NETGEAR WNDR3700 Reviewed

[JoeUser]

Traffic Monitoring Destroys WNDR3700

Flash writes will occur:
1 times in 1 sec
60 times in 1 min
3,600 times in 1 hour
86,400 times in 1 day
2,592,000 times in 1 month

without write leveling, flash would be destroyed in less than a month, with leveling, flash will be unusable in a couple of months, perhaps they've already tested it so that it'll destroy itself very soon after the warranty expires

 

[Spink]

New to the site, it's a gooder!

Anyways, bought the Netgear WNDR3700 and got it setup today. Wired speeds are great and other stuff seems pretty nice (guest network, etc).

Wireless however... not so much. I have a brand new laptop running Windows 7 64 with an Atheros 802.11b/g/n NIC. I setup the router as I would have expected to and a few unexpected results happened. 1) The connection link speed only shows 150mbps even though the 2.5ghz settings on the router are set to "up to 300mbps" (does not appear the laptop NIC will work with the 5ghz band) and 2) the max speed I get across the network is about 11mbps.

I'm out of touch with todays wireless tech, but I suspect that I should see at least around 30 - 40mbps (fastest I've seen from my file server over a wired connection).

Thoughts?


Spencer

 

[thiggins]

Wireless however... not so much. I have a brand new laptop running Windows 7 64 with an Atheros 802.11b/g/n NIC. I setup the router as I would have expected to and a few unexpected results happened. 1) The connection link speed only shows 150mbps even though the 2.5ghz settings on the router are set to "up to 300mbps" (does not appear the laptop NIC will work with the 5ghz band) and 2) the max speed I get across the network is about 11mbps.

Go through 5 Ways To Fix Slow 802.11n Speed.

A b/g/n NIC will not work with 5 GHz. The adapter would have to support a/b/g/N. Just because something supports N, doesn't mean it supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.

Update your NIC drivers and check its advanced properties to see if there is a 40 MHz channel bandwidth mode control.

 

[stevech]

Let us not forget: The WiFi air link speed is much greater than the net yield at the IP layer. Good rule of thumb: Net IP yield is about 60% of the air link speed.

To get to 300Mbps air link rate in 11n the 40MHz channel width mode would have to (1) be enabled and (2) be viable, as some routers will drop back to 20MHz mode if any non-11n SSIDs are detected anywhere in that 40MHz. This is "polite" WiFi.

And of course, for the really high air link speed, many conditions have to be met, starting with a very ideal signal strength and great signal to noise ratio.

Want really fast IP transfers: Don't use WiFi! Use Cat5. Or use MoCA on cable TV coax.

 

[tipstir]

Point is that people want to use wireless. I had 4th July party over the weekend. I had to show some videos off youtube on a wireless netbook that was running 802.11n. I couldn't see the point to run CAT5e all the way out in the back of the property. Wired LAN is good also don't get me wrong but, nobody with a wireless netbook, netop, laptop going want to drag any cord around the home or business.

 

[futonpimp]

Thumbs up for Netgear WNDR3700 - Happy Purchase

I previously had a DIR-655 A3 with latest firmware and over the last 6 months as I've added an iphone/ipad.. couple tivos..wireless printer.. 3-4x laptops all wireless a wireless webcam... nas/ps3/pogoplug/slingbox/360.. (you can see where i'm going with this) It has brought the dir-655 to a halt on numerous occasions and a reboot was necessary. (this is great until i'm in my office performing work functions and everything dies..including my vpn connection to work)

So what I decided to do after hours of troubleshooting was to simply replace it. I read many many reviews on this site and ended up going with the WNDR3700 from Netgear. This was an excellent purchase.. Easy setup.. followed the quick tips for performance that people and tim have posted and was off and running. I've taken my Apple Airport express..and configured it as a G access point/bridge..for all the G devices..and seperated them from my N devices. This I think drastically helped my performance as now i'm getting a stable slingbox connection with no dropouts or hiccups over the wireless in another room.

I would highly recommend this router to anyone. (I'll probably be upgrading my parents setup to this soon as well).


I've disabled a few things/features..such as the usb functionality..as I have a nas from QNAP.

I've also disabled the 5ghz portion of the router..because the 2.4ghz 20mhz is providing the nice clean signal i need within my condo.

I know thats the point of this router... but I also assume that at some point all of my devices will be atleast "n" and if i'm ever in a clear line of sight to the router and need wifi..the 5ghz will be a nice option to enable on the fly.


last thing..
I had the buffalo 300nh for about 20 hours before i got so fed up with the menu system lag..and the instability of dd-wrt.

 

[thiggins]

Thanks for the post. If you wouldn't mind, could you please post this as a review in the review itself?

Thnx.

 

[Unregistered]

very few 5GHz channels available

After bying the WNDR37000 after your review a few questions come to mind:
1) I Understand thera are a lot 5GHz band channels available. However the 3700 onlys shows a few channels (four). Is there a reason for this?
2) Is there a few to set or select 20/40 MHz width channels?

 

[thiggins]

1) I Understand thera are a lot 5GHz band channels available. However the 3700 onlys shows a few channels (four). Is there a reason for this?

Depends on what country you're in. 5 GHz frequencies are more restricted than 2.4 GHz. In the U.S., the WNDR3700 shows Channels 36, 40, 44, 48, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165.

2) Is there a few to set or select 20/40 MHz width channels?

Don't understand this question.

 

[Unregistered]

2) Is there a few to set or select 20/40 MHz width channels?

I meant: Is there a way to select 20 or 40MHz channels? (This seem to be optional in the standard, but I miss a method to select this in the 3700)

 

[BrianBloom]

Confused by "Streaming Multimedia" claim

I've been considering the WNDR3700 and the WNR3500L (to replace and upgrade my rather old WRT54g).

