Router Upgrade DGL-4300

rekd0514

Gawd
Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
757
I have been looking at replacing our D-Link DI-524 recently because we do quite a bit of Xbox360 Live gaming and we would like to have something a little faster. I don't think we would really benefit by getting N since it is still in draft form anyways. We really only need something that will perform better with gaming on Xbox and have more range.

We will have 2 computers in this wireless home network as well as the Xbox360 directly connected. This may possibly expand to 3 computers soon. Right now we are using 2 USB adapters that don't seem work for us very well. The range on them isn't very good and they are very sensitive to direction the are put in or objects in their path. Hence we would like some new adapters to go with the new router as well. The model on the adapters is D-Link DWL-G122.

Do you think the D-Link DGL-4300 would be a good router to go with and what adapter would work well with it on our computers? I was looking at the D-Link DWL-G520 for the two computers, but am open to suggestions. We don't do much gaming on the computers, but I would like to get the most performance that I can out of the new router. I am sure it will be a huge improvement over the DI-524 anyways. Let me know what you think and thanks in advance for all your help! ;)
 
While the DGL-4300 is a good router, it's EOL (end-of-life) right now due to the arrival of the DGL-4500. If you haven't purchased anything yet you may want to look at the DGL-4500, which is a little hard to find online but can usually be found at your local retailers.

To answer your question though: The DGL-4300 has basic wireless, not MIMO, but that's all you currently have so it will be just as good or maybe a little better as far as wireless coverage.
 
Do you think it would be worth it to upgrade to N or not since it is still in draft? Is the DGL-4500 really that much better to spend the extra price to get it? I don't really know if I absolutely need that extra peformance for paying over double the price. Is G technology still enough for most people because I have read a lot that N isn't all its cracked up to b. I can spend a lot less and get a substantial upgrade from going from the

- D-Link DI-524 and DWL-G122 USB adapters
to the
- D-Link DGL-4300 and DWL-G520 PCI adapters

Do you think this will be good enough to hold off until draft N is over? I am only looking for better performance while on Live and a little better range to the 2 computers.
 
I'm not convinced Draft-N will ever be over. The seem to be taking the Google approach to a finished spec, i.e. there never is one :)
 
draft-N is long from being ratified from where I sit; the big problem right now is there are a couple chipset camps fighting it out right now much like HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray. If you can go N, it won't hurt. As for double the price - if G has served your needs just fine thus far then there isn't too much of a need to upgrade.

From what I've seen though, the DGL-4500 isn't retailing for double the price, unless you've found a really good deal on the DGL-4300. :) It's between $20 and $50 more expensive depending on where you shop. For the MIMO wireless (even if you don't use N, it's still going to offer better range and performance), it's worth the extra coin.

And why upgrade your adapters? You do not need to do so.You can upgrade them down the line as time goes on.

All said and done, either the DGL-4300 or DGL-4500 is going to be an upgrade but I'd recommend you seriously look into the 4500 as it's better bang for a little more buck.
 
Cool,so you don't think upgrading the USB adapters will have that much affect over just upgrading the router to a 4500? The adapters we have now are already 3 years old and were definitely not the best when we bought them. You can get the DWL-G520 PCI adapters for under $20 on ebay right now and I think they would work a lot better than the 2 USB ones we have now. They seem to drop out every once and a while and they dont seem to get the best signal strength at least on our upsatirs computer.

Also where are you finding the 4500 for $20 to $50 more? The 4300 is just under $100 new so where can I get the 4500 for $120-150? Thanks everyone!
 
There's no question that upgrading the adapters would probably help overall stability and performance - but I wasn't sure why you were upgrading them. Some people believe that when you upgrade the router, you must upgrade to matching adapters, which is incorrect. Sure, you may want to use matching adapters to get the most "optimal" experience but it's not necessary. If you were just looking to get away from the older USB adapters, go for the PCI ones. :)

As for the pricing; Rebates cannot be trusted in my opinion so I don't count them. Newegg sells the DGL-4300 for $119, but happens to have a $25 MIR, putting it below $100. That's fine and dandy if the rebate shows up but irritating if it doesn't. :) In the past it was $129-$149. So I was comparing the $129-$149 to $179, which is the price that Circuit City has the DGL-4500 for. :)
 
The DGL-4500 has dual-band 2.4 and 5.x GHz wireless. If you're not going to update the clients and stick with standard-g, a DIR-655, being generally cheaper, while still draft-n and an upgrade over the DGL-4300, might be a better buy.

