D-Link DGL-4500 Extreme-N Selectable Dual-Band Gaming Router

by D-Link

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.8 x 1.2 inches ; 2.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000Z7AKGC
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: DGL-4500
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #59 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Networking Products > Routers
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

It's not everyday you come across a device designed solely with the gamer in mind. The D-Link Xtreme N Gaming Router (DGL-4500) is one of those few devices built especially for gamers. Experience the power of our Xtreme N Duo wireless technology for data transfer rates of up to 300Mbps** and Gigabit LAN and WAN Ports to get your game on faster than ever before.

We've also added an updated version of our award-winning GameFuel technology to get your game going smoother. To top it off, we've thrown in a high-performance CPU and a Network Activity Display to give you a serious gaming router.

The D-Link Xtreme N Gaming Router (see larger image).

 

Rear view (see larger image).

 

Network activity display (see larger image).

Key Features

• Wireless N connectivity for superior wireless performance, clarity, and coverage

  

• Intelligent QoS technology prioritizes both wired and wireless Internet traffic to enable enhanced gaming and phone calling (VoIP) experience

  

• Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) for secure, simple 1-button setup

  

• Capable of streaming audio and video to compatible UPnP-enabled devices

  

• Dualband 802.11n technology (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) for getting your game on in the wireless band of your choice

  

• Active Firewall protection

  

• 4 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports for ultra-fast wired connectivity

  

• Network Activity Display that gives you vital information about your router and network settings
• Updated GameFuel Engine to keep your game going smoother
• Backward compatible with 802.11a/g/b devices
• D-Link Green Verified Product (hardware version A1 and A2)
• Includes SharePort technology* for sharing USB devices like printers and storage over your network

Gamefuel Priority

Nothing ruins a frag-fest faster than lag. GameFuel allows you to customize your network settings to prioritize game traffic so your roommate doesn't hog all the bandwidth while downloading tracks from his favorite 80's hair band.

Network Activity Display

You can never have too much information. That's why we've included a Network Activity Display to show you what's going on with your router. Check your Internet, LAN, WAN and other various settings all from one screen. We've also included a clock in there so you can see exactly how long you've spent playing the game and not taking out the trash.

The D-Link DGL-4500 includes a network activity display that gives you vital information about your router and network settings. Click here to see more.

Xtreme Wireless

Playing by yourself can be fun, but getting online and fragging others is way better. Make sure your wireless signal can make it into the basement with our Xtreme N Duo wireless technology**. With Xtreme N Duo technology your router also has the power of dual-band (2.4 or 5 GHz) wireless signals to get your game on in the wireless band of your choice.

Shareport

With SharePort technology you can connect a USB printer or storage device to your router and allow users to access them from anywhere on the network. Conveniently turn your existing USB printers and storage devices into network devices for everyone to share.

Gigabit Gaming

Push the limits of networking technology and experience the evolution of gigabit speed. Share broadband Internet, boost network performance and stay competitive in your online games.

What's in the Box

Xtreme N gaming router, 3 detachable antennas, Ethernet cable, power adapter, CD-ROM with installation wizard, product documentation, and World in Conflict content

* Requires SharePort Client Utility installation on the PC. SharePort upgrade is available for the hardware versions A1, A2.

** Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE Standard 802.11g, 802.11a, and 802.11n specifications. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput rate. Environmental factors will adversely affect wireless signal range.

Product Description

It's not everyday you come across a device designed solely with the gamer in mind. The D-Link Xtreme N Gaming Router (DGL-4500) is one of those few devices built especially for gamers. Experience the power of our Xtreme N Duo wireless technology for data transfer rates of up to 300Mbps* and Gigabit LAN and WAN Ports to get your game on faster than ever before. We've also added an updated version of our award-winning GameFuel technology to get your game going smoother. To top it off, we've thrown in a high-performance CPU and a Network Activity Display to give you a serious gaming router.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

588 of 595 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some things to know before you choose a dlink router, March 22, 2008

By 

SAM (Deep South) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: D-Link DGL-4500 Extreme-N Selectable Dual-Band Gaming Router (Personal Computers)

The following will likely save you a couple of hours of research...

The DIR-655 is single-band (2.4GHz).

The DGL-4500 is dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz), however it only uses one band at a time. You choose which band, manually, in the configuration. It doesn't choose the best band in real-time, or anything like that.

The DIR-855 is dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and uses both bands at the same time.

