If we had to summarize this router in one word that word would be value. While on paper its specifications are only middle of the road in the real world its performance is about as good as you are going to get using your existing network. More importantly because it does not have the paper specifications that flagship models have it costs a lot – and we mean a lot – less than those routers. Excellent real world performance, a good user-friendly UI, a great price, and rock solid firmware… what more could you ask for?!
We suspected this would be the case as most uber-expensive models fail to live up to expectations unless you have two of them talking to each other. This is because 4×4 antenna configuration wireless NICs are as rare as hen’s teeth. Sure, if you do indeed have money to burn and have a network populated with only cutting edge devices those flagship models will indeed smoke the DIR-880L… for us mere mortals the added expensive of the flagship models is rarely justified.
Honestly, for the average buyer the DIR-880L is pretty much smack dab in the middle of the butter zone. Here you will get basically all the performance you can ever ask for out of the average wireless NIC, and yet not have to spend a veritable fortune getting it. Beyond the use of an older and slower processor (that still is more than adequate) there really are no major nits to pick with model. Only minor ones. Like would it have cost all that much more to have included eight Gigabyte RJ45 ports? Would it have cost all that much to have used only USB 3.0 ports instead of both 2.0 and 3.0 ports… and maybe a few more USB ports in general? The same goes for being able to combine multiple USB ports to create a much more powerful ‘poor mans NAS’. We think not… and yet it is hard to fault D-Link for not bucking the trend as such features would have increased the overall cost and (probably) reduced the overall value for most consumers.
Put another way there is a whole lot to like with the D-Link DIR-880L and very little to not like. If you are looking for a new router and want good performance that does not come with a budget busting price means the DIR-880L really, really deserves a long hard look. This router really does show that D-Link knows how to cater to the mainstream buyer and provide everything that you could want at a price point you could afford.
