Netgear WNR 3500
This router is the main ingredient of the fastest wireless performance I have ever seen. A few weeks ago I wrote about getting 70 Mbps with the Trendnet TEW-624UB and this router.
What I wanted to know however, was how well this router does with other wireless adapters, and how fast. So I assembled the following assortment of wireless products and put the WNR 3500 through its paces:
1. Trendnet TEW-624UB Rev A (USB)
2. Linksys WUSB100 (USB)
3. Netgear WN511T (PC-CARD)
4. Linksys Wireless-G PCI (plain vanilla wireless G)
5. Trendnet TEW-624UB Rev B (USB)
6. Linksys WUSB600N (USB)
Let me make this quick and painless: There are 3 modes you can configure the WNR 3500 to: 300 Mbps, 144 Mbps, and 54 Mbps. If you want to get the claimed 300 Mbps you have to set it for that mode. If you do that, the ONLY adapter I could get this router to work consistently with is the Trendnet TEW.
Thats right, the only 2 adapters of the 6 I listed that work AT ALL in 300 Mbps mode are the Trendnet adapters.
The same was true in 144 Mbps mode. Only the trendnet adapters worked reliably enough to do any performance testing.
In plain old 54 Mbps mode, this product worked well with all of the test adapters. So there it is.
My theory: Too many varieties of Draft Standard N products are floating around.
The pathetic part is that even the Netgear WN511T, which is the recommended USB adapter on the back of the Netgear WNR 3500 box didnt work in 300 Mbps mode. Now it could be interference, but I would remove the other adapters, and plug in the Trendnet adapter, and every time it would work perfectly. So if it is some interference problem, the Trendnet is able to deal with it, and the other products can’t. So either way this is ugly for Netgear.
The one key thing to note, is that the WNR 3500 is 2.4 Ghz only. And that dovetails into another theory: 2.4 Ghz is ruined. It’s just too crowded with wireless phones, microwaves, baby monitors, your neighbors wireless routers, etc. 2.4 Ghz is a mess. In some places your lucky to get 54 Mbps working, and 54 Mbps only requires 1 channel. 300 Mbps requires 5 channels. So good luck with that.
I think if you want your own safe and uncrowded place for wireless networking, your going to have to get Dual-Band wireless N products. So even if this router is great, and the other non-Trendnet adapters are just shoddy, you really want a product that can go fast AND slow. Dual Band routers promise to do that, you can configure a 54 Mbps compatible 2.4 Ghz band (and only take up 1 channel), and then configure the 5 Ghz to be 300 Mbps. At least until all your neighbors upgrade to 5 Ghz.
Good luck and happy networking.
