DLink DGL-4500 Extreme N Gaming Router VS Apple Airport Extreme

[ryanflucas]

I have a DLink DGL-4300 Wireless G Gaming Router. It's been acting quirky, I need resets every few days or so. This happens ever since I bought it, and sometimes goes away for a few days. My cable Internet checks out fine so I'm considering replacing the router.

I'm considering:

DLink DGL-4500 Extreme N Gaming Router VS Apple Airport Extreme Base Station


I've setup Airports before and liked them. I have 2 wired PC's, Gigabit to my iMac, and Wired to my Xbox 360. I have a Dell 16 port 10/100 switch I'll use to pickup the extra wired slack if I run out of ports. I run a PSP & iPod Touch over the wireless.

Does Airport Extreme have any QOS or bandwidth management like the DLink gaming routers have? I never really used any of the other "gaming" features.


Which would you choose and why?

 

[asbjornu]

I'm wondering about the exact same thing. Does anyone know how game-friendly the Airport Extreme (or Time Capsule) is?

 

[bruinsrme]

I see absolutely no performance difference with the WRT54, WRT310, WRT610 and the Airport Xtreme with the 360 and PS3.
My son hasn't noticed any difference either, if he did he would surely let me know.

 

[lixuelai]

I would just get a DIR-655 unless you want the 5GHz band. The DGL-4500 cannot do both 2.4GHz and 5GHz simultaneously however.

The main reason to get these D-Link routers is for their gigabit and torrenting performance...which they are very good in. The DIR-655 is also a good bit cheaper. The color also matches pretty well.

 

[pastrychef]

The DIR-655 has been a favorite of mine for a long time. However, recent versions of their firmware have been problematic. This is true of recent firmwares for the DIR-655, DIR-825, and DGL-4500. Check which version of hardware and firmware at the time of purchase by looking at the labeling on the box.

 

[asbjornu]

Thanks for the reply, bruinsrme. So the AirPort Extreme doesn't doesn't prioritize gaming traffic or have any QOS/Traffic shaping functionality, but still performs great? How does e.g. torrent downloads affect gaming performance, especially online (as WoW)?

lixuelai, I have a DIR-655 now and like it, but would like the dual band and extended range I'm pretty certain I'll get with the AirPort Extreme (or Time Capsule, actually, which is what I'm going to get) plus the ability to extend the WLAN range with additional AirPort Expresses around the house (which don't work with a non-Apple based wireless router). And the backup/storage Time Capsule provides, of course.