Wireless Router N buying guide

If you are looking to upgrade you existing wireless g router to a wirless n router then you came to the right place. I have researched a lot and finally I came up with following features a new wireless n router should have:

1. Dual Band: Wireless N router must support dual band. Dual band supports 2.4Ghz and the newer, less busy 5Ghz frequencies.
2. Gigabit switch: It must have gigabit switch for wired networking.
3. A USB port to connect my hard drive over the network for sharing and backup.
4. WPA2 encryption, denial-of-service (DoS) and stateful packet inspetion (SPI) features in Firewall.

After researching I found following three routers in the order which fits above criteria and I liked them:

1. Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router
   • Dual-band Wireless-N router provides outstanding speed and performance for serious gamers, enthusiasts, and small businesses
   • Simultaneous operation on 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequencies for combined 600 Mbps speed
   • Powerful 680 MHz 32-bit processor
   • Four Gigabit Ethernet ports; USB 2.0 port for adding external storage
   • Device measures 8.8 x 1.2 x 6.0 inches (WxHxD)

   Product Description

   The NETGEAR RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router delivers the ultimate in wireless performance for home and small business networking. With twice the available bandwidth, separate wireless-N access points for media and data, and four Gigabit Ethernet ports, you enjoy more reliable connections, faster wireless, and maximum wired speeds- ideal for connecting multiple computers running multiple applications. The Dual Band Gigabit Router manages network traffic too, so there’s less lag in streaming, VoIP, and other critical tasks. Centralizing an external storage device and file sharing is easy. Just connect your USB storage device to the router, and every computer on your network can easily exchange media, documents, music, and more.

   Expert Review on Netgear WNDR3700 Router
   Amazon.com Customer Reviews on Netgear WNDR3700 Router
   Check Netgear WNDR3700 on eBay

2. Linksys WRT610N Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router
   • Internet-sharing Router and 4-port Gigabit Switch, with a built-in, dual-band, speed and range enhanced Wireless Access Point
   • Two simultaneous, separate, radio bands double your available bandwidth
   • MIMO technology uses multiple radios per band to create robust signals for maximum range and speed, with reduced dead spots
   • Connect a hard drive or flash-based USB storage device to allow access to your music, video, or data files from within your network

   Product Description

   Linksys Ultra RangePlus, Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router The Dual-Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router is really four devices in one box. First, there’s the dual-band Wireless Access Point, which lets you connect to the network without wires. There’s also a built-in 4-port full-duplex 10/100/1000 Switch to connect your wired-Ethernet devices together at up to gigabit speeds. The Router function ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection. We’ve also included a Storage Link that lets you easily add gigabytes of storage space onto your network using readily available USB 2.0 hard drives — or plug in a USB flash disk for a convenient way to access your portable data files. The built-in Media Server streams music, video, and photos from the attached storage device to any UPnP compatible media adapter. And you can get to your files from anywhere in the world through the Internet. The Access Point built into the Router uses a dual-band version of the very latest wireless networking technology, Wireless-N (draft 802.11n). By overlaying the signals of multiple radios for each band, Wireless-N’s “Multiple In, Multiple Out” (MIMO) technology multiplies the effective data rate. Unlike ordinary wireless networking technologies that are confused by signal reflections, MIMO actually uses these reflections to increase the range and reduce “dead spots” in the wireless coverage area. The robust signals travel farther, maintaining wireless connections much farther than standard Wireless-G.

   Expert Review on Linksys WRT610N Router
   Amazon.com Customer Reviews on Linksys WRT610N
   Check Linksys WRT610N eBay

3. D-Link DIR-855 Xtreme N Duo Dual Band Draft 802.11n Media Router
   • With some routers, all wired and wireless traffic, including Voice over IP (VoIP), Video Streaming, Online Gaming, and Web browsing
   • The DIR-855 utilizes MediaBand (5GHz), which is the best technology available for wirelessly streaming multiple HD videos across your network
   • Delivering best-in-class performance, network security, and coverage, the Xtreme N Duo Media Router (DIR-855)
   • Create a dualband wireless network to share high-speed Internet access with computers, game consoles, or media players
   • Intelligent QoS technology prioritizes Internet traffic as well as wired and wireless network traffic
   Expert Review on Dlink DIR-855 Router
   Amazon.com Customer Reviews on Dlink DIR-855
   Check Dlink DIR-855 on eBay

All the three routers support the features which I want but I liked WNDR3700 most. The USB port on WNDR3700 supports DLNA so I don’t need a pc to stream content on my PS3 Slim. Also Dlink DIR-855 is super expensive so don’t buy that unless you find super cheap deal.