Xtreme N Testing 

     For benchmarking the Xtreme N Wireless Network gear I'll be SiSoftware Sandra Network Bandwidth Benchmark. What this benchmark does is test the ICMP (ping/echo) interface to measure the response time and transfer bandwidth to a host. In this case the "host" will be another one of my gaming systems with a gigabit network card.

     Running a few passes of Sandra revealed that the Xtreme N networking gear is doing a great job when compared to other 802.11b, 802.11b+, 802.11g, and even other 802.11n wireless gear. The wireless gear we tested is shown in red in the benchmark.

     With our benchmark at the top, we can easily see that the D-Link Xtreme N is killing the competition when compared to other wireless networking gear tested by SiSoftware. The top half of the benchmark is showing data bandwidth (higher is better), while the lower half is showing Data Latency (lower is better). In both results, the D-Link Xtreme N comes out on top.

Timed File Transfer Test

     To give people a better idea of real world data transfer time, I created a 1.29Gb zip file containing MP3s. I places the zip file on the Host and then timed the transfer from the Host to Test System #1. I then took the average time of 3 tests on both 802.11g and 802.11n wireless network adapters. Here are the results:

      In my file transfer tests I show the D-Link Xtreme N to be 3 times faster than 802.11g. Not exactly the up to "14x faster" D-Link boasts, but it is much faster nevertheless.

More about QoS

     One of the biggest downfalls of wireless networks is the fact that most wireless routers can not deliver the speed and low latency needed for responsive action most of today's multiplayer games require. This becomes even more evident when gaming with several friends over a wireless network. I've tried several "good" 802.11g routers of several different brand names and not one of them have worked as well as a wired network...that is until I tried D-Link's Xtreme N networking gear. I tried playing several demanding FPS games over the Xtreme N network and it felt as if I were on a wired network with no apparent lag. Very impressive...

     So why does D-Link's Xtreme N router do such a better job of handling data? It all comes down to D-Link's Intelligent QoS Technology and Ubicom's StreamEngine ® processor. With some routers, all wired and wireless traffic, including VoIP, Video Streaming, Online Gaming, and Web browsing are mixed together into a single data stream. By handling data this way, applications like video streaming could pause or delay. With D-Link’s Intelligent QoS Technology, wired and wireless traffic is analyzed and separated into multiple data streams. These streams are then categorized by sensitivity to delay, so applications like VoIP, Video Streaming, and Online Gaming are given priority over Web browsing. The benefits of D-Link's QoS technology are simply amazing.

Conclusion

     Many positive things can be said about D-Link's Xtreme N wireless networking gear. The DIR-655 router with it's StreamEngine technology is by far the fastest wireless network router I have ever used. The fact that it offers both the high speed of 802.11n and wired gigabit networking is a huge in my book. I also love the ability to customize a plethora of detailed settings with the router, especially those settings that cover security. I also like the idea that a networking novice can buy this router right off the shelf, take it home and have it up and running in just a few short minutes with the wizard CD and even the built in wizard within the router itself. And of course we have the D-Link Xtreme N Desktop Adapter (DWA-552). The DWA-552 is so easy to install and setup that I nearly forgot to even mention it. D-Link has done a superb job with the DWA-552's drivers for quick and painless installation and setup. Again, there is virtually no setup once the DWA-552 was installed so pretty much anyone with some basic computer hardware knowledge can install D-Link's desktop adapter and feel like a networking pro afterwards. If only all computer hardware was so easy... As for price, the Xtreme N gear will set you back anywhere from about $104 to $130 each. Not a bad price to pay for such a big jump in technology.

     In the end I have to give our highest marks to D-Link on the Xtreme N DIR-655 router and DWA-552 desktop adapter. Club Overclocker Recommended!

Note: Club Overclocker is now using a new rating system based on a score of 1 to 5.
Please go to our rating system page for more information.

Performance:	5 out of 5
Innovation:	5 out of 5
Quality:	5 out of 5
Stability:	5 out of 5
Aesthetics:	4 out of 5
Software/Drivers Pack:	N/A
Overclocking:	N/A
Value:	4 out of 5
Project Skill Level (5 being most difficult)	2 out of 5