D-Link DIR-645 review

SmartBeam technology in a wireless N home router with style

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D-Link DIR-645
A router with a bit of style - but does it have substance too?

TechRadar Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Top-flight 2.4GHz performance

  • +

    4x Gigabit LAN ports

  • +

    Complete media streaming

Cons

  • -

    Costly for a single-band solution

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The D-Link DIR-645 (or the Whole Home Router 1000 as it's called in the US) is the latest D-Link push on injecting style into its home routers. Every networking company goes through this at some point, in an attempt to avoid yet-another-box syndrome. D-Link has done a good job of making this black totem of wireless technology look like it could have apes pawing at it seeking enlightenment.

On the face of it, this 2.4GHz-only device doesn't seem all that, with 802.11n technology dating back to the ìancientî but fondly-remembered D-Link DIR-655.

More recent routers such as the unstoppable Netgear DGND3700 and feature-packed Fritz!Box 7390 offer the sexy-sounding dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz capabilities.

D-Link dir-645

As it happens, 802.11n speed isn't simply about the frequency - more important are the number of spatial streams a router can provide, and the D-Link DIR-645 comes with an epic six-element antenna array. So perhaps those pawing monkeys are onto something after all?

Benchmarks

D-Link dir-645

We test wireless networking in a controlled but real-world and repeatable environment. Competing wireless networks are eliminated, a standard Intel-based dual-band laptop is used as the receiving machine and the router is set as optimally as possible.

The average continuous transfer speed is noted in three separate usage scenarios being in the same room, a wall and floor away and a 25m line-of-sight distance test.

Same room average transfer speed
File copy - MB/S: higher is better
ASUS RT-N56U 2.4GHz: 12 MB/S
ASUS RT-N56U 5GHz: 24.5 MB/S
Linksys E4200 2.4GHz: 12.4 MB/S
Linksys E4200 5GHz: 17.5 MB/S
Netgear DGND3700 2.4GHz: 17 MB/S
Netgear DGND3700 5GHz: 18.9 MB/S
D-Link DIR-645 2.4GHz: 19.6 MB/S

One room away average transfer speed
File copy - MB/S: higher is better
ASUS RT-N56U 2.4GHz: 10.7 MB/S
ASUS RT-N56U 5GHz: 17.6 MB/S
Linksys E4200 2.4GHz: 11.7 MB/S
Linksys E4200 5GHz: 10.6 MB/S
Netgear DGND3700 2.4GHz: 15.6 MB/S
Netgear DGND3700 5GHz: 17 MB/S
D-Link DIR-645 2.4GHz: 16.9 MB/S

25m line-of-sight average transfer speed
File copy - MB/S: higher is better
ASUS RT-N56U 2.4GHz: 1.1 MB/S
ASUS RT-N56U 5GHz: 2.0 MB/S
Linksys E4200 2.4GHz: 3.6 MB/S
Linksys E4200 5GHz: 5.2 MB/S
Netgear DGND3700 2.4GHz: 8.9 MB/S
Netgear DGND3700 5GHz: 13.7 MB/S
D-Link DIR-645 2.4GHz: 5 MB/S

Neil Mohr