86 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Happy with a few nitpicks, January 5, 2008

By 

Truth Teller (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: D-Link DGL-4500 Extreme-N Selectable Dual-Band Gaming Router (Personal Computers)

I bought this router almost immediately after it came out and have had it running for about 90 days at the time of this writing. I have it hooked up wirelessly (G) to my Xbox 360 for Xbox live, wirelessly (N) with my MacBook Pro, use it over gigabit ethernet with two other PCs in my house, and have it hooked up to an HP all in one over ethernet. It has worked without problem with all of these devices.

I set it up to use mixed G and N modes and I am seeing very good speeds with the Xbox (about 52 Mbps) and the Macbook Pro (about 117 Mbps). I can easily see about 8 neighbors networks and have multiple cordless phones in the house, so with this router running in mixed G / N mode I think that these speeds are perfectly acceptable.

I have no longer noticed any slowdowns when my wife decides to surf the internet while I'm playing Xbox Live. It seems as though the router's automatic "Gamefuel" QoS technology is correctly prioritizing the Xbox traffic over my wife's internet surfing. I didn't have to set up anything special. I just let the router do automatic configuration of the Xbox via UPNP (no manual port forwarding, etc).

Configuration-wise it is really pretty simple. I had it up and running pretty quickly. However, I would strongly recommend that the first thing you do with this router is go to the D-Link web site and get the latest firmware before doing any configuration (assuming the firmware is out of date).

Nitpicks:

- If you upgrade the firmware, you have to manually export the router configuration to file, upload the new firmware, and then import the saved configuration after the firmware update. Otherwise, you'll lose your settings. It works fine, but is a little annoying since my Linksys used to save setting automatically for firmware upgrades.

-The web based configuration interface is definitely functional, but it looks rather out of date.

- A number of the settings changes require a total reboot of the router and the reboot is definitely slower than it has been on some other routers I've owned.

- The router is dual band, but not simultaneously dual band. You have to choose which band you want to use.

Bottom line:

- I'm happy. I'd buy it again. It works fine with a Mac, a Windows box, a network All-In-One printer, and my Xbox.

WARNING:
- DO NOT UPGRADE THE FIRMWARE ABOVE version 1.15. There are many known issues with firmware newer than this.

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best router I've ever owned! Works with everything! Great web-based interface., February 13, 2008

By 

Lars Milano (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: D-Link DGL-4500 Extreme-N Selectable Dual-Band Gaming Router (Personal Computers)

This router has solved all my home networking woes and I've had a lot of them. Granted, it's fairly complicated for a home network in that there are many devices connected both wired and wirelessly from various macs and PCs, home theater receiver, music server, network printers, network storage drives, game consoles (ps3, xbox, wii), etc. In the past I've used a combination of various routers to make things work properly. From different versions of Apple airport (express, extreme, extreme "N") to various Belkin and Linkysys models, even the supposedly foolproof WRT54G model.

The problem with the Apple airport models has been their inability to allow open NAT for Xbox Live gaming, not to mention the playstation network. I love Airport networks and their integration with OS X and all its cool file/music/drive/printer sharing and networking features but I've always had to combine an extra router to handle the non-Apple side of things. The D-Link DGL-4500 is the first router I've had that plays nice with everything on the network. It just works. It works with Apple-based networks, it provides Open NAT for Xbox Live, it works with PS3 (with some minor tweaks), and it works with just about any challenge I throw at it. Music and video streaming, latency-sensitive online gaming, you name it.

The Xtreme N gaming router is the jack of all trades. It does it all and looks great to boot. The OLED display looks sharp, has access to basic functions and status on the unit itself (a nice touch), and setup was a snap. It basically worked with everything right out of the box without much customization. The only change I made was to set the PS3 in DMZ in order to get from NAT type 3 to type 2. But Xbox 360 had open NAT out of the box. My favorite part about the DGL-4500 is the web-based interface. Although it's not exactly simplified, it is very flexible and well organized. If you have a basic understanding of designing networks, this user interface is everything you could ever ask for. The web-based interface on my previous Linksys and Belkin were all cryptic by comparison. The only thing better is Apple's own Airport utility application, but you can't win 'em all.

A small nitpick I have with the router is the bright blue power LED that shines like a beacon in a dark room. While the OLED display is just as bright, at least it shuts off after a few seconds. The power LED stays on all the time and is quite annoying if you have it setup in the bedroom, bookshelf, or on your home theater cabinet. There is no way to turn it off or turn it down. Cutting a circular piece of duct tape and taping it over solves the problem quite easily.

Although I purchased this router at an attractive price of $175, it still seems pricey for a router. I do think it's worth every penny considering that an Apple Airport Extreme "N" costs as much brand new but isn't nearly as capable or compatible. Highly recommend if you want a comprehensive, do-it-all, compatible-with-all, high-speed 802.11n router.