Which is best wireless router choice? Netgear N450 WNDR4000 or N300 WNDR3800

I have received many questions from AVS members regarding which router should people purchase. Netgear announced 2 new routers that at a 1st glance seem to be a better best situation but in fact they are not. Seems many folks are confused. Should they buy the WNDR 4000 now or wait for the WNDR 3800? Isn't the 4000 an upgrade over the 3800? (no it isnt) Why does the 3800 cost more then the 4000 if the 4000 is better (because the two routers are have different performance focuses). Will the 3700 still be available? (Yes) Should I buy a 3700 now or wait for the 3800? (feedback from members please)

Given these questions I thought it would be worthwhile to start a thread where AVS members can chime in into what they feel is important and or the best choice when purchasing a new router today. Should people be buying the latest and greatest in the new WIFI spec? Or should you be buying a great networking machine workhorse with proven wireless performance and a broad feature set?



For a little background let me explain the difference in these two similar but altogether different routers.

Netgear WNDR4000 has recently begun shipping. It is Netgear's 1st foray into the N450 space, the new highest performance wireless standard. It is a direct competitor to the Linksys E4200 series routers. Netgear has positioned this router as their maximum performance wireless device. N450 as opposed to N300 (N300 had been the highest current N standard) uses a 3x3 radio configuration (N300 uses a 2X2 Radio configuration) . What that means is you have 3 150 mhz radios that can simultaneously talk to a client that also has an N450 adapter. This is how the new spec increases the theoretical maximum speed from 300 mbs to 450 mbs. To get the benefit your client device must have an N450 compatible radio installed.

The 4000 also sports the Readyshare port for a usb drive but does not support printer sharing. It also supports DLNA like the 3700 as well. For more info here is the link to Netgear's site. http://www.netgear.com/home/products.../wndr4000.aspx




The Netgear WNDR3800 is the logical successor the to highly regarded WNDR3700 Router. It has been updated and enhanced with many new features and functions that have come from the long list of Netgear 3700 owners. Enhanced over the 3700 are the following

1. ReadyShare Remote and ReadyShare Remote iPhone and Android Access. This enhancement over the 3700 will allow users easy access to their attached hard drives content from any web enabled PC as well as mobile access from iPhone or Android devices. This content sharing allows you to have your own personal sharing capability limited only by the size of the hard drive you connect via it's usb port.

2. ClearChannel Selector. This is a new wireless technology that ferrets out interference and communicates to the devices connecting to it to change channels to a less noisy one. Overall this is a great enhancement for ensuring best wireless connections with todays wifi products.

3. ReadyShare Printer You will now be able to connect a printer to your router and share it with other computers on your network. Also supports MFP as well. (This usb port works with a usb hub so you can connect both printer and hard drive at the same time)

4. Mac Time Machine support If you own a Mac you care about this!

Link to the Netgear 3800 page. http://www.netgear.com/home/products.../wndr3800.aspx




So what do you think? Should people be buying the latest and greatest in the new WIFI spec like the Netgear WNDR4000? Or would you recommend buying a great networking workhorse with proven wireless performance and broad feature sets like the Netgear WNDR3700 or Netgear WNDR3800?


Bob Silver
Netgear AV Consultant

4000 is shipping now. Supplies probably tight but you will find it a Best Buy. Frys. Amazon. Let me know if you have any issue finding it. The 3800 is scheduled to hit the streets in early June.

Bob Silver

Your point about file sharing performance through the router is a good one. The router sharing was never intended to be the be all solution for content sharing. It is an easy and low cost way to share some media (music, photos, videos) but clearly not designed for high performance sharing. Keep in mind there are less technical people out there who by simply plugging in a drive can then have access to their media with the internet enabled TV with very minimal setup or hassle. In my home the drive attached to my 3700 is used by my wife. She understands it and it is easy. She has a Mac so when the 3800 comes out I will be upgrading to it fort the Time Machine support.

Bob Silver

Thanks for the update. Let me check with sales and get back. I was told the 4000 were in the channels now.

Bob

Curious as to the performance you are getting with the Neo550 on your bridge. I can only assume you are not streaming BD rips. As I have found the only wireless solution able to support that is the 3DHD WNDR3004 solution from Netgear.

But kudos to your setup just the same.

Bob

There is a fine line between bridges and access points. A bridge connects to your wireless network like a standard wifi device. But has an Ethernet port to connect your devices. An access point is a device that connects to your network via an Ethernet cable and then broadcasts an additional wifi signal. Useful for expanding wireless coverage and is the best way to do it. You can covert routers to a an access point by configuration. Not aware how to do this to make it a bridge unless that sw was built in from the start.

Good low costs bridge is the Netgear WNCE2001. Currently single Ethernet port. They are coming out with multiport units as well as dual band products very soon.

Bob Silver

From the sale dept on the 4000 availability

"It just started shipping last week. Fry's has it and it will show up at amazon, newegg etc in a few days The rest of the channel resets on 4/19."

Bob Silver

you got it Ed

Bob

Don't know but will find out. But curious what you are trying to accomplish ?

Bob Silver

Yes you can put the wireless router in the basement. It's effectiveness on the 1st floor will be determined by what your flooring materials are. Wood great. Concrete not so great. But more likely then not it will be fine.

Since you are adding other wire drops my suggestion would be to place it near the center point of where you will want wifi coverage. To do this you will need to make sure you have a dedicated wire from your cable modem to the router. As the connection for modems is unique on routers. There is only one.

The other consideration is other type of gear you may add. For example a server. You would probably want to keep this in the basement (for noise). If you were to do that and keep the wifi router in the basement you would connect the server to a lan port on the router, connect your other wired cables to lan ports on the router and then connect the modem to the modem port. Then you would put switches on the other parts of the home where you have wired connections. Note that the router has a built in 4 port switch already. If you need greater wifi coverage then what the router in the basement provides you can extend it with range extenders or an access point.

Not familiar with the switch you mention but there are many options on switches. Netgear makes a range from 5 port to 24 port. Then you choose speed. 100mbs or 1gig mbs. For most things 100mbs is fine.

Long answer but the point I am trying to make is that you will accomplish anything you need with your setup as described.

Bob Silver
Netgear AV Consultant

The WNDR3800 will be available in early June. Your current router should hold you over to then. The 3800 is the router I will be using for the channel selector and the other sharing features that are built in.

Bob Silver
Netgear AV Consultant.

The price for the 3800 will be $179. The 4000 is $149. The 3700 which used to be $179 can now be bought for $129. The routers are built on different chipsets so at least at this point have different capabilities. Logically I have the same question but it all comes down to available technology and chipsets to the manufacturers. From a positioning standpoint if you want next generation wifi then buy the 4000. If you are looking for an all around workhorse then the 3800/3700 would be the way to go.

Availability for the 4000 is now. The 3800 in June. The net is I would determine what is most important to you. Do you care about having the latest spec in wifi? If so then the 4000 is the best choice. Do you want greatest flexibility and maximum performance of the current wifi spec (N300) then Id buy the 3700 or 3800.

Either way you go all 3 are great routers. You cant go wrong with any of them.

Bob Silver
Netgear AV Consultant