EATTHERICH
New Around Here
Hey everyone,
I'm looking to buy a new wireless router as the one I got from my ISP is pretty awful (D-Link DIR600). I've seen the Apple AirPort Extreme and it looks great but it's quite expensive at £139 and I wonder if it's really worth the extra. Either way, the two I've narrowed it down to are as follows. I live in Cologne so ideally I'd like to order from somewhere like Amazon.de so I make sure I have the right plug.
- Apple AirPort Extreme (£139 UK or €159 here)
- NETGEAR WNDR3700 (£102.82 UK or €91.89 here)
I've noticed a few different model names with the NETGEAR router and I'm not sure what they mean. On Amazon.de I see two models for the same price. Once is called the WNDR3700-100PES and the other is the WNDR3700-100GRS. They're both €91.89 delivered which is quite a bit cheaper than £102.82 on Amazon.co.uk.
I have a MacBook Pro which can utilise the 5Ghz "N" band but my girlfriend's MacBook is a bit older so she'd use the 2.4GHz "G" band - this is the reason why I'd like a dual-band router. Am I right to think that with a 'non dual-band' N router that it will work at the slowest speed for both of us?
Ideally, I'd prefer to spend less and get the NETGEAR so if you guys don't think there's that much in it then I'd go for that one. I know that Apple products are great but I also know they're expensive. On paper, both routers look to be a similar and very good spec.
With regard to my setup, I'm on a 64 Mbps cable connection and live in a fairly small apartment so I'll never be working more than 5-10 metres from the router.
Thanks in advance
edit: I've been reading lots of reviews about the NETGEAR and people mention that the 5GHz performance is quite poor. Can anyone give their opinions on this.
I'm looking to buy a new wireless router as the one I got from my ISP is pretty awful (D-Link DIR600). I've seen the Apple AirPort Extreme and it looks great but it's quite expensive at £139 and I wonder if it's really worth the extra. Either way, the two I've narrowed it down to are as follows. I live in Cologne so ideally I'd like to order from somewhere like Amazon.de so I make sure I have the right plug.
- Apple AirPort Extreme (£139 UK or €159 here)
- NETGEAR WNDR3700 (£102.82 UK or €91.89 here)
I've noticed a few different model names with the NETGEAR router and I'm not sure what they mean. On Amazon.de I see two models for the same price. Once is called the WNDR3700-100PES and the other is the WNDR3700-100GRS. They're both €91.89 delivered which is quite a bit cheaper than £102.82 on Amazon.co.uk.
I have a MacBook Pro which can utilise the 5Ghz "N" band but my girlfriend's MacBook is a bit older so she'd use the 2.4GHz "G" band - this is the reason why I'd like a dual-band router. Am I right to think that with a 'non dual-band' N router that it will work at the slowest speed for both of us?
Ideally, I'd prefer to spend less and get the NETGEAR so if you guys don't think there's that much in it then I'd go for that one. I know that Apple products are great but I also know they're expensive. On paper, both routers look to be a similar and very good spec.
With regard to my setup, I'm on a 64 Mbps cable connection and live in a fairly small apartment so I'll never be working more than 5-10 metres from the router.
Thanks in advance
edit: I've been reading lots of reviews about the NETGEAR and people mention that the 5GHz performance is quite poor. Can anyone give their opinions on this.