Netgear WGE111 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adapter Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Strengths: Very configurable, (relatively) good price, nice-looking
Weaknesses: Complicated setup, no 108mbps model available
All in all, the WGE111 wireless gaming adapter is a great piece of hardware. Not only is it priced competitively with other gaming adapters and wireless bridges (so-called wireless gaming adapters are virtually identical to wireless bridges), but it's also the best-looking unit on the market by far. I was particularly impressed by the sturdy and stable vertical stand that's included in the box. Unlike most other stands I've encountered for this type/size of hardware, it snaps onto the unit securely and is not prone to toppling over at the slightest upset.
Gaming performance over Xbox Live is great; I've noticed no difference between using this adapter and plugging the console directly into my router via ethernet cable (and my Xbox is located a fair distance away from my router).
My two gripes with the WGE111 are minor--neither one will impact anyone's day-to-day experience with the adapter--but they are important to note. First of all, it's unfortunate that Netgear doesn't offer a 108mbps variety of this adapter that's compatible with their other 108mbps 802.11g devices. Admittedly, an Xbox or PS2 would never even remotely need that kind of speed, but for consumers with 108mbps wireless networks it's always good to have all wireless devices on a network running the same protocol at the same speed.
Secondly, the setup of this adapter is quite complicated. In order to use the device on a security-enabled network, consumers need to first configure the adapter by connecting it to a PC with an included ethernet cable and running the provided setup wizard. This should be a simple task, but the software refused to locate and identify my adapter until I disabled my router's WEP encryption, leaving my network unsecured and vulnerable during setup. I live in a multiple-network environment (an apartment building) with one or two unsecured networks in the area, and the adapter would automatically connect to the first available unsecured network, rendering it invisible to my own and to the setup software. The ethernet connection to the PC should have trumped this, but it did not. As a result, the setup of my adapter probably took about 45 minutes--much longer than it should have.
After initial setup, however, the adapter has worked flawlessly, and it's quite configurable as well via a browser-based interface. What makes the WGE111 even more configurable is a small switch on the rear to quickly change between infrastructure and ad hoc modes, allowing users to quickly setup ad hoc LAN games between consoles. This is one feature that sets this adapter apart from other wireless bridges, and it should come in quite handy if you ever connect multiple consoles for multiplayer games.
Overall, this is a great piece of hardware. Despite its few shortcomings, it is an exceptional and reliable performer once it's up and running.

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As networking technology continues to evolve, the needs for a wireless network continue to expand to a wider variety of home applications.A home user may wish to link one or more gaming consoles to their wireless network to partake in Internet or LAN gaming, but would like to avoid a tangle of cables spread across their home.The NETGEAR WGE111 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adapter offers the perfect solution.It can be attached to a game console's Ethernet port to link to console to a wireless network for Internet gaming.For LAN (AdHoc) gaming, two WGE111 or more units can be used to link two game consoles to each other, without a wireless router even being needed – ideal for LAN parties.An external switch allows users to easily select between Internet and AdHoc modes, and the WGE111 is interoperable with 802.11b and 802.11g devices.