If your wireless computers are stationary and co-located, you could consider a single wireless client-mode bridge instead of multiple client adapters. E.g. the SMCWEB-N or Buffalo WLI-TX4-G54HP.
 
... a DIR-655, being generally cheaper, while still draft-n and an upgrade over the DGL-4300, might be a better buy.
Good point, I forgot about the DIR-655 since the conversation has been centered around the DGL series. The DIR-655 is $109.99 at Newegg with no rebate. :)
 
The DIR-655 was an option that I also considered. Do you think this will have good performance while gaming on Live as well? I don't protest against using draft N by any means. I would just have to spend more on new N adapters that way is what I thought. I am pretty much a noob as far as how the networking all works. I can definitely set them up and log into the router and change settings around, but as far as what things should be on I have no idea. On the set up we have now, everything is still just how the setup program put them at when I installed the router and adapters. Aside from forwarding some ports for Azureus. :)

Are you talking about acess points? I basically know nothing about them since I haven't used them. What all would I need to buy if I went that route. Just to explain my situation exactly, this is the setup in our house.

- The cable modem and router are right next to the Xbox360 so it plugs directly into the router in the basement
- We have 2 computers one upstairs and one in the basement both with adapters on them

You guys have been a great help, sorry for my noob questions. :D
 
The DIR-655 would have better wireless performance and the same wired performance as the DGL-4300. You don't need to get N adapters right away if you don't want to - stick with what you have and upgrade them as budget allows.

As for the bridge devices Madwand mentioned; he meant that if your two computers were located near one another, you could use a wireless bridge and a switch at the desk in order to turn the wireless back into a wired connection for your computers. Since yours are in two different locations, this won't work for you.
 
Awesome, I will see if I want to spend the $80 extra for the 4500 or not. I probably won't since I am not an all out gamer anyways. The new router should be a big improvement anyways, so I will most likely be happy.

Yep, that bridge ain't going to work. Would access pionts be something I should look into using or are PCI adapters the way to go? I know I don't really like my current router or USB adapters right now as far as how they perform. Drop outs of connection happens quite a bit and we have a lot of lag when gaming with our 3MB cable connection. Hopefully this will be a huge difference because a lot of times I wonder if I even have broadband with this setup. haha
 
The DIR-655 was an option that I also considered. Do you think this will have good performance while gaming on Live as well?

The DGL-4500, which replaced the 4300, has richer gaming options, the QoS streaming engine based on Ubicoms product. I believe it's the same horsepower as the DIR-655.
 
The DGL-4500, which replaced the 4300, has richer gaming options, the QoS streaming engine based on Ubicoms product. I believe it's the same horsepower as the DIR-655.

In that case, I will get the DIR-655 on the way to me! :) I guess the only real benefit would be the Gamefuel, but like I said before I am not an extreme gamer anyways. This should be an awesome upgrade anyways.

PCI adapters would be the way to go. Adapters that offer external antennas would be preferable..

Good then I will look into some N adapters such as the DWA-552. I would go with the DWA-556, but it probably wouldn't increase the perforamnce that much by using PCI-E. I don't even know if it would fit in my case anyways and the PCI is cheaper! :) I can't wait to try the new gear out. Thanks again! :D
 
Picked up a DIR-655 and two DWA-552 last night at Best Buy while the adapters were on sale for $60. I will let you know how it works once I get it all hooked up with the firmware and drivers updated. :D Too busy right now playing with the new 40" 1080p LCD we got last night as well. :)
 
Which is great, since the DIR-655 is at the top of the snb.com charts.

I look forward to their full test of the 4500.



The DGL-4500, which replaced the 4300, has richer gaming options, the QoS streaming engine based on Ubicoms product. I believe it's the same horsepower as the DIR-655.
 
