D-Link DIR-880L

D-Link DIR-880L - Introduction One of the most critical and yet overlooked part of any custom build is the wireless setup. This may sound counter intuitive but you can have the most effective, most pixel crunching Gaming PC system ever created… and yet if you cannot feed it the games you want to play it's not much good now is it? For old school user's this means a RJ45 wired connection… but that umbilical cord does tie the system down to one place and requires running unsightly wires all over hell's half-acre. This is why modern routers all offer wireless abilities. Today we are going to take a long hard look at one such example of what a router should be. Namely the D-Link DIR-880L. On paper the D-Link DIR-880L does not sound all that exciting as it is a rather old model (first released back in 2014), and 'only' offers AC1900 performance speeds. However, with an online average asking price of only $150 (US) it does not cost an arm and a leg like some higher end models. This to us makes the DIR-880L a potentially great value. Firstly, as it has been in production quite some time now the firmware is going to razor sharp… and thoroughly 'beta-tested' by countless number of users. Thus, it should work the first time, every time… and not be glitchy like some new routers released have been. More importantly even though it 'only' offers wireless speed of 1300/600 – instead of 3200 or 5400 like more expensive models, its combination of external antennas, good enough performance backstopped by a multi-core main processor (running at 800Mhz) allows for excellent wireless coverage of the typical home… and yet still will max out the real-world abilities of most wireless NICs. Simply put unless you are interested in using two routers to talk to each other the chances of getting anything above 3x3 802.11AC 'AC1900' performance levels is highly unlikely… as wireless PCIe NICs usually max out at only 1300 unless you are talking about the extremely expensive new gen recently released… and few will want to shell out an arm and a leg for those wee beasties. Put another way the D-Link DIR-880L appears to offer all the power and performance the average user can actually make use of without budget busting promises of insane speeds that few will ever realize. Of course, as time goes by wireless NIC's will catch up with the router industry… but that could be years away and by then the D-Link DIR-880L will have paid for itself and a future upgrade can then include a better NIC and router. Yes, this router may not sound like the fastest on the market but in return for more realistic performance levels consumers appear to be able to get one hell of a bargain compared to 'flagship' models which offer the sun and the moon… and rarely deliver on their much higher asking price promises. The only question is if the D-Link can actually do all this and justify its reasonable price tag. Today we plan to find out as we put it through its paces to see if it indeed can live up its seemingly excellent value… or if, on the other hand, its performance is going to handicap performance turn that killer rig you just built into the modern-day equivalent of Window' Vista… and who really wants to use Vista when there are better alternatives?! So buckle up and let's take the D-Link DIR-880L for an extended test drive to see what its really made of! D-Link DIR-880L - Specifications and Features D-Link DIR-880L - Closer look We are not going to spend too much time on the shipping container or accessories. Instead it is suffice to say that shipping container is nice enough to be aesthetically pleasing in a classic D-Link way. The accessories are also good enough – as this is a router. What this means is expect there to be a manual, CD, and a AC power brick; but don't expect any goo-gaws or stickers that would have just boosted the price. Moving on you can see that D-Link DIR880L is a classical style router and not trying to imitate a B-1 bomber or other 'stealthy' looking 'flying pyramids'. Instead it’s a nice and small form-factor that best resembles what it actually is – a wireless router. To us this is not a bad thing as it will blend in nicely with a wide variety of environments. The only issue some may have is that there are 'only' three external antennas and not six or eight like some higher models. This is because the D-Link DIR880L is a single 5.0Ghz 802.11AC band and 2.4Ghz 802.11N band router. There is no third network that requires a doubling of antennas. Instead each antenna does double duty for both the N and AC networks. Also of importance is that since there is only three antennas – and no additional internal antennas – the D-Link DIR880L is only capable of 3x3 network configurations instead of 4x4 like some more advanced models. For the average consumer this is just as important a distinction as the lack of a third AC network. That is to say not important at all. The reason for our ambivalence over the lack of 4x4 capabilities is simple. Most wireless networking devices use 1x1 or 2x2 and only advanced models use 3x3. The number of devices than actually send and receive four spatial streams at a time are as rare as hens teeth… and since the D-Link DIR880L is a 3x3 capable router the 'handicap' of only 3x3 networking abilities is really not that big a deal. Now if you do have 4x4 wireless NICs you will notice a major reduction in overall performance as the additional spatial stream allows for much higher networking