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D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm a computer professional so technology is not much of a mystery to me, but I still want something that's solid, and easy to manage. The internal software to his unit is pretty good, and the performance is top notch. For one its easy to store, and save your configurations. This is important because there may be occasion where you have to reset the router, and your settings would be lost. The firmware was easy to update, and will need to be updated as soon as you connect the device. A word of caution here, if you are using a dial-up connection, (unless its always been very stable), I don't recommend upgrading the firmware with it. One thing you cannot do, because it will likely render the router useless, is lose your connection in the middle of a firmware upgrade.
This is a gamer modem, and the help files and web manual provide good information as to how to set it up. It even has the settings to port replicate many popular game already built in. In addition, it has a special gamer network traffic section to keep your games running on an even keel over your network. I works, but better with some games than others. While I can't speak for any screaming, bleeding edge speed boosters, it seemed fast. I connected my old Windows 98SE machine using a Hawking, USB, wireless receiver, and it just worked! I experienced none of the problems I'd read horror stories about with other wireless routers.
Connection is a snap. Disconnect your cable modem from the back of your comp, connects its ethernet cable to your new D-Link router, run the included cable from the D-link to your ethernet port on your comp. (If your computer was connected with USB, you might need a $10 ethernet PCI card if you don't have an ethernet connection.) Turn everything back on, and (at least in my case, it just worked). If your running it as a network, and not just a single firewall, I'd recommend the most modern computer for the wired connection. The rest can either go wired or wireless. I got excellent signal strength, and have yet to experience a dropout on my wireless machine. For those who don't know, a wireless router is normally wired to the first machine (wired connections are generally faster and more solid than wireless). The wireless part is generally for other computers and network devices (like printers and such) to be connected to the wireless part of the network. In the past all connections to a router were wired. If you have one computer you can use an access point, instead of a firewall, but with the exception of this one, (which is expensive) most access points cost near the same as a four port wireless router.
Ok, now the bad news. It is a complicated piece of tech, and to do some things, people might need help. My advice is to read the FAQ's, and go to the web boards. I needed to get it to host a BattleNet game. I had the correct ports replicated as an exception, but it didn't work. I called the tech serve, and a typical moron told me how to ping the system with Windows command line. I spent a half hour trying to tell him I was connected fine, and could even play the game I wanted (Warcraft III Frozen Throne), but could not host a game. He couldn't answer a few simple questions, and finally admitted he didn't know anything about networking, but was reading from a test script. He agreed to transfer me to level 2 technicians. When I spoke to them they couldn't answer my questions either, and gave some lame excuse that if they told me how to host on BNet it would make my network insecure, and they would be liable to a lawsuit. Give me a break, you create a gamer router, and even include the ports listed for that game, then won't tell your customers how to set it up. I just don't think they held up their end of the bargain (D-Link support that is).
After two days of testing it, I finally figured out, I had to create virtual servers for each port separately, then create a static IP address, and connect it up to the dynamically created one from Comcast. That would allow the virtual servers to be used by the gamers connecting to the host machine, to connect to a defined, unchanging address, which would connect to whatever other address came up dynamically by the service provider, using the DCHP server. It sounds complicated to a non-network guy, and it is. I'd have like to been told how to do that by tech serve, but they were too incompetent so it was just trial and error, plus a lot of reading.
Bottom line is if you've gone though the router trials before, this will probably be a good experience. If not, prepare to educate yourself on the wonderful world of networking. I do recommend routers to be used as firewalls to all computer users who access the web, gamers or not. Hackers are banging on your computers ports all day long on the web, and with a hardware router, they only see a router, not the computers hidden behind it. If your not a gamer, this one is pricey, but if you want the latest greatest, as of today, this is pretty much it.

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Push the limits of basic networking technology and experience the evolution in networking. Wirelessly share broadband Internet, boost network performance, and stay competitive in your online games with D-Link's new cutting-edge GamerLounge Wireless 108G Gaming Router, powered by GameFuel Priority Technology.
The D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Gaming Router intelligently manages and automatically prioritizes network traffic to better execute bandwidth-sensitive applications including VoIP and multimedia applications. It also features enhanced wireless technology for optimal range and connectivity--up to 108Mbps bandwidth, pre-configured ports to accommodate up to 256 policies for games and applications, and customizable settings to add or modify new applications or game configurations.
Other features include multi-tasking between other applications without degradation in game connection, high-Performance CPU to support thousands of concurrent connections--ideal for P2P applications and multiplayer interactivity. Meanwhile, a firmware upgrade notification feature keeps your new D-Link Gaming Router up to date.
What's in the Box DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router, detachable antenna, CAT5 ethernet cable, power adapter (5V, 2.5A), mounting kit, vertical stand, CD-ROM with manual, and installation guide.

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