Digital Trends

D-Link DI-624 XtremeG

May 28th, 2004 | by Jeff Fila

Several Issues to Address

We really had a tough time completing this review, as the performance wasn't what we had expected and wasn't even similar to other reviews of the same equipment found on the Net. We found it hard to believe that other review sites would rate the DI-624 so high, and even give it “editors' choice' awards after what we saw. Some sites had some really in-depth testing with positive results. However, other sites seem to have given the product positive reviews based on the plethora of features it has and the promise of 108Mbps transfers, without real world testing. Windows XP will show that you are connected at 108Mbps most of the time, even when your transfer speed is less than 10Mbps, and for some that may have been good enough. We'll chalk up most of our differences to possible environmental issues (although we took steps to make the environment a non-issue) and to the latest firmware update.

More searching on the Internet finds many consumers that are dissatisfied with D-Link's Xtreme G networking products. The forums at Broadband Reports and buyer reviews at Amazon.com are full of people expressing their issues with this line of products and D-Link's support — or lack thereof. Many of the discussions seem to center on the latest firmware upgrades causing more problems than what they fix, and of D-Link support being unable to offer solutions. Customers are reporting that the router often reboots itself when using peer-to-peer applications or making large file transfers. Some users are finding that a convoluted set of steps to upgrade the router firmware and Atheros drivers in place of D-Link drivers for the PCMCIA adapter offer workarounds, but in our opinion this is not acceptable — especially since D-Link hasn't even addressed these issues on their site or on the forums.

Consider this review a “work in progress” as we'll continue to test these products and come to a more concrete conclusion on what is causing the problems and what can be done to fix them. We'll continue to compare the D-Link XtremeG products against competitors and try the latest drivers and firmware. If something changes or improves, we'll amend this review. If you have any experience with D-Link's XtremeG line of wireless products, please post about it here in our discussion forums.

Conclusion

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.