D-Link Wireless 108G Gaming Router

Performance:

With the Gigabit Ethernet ports, 108G wireless, and GameFuel Technology the focus of our testing, we began with the wired testing. Four of our FedoraCore3 (2.6.10-1.770) systems, with 10/100/1000 support, were connected directly to the LAN ports on the DGL-4300. All of the cables used for the network were CAT5 with a standard wire configuration, except for one of our systems which was using CAT6 cable. On the wireless side of things, we used two more Linux testbeds (FedoraCore3 and Linspire 5.0.59) while one used a Minitar MN54GPC (Broadcom) the other 802.11g WiFi adapter was a NetGear WAG311 (Atheros). For the wired performance, our first test was to have one of the four CAT5 systems connect to our LAN Red-Hat up2date repository, which was the CAT6 system. When updating the system across the network, all 418 available updates patched in a matter of seconds with an average speed of about 26MB/s. The time required to transfer the RPMs was much less than when using 10/100 networking with the D-Link DI-624. We then did some Unreal Tournament 2004 action while simultaneously transferring some files across the network from our Samba server. During this we found our LAN action to not be laggy at all, thanks in part to the Gigabit support. Onto the 802.11g WiFi, we first tested the signal strength of the wireless connection when connecting to the D-Link DI-624 802.11g router. Our Atheros wireless system was located a mere 2 meters away from the base location while the Linspire Broadcom wireless system was about 8 meters away and separated by a wooden wall. As the Broadcom WiFi doesn't support Turbo-mode, the feature was disabled during this testing. We found the signal strength of the Atheros to be 64% while the Broadcom reported 78%. When repeating this experiment with the DGL-4300 GamerLounge Gaming Router the Atheros reported a 15% improvement (79%) and the Broadcom at a mere 78% (4% boost) in signal level, with the link quality remaining roughly the same. Overall, we were very surprised to see such a large improvement in signal strength between the two routers, which in part was due to the DGL-4300 being twice the length of its predecessor. To test the D-Link GameFuel Technology, we configured the settings via the web administration area and then on two of our machines (1 x WiFi & 1 x wired). The games played were Unreal Tournament 2004 and America's Army Special Forces 2.3. Comparing our average ping before and after GameFuel was enabled, we found the pings to be slightly lower, but when we turned on some more of our machines and began filling the Internet connection with more data, we found a larger drop in latency.

Conclusion:

Overall, almost every aspect about the DGL-4300 GamerLounge Gaming Router was appealing one way or another. The 10/100/1000 support from a router was definitely a welcome sign when transferring large files across the network or when performing multiple network operations simultaneously. From the 108g WiFi, our wireless range increased dramatically while having a stronger signal. The web-based configuration was also very easy to setup, configure, and maintain. We were quite surprised to see the improved gaming performance when GameFuel Technology was enabled. One of the ways the DGL-4300 could be improved, if the LEDs on the front of the router were able to report the speed at which a LAN device was connected. Although the price is rather stiff for the router ($170 USD), it's very much worth it if your into any Internet gaming or constantly transfer large files across your network.

Pros:

· 10/100/1000
· 802.11g Turbo-mode
· Strong WiFi connection - large antenna
· Attractive appearance
· GameFuel Technology
· Easy administrative section

Cons:

· LEDs don't indicate speed
· Expensive (~ $170 USD)