performance. In fact, high end models that make use of the latest mega QAM technology can boost wireless performance from 1300 to 2400. So if you do have such devices this router will be a bit underpowered for your tastes. Now with that said it is more than possible to boost performance over 3x3 configurations from 1300 to 1766 as the latest spin on 802.11AC is the mega QAM (XX vs XX). What this is, is basically a new compression algorithm that allows for more data per packet. But once again the number of devices that make use of this cutting-edge tech is rather limited. The reason this 3x3 router cannot make use of the latest QAM encoding tech is simple: it relies upon an older chipset. This is more than acceptable given the price point, but it does have one major caveat that is worth mentioning: the main processor. As this model relies upon the older Broadcom System on a Chip its 'main processor' only runs at 800Mhz instead of 1GHz or faster like some 2016 models. This really will not overly impact performance for the average consumer as this processor has powered many a higher performance router in the past. Also since there is not a second 802.11AC network to contend with this lower speed SoC is not going to be worked as hard as dual AC capable routers. The other downside is that for a bit more money consumers can get AC3200 capable routers which may 'only' be 3x3 capable but as they have two AC networks they can spread the load over more of the wireless spectrum. This can boost performance in crowded environments so if you have a lot of wireless devices connected to your existing router and they are active a majority of the time a AC3200 router may be a more optimal solution. They do however cost more and most home networks are not exactly 'crowded' by any means. Basically, if you have a bunch of devices connected to your router now the D-Link DIR880L will provide a decent upgrade in the overall performance department…but AC3200s would provide even more. Only you can decide if the additional expense is worth it or not. For the average consumer, this AC1900 at this price point represents one heck of a deal. D-Link DIR-880L - Setup & Interface Setting up and getting the DIR-880L is a very quick and painless affair. Just plug in the router, attach the various cables, and either run the software which comes on the included CD or simply type 192.168.0.1 into your web browser. Either option will allow the router to walk you through the setup procedure which guides you through the process via a few simple questions. For bone stock configuration, using the default passwords and SSID for 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, you can expect this entire process to take under a minute. If you want to use custom options for either or both networks it will take a bit longer. While a tad old, D-Link has put a lot of time and effort into this interface and have honed to a razor’s edge. Like with any good router this UI is powerful, user-friendly, and fairly intuitive. This means even consumers who have never used a D-Link unit, or any other router for that matter, will be able to access and control their router with a very minimal learning curve. This is because the basic design philosophy behind this User Interface is to take a website-centric approach to the layout of the interface. Specifically, it uses both a horizontal and vertical menu system that is intuitive, user-friendly and yet packed with advanced features. Basically, the top ribbon consists of the major five sections while the vertical menu options changes in parallel with the chosen section. For complete novices, it really will only take a few moments of exploring before they get a feel where various features are located. For example, if you want to modify the 880L’s configuration that you just did via the setup wizard, the Setup tab would be the first place to look. Meanwhile, the Advanced tab holds some of the more advanced features which enthusiasts may be looking for, while the administration tools are under the Tools tabs. All in all this is a good UI that gets the delicate balancing act of meeting the novice user's requirements, while at the same time not ignoring the more advanced user's needs. D-Link DIR-880L - Testing Methodology Testing a wireless router is not as easy as simply connecting to it and push a bunch of file across the network while timing how long it takes to complete. Instead to gain a clearer picture of how good – or bad – a router is, more in-depth testing approach is needed. The first thing we do is a accurately measuring signal strength. A good strong signal does not necessarily mean good performance, but without you certainly will not get it! To this end we use inSSIDer, a program which can graph signal strength of all wireless signals being received by the computer’s wireless NIC. The second step is the measure the performance under controlled 'synthetic' testing. This gives a good idea on the potential performance of a given wireless router. For this we use Lan Speed Test. This free program can test both transmission and reception performance and do so in an easy to use and highly repeatable way. For ease of comparison we have averaged both the transmission and reception performance into one number. The last step is real world testing. This test consists of Gigabytes worth of small file and large files pushed from one wireless connected computer to a second computer connected via wired Ethernet. This testing