D-Link DI-624 XtremeG Review

D-Link's DI-624 router features hardware improvements that allow it to run at up to 108Mbps - twice as fast as other 802.11g products. But does it really work? Check out our review.

Summary

While the D-Link DI-624 802.11G router is chock-full of features, it also unfortunately suffers from several performance issues. Problems seem to be the luck of the draw as many consumers and reviewers are reporting either excellent results or completely dismal results. With a product lineup this erratic, it’s hard for us to recommend it to anyone.

With more administration and configuration options than any other wireless router we’ve seen and some of the fastest wireless performance on the market (under the right conditions), it may also be hard for consumers to turn down. Parents will appreciate the robust Website and content filtering options of the D-Link DI-624 that can be either turned on indefinitely or scheduled for certain times during the day. Gamers will appreciate the built-in port forwarding options and Xbox live features. And professionals will appreciate the VPN and remote access features that this router offers.

In the end, the promise of wirelessly transferring data at an even faster than wired Ethernet speed turns out to be wishful thinking. We’ve heard some really good things about D-Link’s XtremeG lineup and have also read and experienced some very discouraging problems. If D-Link can sort it out and provide a consistent quality product, it may be worth looking at. But until then, we suggest you wait for the product and the technology to mature.

Introduction

If a 54Mbps wireless transfer speed just isn’t enough for you, several companies are now offering a new technology with 802.11g networks that offer up to 108Mbps throughput. D-Link is one such company, with their DI-624 AirPlus XtremeG 802.11g router based on the Atheros Super-G chipset that touts speeds of up to 108Mbps.

In a nutshell, Super-G works by acting as two 802.11g connections at once. Atheros’ Super-G solution forces the wireless LAN to operate on channel 6, and bleeds into channel 1 and 11 to offer higher throughput. The technology also adds some hardware-based compression technologies that D-Link says provides a significant performance boost in the 2.5GHz frequency range.

But if you know anything about wireless networking – and the marketing of wireless products – you should know that the number on the box is not what you’ll really experience when you take it home and set it up. While the 108Mbps tag looks great from a marketing perspective and it has been proven to help sell the products, that number is the theoretical maximum speed and you should expect to see a significantly lower speed.

The DI-624 features a single antenna and four wired Ethernet ports.

Features and Design

This review centers on the D-Link DI-624 AirPlus Xtreme G wireless router revision C. The model has gone through a few revisions in both aesthetics and performance. Revision C has only one antenna, while earlier versions had two antennas. The model has shrunk in size over the last few months and both revision B and C now add the 108Mbps capability which was first attainable with a firmware upgrade. Our review unit came installed with firmware version 2.28 from November 2003. Since then, there have been a few other firmware releases