgaar supports both WPA-PSK(TKIP) and WPA2-PSK(AES) simultaneously. (But I suppose all new equipment does: my 2wire 2701HG-B supports both, too.) My old Airlink AR430W Super-G router forced me to select 1 or the other. |
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kspies007
Premium
join:2003-02-10
Marina Del Rey, CA
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to VStarMan
I just bought this router at Staples the other day for a business that had an unsecured wireless network. It is wired to a switch to a linksys router and at first it was incredibly fast. Then as users came on line it completely tanked and dropped them left and right. But this was with 10 to 15 users connecting to it so probably it isn't made for that kind of traffic. I had disabled the NAT and firewall functionality but still dropped users a lot. Probably works just fine for a handful of users. I researched and found the D-Link DWL-3200AP access point would be much better for what they are doing. But, the disco light is always good for a show! Be well.
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JKinz
@nau.edu
| reply to VStarMan
I'm not sure if I a got a bunk router or what. But I sit no more than 50 feet from this thing and it drops me all the time. That shouldn't be happening under any circumstance. I have the dual-band mode enable running N on the 5Ghz range and G on the 2.4Ghz. Kind of disappointing. This is the second Netgear I have bought and been disappointed with. I may return it for the Linksys WRT310N as it has gotten really good reviews on CNet and other places. |
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Moxie
@ally.com | reply to VStarMan
Just an FYI - 802.11n has a limited range in comparison to earlier standards. That may just be a limitation of the technology. |
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svargas
@unt.edu
| reply to VStarMan
I just got this router this past weekend and it works really really well...
I have an Xbox 360 and it picks up that 802.11a like a charm and it shows it as well...
my sisters computer picks up a 54 mbps signal and seems as if her comp is directly connected to a modem...
and FYI: there are ways to single out bands for just 2.4 ghz or just 5 ghz.... or both
The range on it seems fair to me as well since I only live in an apartment...the other computers/devices are close enough to receive a powerful signal |
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listeur
join:2006-10-23
Englewood, CO
| reply to VStarMan
I'd suggest trying something else at this point. Constant drop every 20-30 minutes. Latest firmware does not help. I'm seriously thinking of going back to my previous rangemax- I never had problems like this. This is not just me either- look in the netgear forums. There are a lot of very unhappy people out there with these routers. Apparently nobody is doing anything to fix this and they keep pretending that there is no problem. There is. »forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?p=139879
anyone really want this thing? first $50.00 takes it- Im tired of trying to figure out what the netgear engineers can't. |
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