Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700
The Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 is packed with features and it performs like a thoroughbred. First, let’s look at the features. This is a dual-band 802.11n router, which means it’s outfitted with two radios, one that operates on the 2.4GHz frequency band and a second that operates on the less crowded 5.0GHz band, so you can operate two wireless networks simultaneously. Most people will use the former for data traffic and the latter for media streaming (especially since the 5.0GHz radio has a video quality-of-service feature designed to reduce packet loss and jitter that’s not found on the 2.4GHz radio).
You can also operate guest networks on each radio (each with its own SSID and security mode), which allows you to grant visitors Internet access while your data network remains safely isolated. And if you’re looking for a new wireless router for your small business, the Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700supports WPA/WPA2 Enterprise encryption in addition to the more typical WEP and WPA/WPA2 pre-shared key. Wi-Fi Protected Setup is also supported, so you have no excuse for not protecting your network with a complex password. As is common of routers in this class, the WNDR3700 is equipped with a four-port gigabit Ethernet switch.
Plugging a hard drive into the USB 2.0 port adds NAS-like functionality to the router, with support for drives formatted
with FAT16/32, NTFS, or Ext2/3 file systems. A built-in DLNA media server enables you to stream music, video, and digital photos to remote clients, including gaming consoles like the Xbox 360 and network-enabled A/V receivers. You can access USB storage over the Internet using either HTTP (uploads only) or FTP (uploads and downloads). The USB port cannot, however, be used to share a printer over the network.
The absence of a switch or firmware setting that can turn off the Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 router feature to convert it into a wireless access point is unusual, especially since each of its radios can be reconfigured to operate as a wireless repeater or bridge (using the WDS: Wireless Distribution System standard). You can also tweak each of the radios’ transmission power settings, in case the router stomps on your neighbors’ Wi-Fi networks. Activate the router’s parental-controls feature and the device will automatically block access to sites that the folks at Netgear-partner OpenDNS consider “objectionable.” We’ve never been fans of this type of technology, but to each his own.
In the performance benchmarks, the Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 placed a distant second to the now-discontinued WRT600N at close range, delivering TCP/IP throughput of 85.9Mb/s compared to the Linksys’s 116Mb/s in the kitchen test, and 48.4Mb/s with the client on the patio compared to the Linksys’s 86Mb/s. But the Netgear walloped the Linksys when the client was placed in the bedroom (63.9Mb/s vs. 26.7Mb/s) and in our two outdoor spots (delivering TCP/IP throughput of 22.7Mb/s and 5Mb/s, respectively, compared to just 0.2Mb/s and 0.4Mb/s).
If you don’t need dual-band, Buffalo’s WZR-HP-G300NH is a better value, especially at long range; but if you’re looking for a router with almost everything, Netgear Rangemax WNDR3700 is the one to buy.
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