is done via MS RichCopy. For clarities sake, we have averaged both the transmission and reception performance into one aggregate number. If the device supports wired transmission, wired Ethernet to wired Ethernet real world performance will also be included using the same massive amount of data used for the wireless test. To test all scenarios, we have further created four unique and distinct scenarios in which all testing will be done. The first test is labeled “Zone 1” and it consists of a ten foot ‘line of sight’ distance between the router and the wireless NIC with no walls or obstructions between the two. This replicates having the router in one end of a small room and the wireless device at the other. This can be considered a 'best-case' scenario for the performance of the router being tested. The second test consists of an twenty foot separation with a single interior non-load bearing wall separating a wireless device and the router. We have labeled this “Zone 2” which is still a very optimal setup for a wireless home router but more common on the real world as this test replicates you having your wireless device in one room over from the router. The third test is labeled “Zone 3” and consists of having the router in the corner of our basement with the wireless device trying to connect in the second story room at the extreme diagonal end from the routers location. This is still a fairly common occurrence in home networks with numerous walls, floors, wires, and even other electronic devices in between the router and your device. This is not an optimal configuration but still a very common setup for home users. The fourth test is labeled “Zone 4” and is an extreme test. While the router is still in the basement we have paced off 200 yards from it to outside the testing facility. This replaces those times a person is outdoors and wishes to use his home network to connect to the Internet or other devices connected to the home network. With fewer walls but much greater distances this test is extremely demanding and many will not be able to successfully complete it. To us the results in this test separate the good routers from the not so good ones. For all tests, four runs will be completed and only the averages of all four shown. When possible both 5Ghz as well as 2.4GHz Bands will be used for all tests with each getting their own separate results. All tests are carried out via a “clean” network in order to maximize repeatability and minimize factors outside of our control. D-Link DIR-880L - Signal Strength Results To test signal strength, we use inSSIDer, a program which can graph the signal strength of all wireless signals being received by the computer’s wireless NIC. Unlike in most tests, the lower number, the better the performance. D-Link DIR-880L - Synthetic Test Results To show the potential performance of a router we have used LAN Speed Test utility. This free program can measure both transmission and reception performance, and do so in an easy to use and highly repeatable way. For sake of clarity, we have averaged both the transmission and reception performance into one combined number. D-Link DIR-880L - Real World Performance For real-world testing, we have taken Gigabytes worth of small and large files and transferred them from one wireless connected computer to a second computer connected via wired Ethernet. This test was done via the MS RichCopy utility. We have averaged both the transmission and reception performance into one combined number. The higher the number the higher overall performance. D-Link DIR-880L - Multi-User Performance Results Few home networks consist of only a single device connected at any time. Instead most have multiple devices demanding their own slice of the pie. As such we have created a test that combined the standard LAN Speed Test with between one and six devices connected simultaneously. D-Link DIR-880L - USB 3.0 Performance To see exactly how well the USB 3.0 port performs, we devised a very simple test that you can easily recreate. We connected an empty external hard drive to the router's USB 3.0 port and then configured it as a network 'drive'. The next step was simply to MS RichCopy utility to transfer data and measure the performance via wired, 2.4GHz wireless and 5GHz wireless connections. D-Link DIR-880L - Score Card and Summary Performance: 33 out of 40. This router may not offer bleeding edge performance, or a 1GHz plus SoC, but its performance is still awfully darn good for its class and can compete against even more expensive models with more theoretical bandwidth. That to us is another way of saying it’s a great value. Ease of use: 19 out of 20 D-Link routers have always been easy to setup and configure and the DI-880L is no different! Build Quality, Aesthetics & Warranty: 17 out of 20 While it may not be built like a tank we highly doubt anyone woll consider it 'fragile'. Mix in good classic styling and the only place the DIR-880L falls down on is the warranty end. Here is it simply standard. Value: 19 out of 20 This router offers an incredibly good bang for your buck. Final Score: 88 out of 100 With its combination of excellent value, dead simple setup, and decent performance the DIR-880L really is a good choice for those on a tight budget. D-Link DIR-880L - Closing Statement 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 4x4 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.

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