I really don't need dual band at this point (of my 8 or 9 wireless devices, only one, my Roku video player, even supports 5 GHz) so about the only other feature they nominally differ on, according to the router comparison matrix for either model on Amazon, is that the WNDR3700 has a checkmark next to "Streaming Multimedia" and the WNR3500L does not.

Strangely, they don't really elaborate either on Amazon or on the Netgear site what this distinction means. (Netgear's site only mentions this: "Faster multimedia streaming — Provides Wireless-N speed for streaming HD videos, simultaneous downloads, and online gaming in addition to basic Internet applications", which in theory the 3500L does too)

So my thought is, is there really a difference? I know the CPU of the WNDR3700 is somewhat faster, but is that device really able to do any better of a job streaming multimedia?

But musing aside, here's where my own personal setup comes into play: I'm not even needing my media to use wireless. Right now, I have CAT5 from my Roku HD Netflix player, directly into a gigabit switch, directly into my current router, directly out to the net. Do I gain anything by going with a WNDR3700 (and its claim of "streaming multimedia") over a WNR3500L for my wired Roku? Or should I just save my money, forgo the dual band, and get an essentially equivalent router (for *my* uses anyway) in the cheaper 3500L?

Thanks!

 

[thiggins]

I meant: Is there a way to select 20 or 40MHz channels? (This seem to be optional in the standard, but I miss a method to select this in the 3700)

NETGEAR calls these modes "Up to 130 Mbps" and "Up to 300 Mbps"

 

[thiggins]

The WNDR3700's primary wireless advantage is the higher speeds that 802.11n can provide. There is no specific "multimedia" advantage for wired connections.

 

[Unregistered]

Wndr3700

Finally got around to testing the WNDR3700 with the new Simultaneous Connection test. I got only 4096 sessions. Should be plenty for most uses. But 2nd to lowest of all the routers I've tested with the new technique (the D-Link DIR-825 B1 is the lowest).

I've updated the review with this info.

I just purchased this unit. Still testing. I am using a Netgear 834GT configured as modem only to the WNDR3700. I played some online games wireless on PS3 and had some disconnections mid game. Not sure if it is router related.

Questions
1) why did/do they have so low a connections comparatively on WNDR3700?
2) can the USB input be used for 3/4g modem
3) if not what is the fastest adsl/3g modem (gigabit Ethernet) to compliment this router.
4) would it be better to wait for usb3 based 3/4g modems
5) would a 3/4g usb modem plugged directly in PC be able to be used as AP for this WNDR3700

 

[thiggins]

1) why did/do they have so low a connections comparatively on WNDR3700?

You'd have to ask NETGEAR.

2) can the USB input be used for 3/4g modem

No

3) if not what is the fastest adsl/3g modem (gigabit Ethernet) to compliment this router.

Don't know

4) would it be better to wait for usb3 based 3/4g modems

See Question 2 answer

5) would a 3/4g usb modem plugged directly in PC be able to be used as AP for this WNDR3700

No

 

[Unregistered]

adjust the mtu

I just purchased this unit. Still testing. I am using a Netgear 834GT configured as modem only to the WNDR3700. I played some online games wireless on PS3 and had some disconnections mid game. Not sure if it is router related.

Questions
1) why did/do they have so low a connections comparatively on WNDR3700?
2) can the USB input be used for 3/4g modem
3) if not what is the fastest adsl/3g modem (gigabit Ethernet) to compliment this router.
4) would it be better to wait for usb3 based 3/4g modems
5) would a 3/4g usb modem plugged directly in PC be able to be used as AP for this WNDR3700

to 1400...and your connection should be ok....

 

[Unregistered]

Hey folks,

Just got the WNDR3700. I've been reading about issues regarding the latest firmware (.68) (something to do with the write-rate to the ram, I dunno).

Just wondering if it's advisable to upgrade to it? If no, which firmware is the best?

Thanks

 

[RabidTreeMonkey]

We bought the WNDR3700 router back in October largely based on SNB's recommendation and have zero regrets. We don't use the 5GHz, but the USB/readyshare feature combined with an external hdd has been of great use till we can shell out the extra $$ for a decent NAS. Now we're looking to expand our wireless network and once again SNB is of great help with recent articles on wireless repeating/access points. THANKS TIM!

Hey folks,

Just got the WNDR3700. I've been reading about issues regarding the latest firmware (.68) (something to do with the write-rate to the ram, I dunno).

Just wondering if it's advisable to upgrade to it? If no, which firmware is the best?

Thanks

I'd love to hear some opinions on newer BIOS, too.

We're still running the v1.0.4.31NA firmware from Oct 2009 and haven't yet upgraded because during the 3-5 times I've checked the Netgear forums, I notice a fair number of complaints. I'm tempted to flash, mostly for the traffic meter but some folks complain that the WNDR3700's USB port suffers with newer BIOS revisions and that feature is more important to us than traffic meter.

 

[glypto]

My main point is that the WNDR3700 comes with a broken local DNS implementation that prevents you from accessing local machines via their local host names. With the WNDR3700 as your DHCP server in your network you can no longer access the Web Based management tools of your NAS via the hostname of that NAS.

I did not check to see if NAT Loopback works on this router.

The router does perform a DNS Relay function if you set the router as the main DNS server in your network. But even if you do not use your router as the main DNS server in your network it still intercepts and examine any DNS Request when they pass through the router. And this "feature" can not be turned off.

Hmmm,
so there is realy no way how to access computers on local network by their name (except for putting them in hosts file) ? What about dd-wrt firmware, does it add local DNS functionality ?
thanks

 

[medusakeith]

3G/4G modem plug & play? is WNDR 3700 really supporting 4G/WiMAX modem available in the retail? where could i find it