The DGL-4500, which replaced the 4300, has richer gaming options, the QoS streaming engine based on Ubicoms product. I believe it's the same horsepower as the DIR-655.

It is, just a different firmware. One thing I would have recomened before you bought was to go on D-Links website and take a look at their emulated firmware. One thing that's nice about the DGL-4500 is it's pretty much unlimited MAC Address filtering which is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to protect your network. My family has about 30+ Mac address between iPhones, laptops, desktop, TiVo, ext. so having the ability to have almost unlimited MAC address filtering is a HUGE plus for me that only the DGL-4500 and 4300 offer.
 
That shouldn't be a problem since we will most likely only be running 2 desktops and a 360 off of it.
 
Circuit City's price is currently $179.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Search.do?c=1&searchType=user&keyword=dgl-4500&searchSection=All

Keep an eye on it. Every now and then, they dip it down to $149. That's what I got mine for.



Cool,so you don't think upgrading the USB adapters will have that much affect over just upgrading the router to a 4500? The adapters we have now are already 3 years old and were definitely not the best when we bought them. You can get the DWL-G520 PCI adapters for under $20 on ebay right now and I think they would work a lot better than the 2 USB ones we have now. They seem to drop out every once and a while and they dont seem to get the best signal strength at least on our upsatirs computer.

Also where are you finding the 4500 for $20 to $50 more? The 4300 is just under $100 new so where can I get the 4500 for $120-150? Thanks everyone!
 
The only problem with the DGL-4500's MAC filtering is it did not continue the method the 4300 used, in which you can select to apply the filter to the Wireless side only, or both Wireless and Wired.

If you turn it on, it filters ALL connections no matter where they come from, and you had best have the MAC of the computer you are using entered before you hit that save button or you will get locked out :)

Having MAC filters on Wired connections makes no sense in a home environment. This is a serious problem with the MAC filtering on the DGL-4500 IMHO, and makes the feature useless to me. I am not going to sit down and enter my entire network into the thing...



It is, just a different firmware. One thing I would have recomened before you bought was to go on D-Links website and take a look at their emulated firmware. One thing that's nice about the DGL-4500 is it's pretty much unlimited MAC Address filtering which is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to protect your network. My family has about 30+ Mac address between iPhones, laptops, desktop, TiVo, ext. so having the ability to have almost unlimited MAC address filtering is a HUGE plus for me that only the DGL-4500 and 4300 offer.
 
Circuit City's price is currently $179.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Search.do?c=1&searchType=user&keyword=dgl-4500&searchSection=All

Keep an eye on it. Every now and then, they dip it down to $149. That's what I got mine for.


The DIR655 is $125 at Circuit City: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/D-Li...65020/catOid/-12980/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

The only problem with the DGL-4500's MAC filtering is it did not continue the method the 4300 used, in which you can select to apply the filter to the Wireless side only, or both Wireless and Wired.

Where is this option in the DGL-4300?
 
Should be the same place. Advanced/MAC Address Filtering. There is a pull-down that allows you to select Wireless side only.

NOTE: The online emulator appears to be based on the original, or at least an older version of the Firmware. My DGL-4300 with Rev 1.8 Firmware did indeed have the option to apply only to the Wireless side.
 
Should be the same place. Advanced/MAC Address Filtering. There is a pull-down that allows you to select Wireless side only.

NOTE: The online emulator appears to be based on the original, or at least an older version of the Firmware. My DGL-4300 with Rev 1.8 Firmware did indeed have the option to apply only to the Wireless side.

Hm, interesting. I've never noticed this. Thanks. Maybe they'll upgrade the DGL-4500 firmware to include this feature?
 
Been waiting to see it happen on the DIR-655, and it hasn't happened yet :(
 
Good news, the new network is up and running. We have very good signal in both places and speed tests confirm that it is up to what it should be as well. We ran over a 3MB/s with 300kb/s upload on both computers, which is exactly what our ISP is supposed to be providing. Setup took a bit for me to work the kinks out, but so far it is working great! If you guys have any tips at all on how improve anything in my setup, let me know. I can try to figure out how to do it to the best of my abilities, but I am only a wee noob to networking. :)
 
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