Let me preface this by saying that I am a very technical user, having been a certified senior network engineer and senior database administrator at various times through my career in I.T. I am very hardware savvy.
For that reason, one would typically assume that I would be the last person to buy this router -- or anything Belkin for that matter -- because it's targeted at the less tech savvy. But you know what, I'm past the days of tweaking and firmware upgrades. DDWRT on Linksys WRT54G? been there done that. I just want my router to work, like a toaster, and to not have to think about it.
Let me be clear, I almost purchased the highly regarded ASUS RT-N56U.. It's only 25 more even, and well reviewed amongst the tech-heads. However, I happened to be at Walmart and saw this one on sale and figured what the heck, considering Walmart's liberal return policy. After 6 weeks, I don't doubt my decision at all.
The GB ethernet (which only matters/applies to wired connections) is a nice plus for transferring content between wired machines. It's not going to matter when you're on the Internet though whether you're on 100mb wired or 1gb (since you're Internet connection is likely 10-20mb at the most, if that).
One major selling point if you're a Mac user: With the ASUS, you can't print from a Mac via the USB port (at least not from everything I've read, please comment if you know this not to be true). With this Belkin I can access both hard drives and printers attached to the N750 with ease from my Macbook Pro and from my Windows machines.
The web configuration GUI is simple and straightforward, I didn't used the desktop gui for config, so I can't speak to that.
Looks: it's vertical, so it doesn't take up a lot of counter space, this is a definite plus in my book. And it is attractive, not your typical square flat box. I'd imagine the vertical stature is good for the reach of the antennae, but I won't claim to be an engineer to judge such things. I do know that reach in my 2700sqft home is great on all floor and all locations.. even from the upstairs can on the other side of the house (too much information? I think it's relevant, but you be the judge).
With this router, where the 5ghz won't reach, the 2.4 will. This has dual radios so you'll effectively see two separate wireless network, one 2.4 one 5. If one isn't reachable, you simple join the other. 5ghz spectrum is preferable as it's less crowded, but sometimes the 2.4 goes farther. AM/FM would be a poor but acceptable analogy.
So if you're not a tinkerer (or even if you are), and you just want a router to work (you're tired of reboots, dropped connections, etc.), then don't hesitate, buy this one.. or if you want to save a few dollars, I have no doubt their 600 model will serve you fine. Particularly if you don't have a 2x3 radio that can even take advantage of 750.
As with *ALL* electronics, someone's going to get a faulty one, and that person is going to make sure everyone in the world knows they got the bad one. Which is why you should buy your electronics from a trusted (r)etailer, whether it be brick and mortar or online. Walmart (for good or for bad) and Amazon both fall into this category IMO.
Belkin N750 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router (Latest Generation)The Belkin N750
Verdict: Perhaps the best router for the home user
I have owned this router for about 10 days. It replaced a Netgear MIMO-g router that has been serving me for four years, and it is still alive as a backup router. I wanted faster connection speed and an intelligent router that gives priority to my VoIP calls over video streaming or downloads. I picked up the N750 at Costco's to make sure I can return it if it does not work out. So far, so good, but I have already encountered the major cons/limitations, so here is my take on the Belkin N750.
This router connects at the speed advertised and it does not overheat. Belkin's customer service is also one of the best in the router business. You might or might not be able to use the advanced features, but at $99, this router matches or beats the features offered in this price range even without the extras. As I use it for its basic features (including simultaneous dual band), I am happy with it.
At 300+450, this router is fast. I am able to connect my three laptops without a hitch, getting 1GB/s on the Gigabyte port, 450 on the 5GHz wireless N, and 300MB/s on the second wireless N laptop. Both laptops connect at 5GB/s, but only one receives 450MB/s (i5 17" business notebook), the other one is stable at 300 (2.1GHz 12" dual processor business laptop). This seems to be a limitation on the router, but heck, let it be the worst feature ever I see on it. The third laptop connects at 130. Strangely, this one does not have a wireless n card in it, so I have no idea what's going on. This one also has the slowest processor (it's a 1.6GHz netbook). I believe you can connect to up to 16 devices to this router, and I hope that the connection speed doesn't drop with each new device connected.
Installation: the router comes with a preconfigured WPA/WPA2 password that you receive on a slip that you can slide into the slot under the router for safekeeping. You can change the password, but the length (8 digits) gives you an idea of the ideal password length: anything longer is likely to slow down wireless connection, which is common on older routers (that usually forced you to use WEP if you did not want to halve the connection speed).
Gigabit feature: Works fine. No problems ever.
Simultaneous dual band: works fine on multiple computers at both 2.4 and 5GHz at the same time. No slowdowns and no overheating problems when both bands are used.
Reliability: no dropped connections yet. Rebooted twice in the first two days but has been working fine ever since. No overheating problem, which I find a major advantage over comparable routers.
Range: the range matches or exceeds the Mimo/g range. The 5GHz band works through thin wooden walls. Strangely, the signal strength tends to change between 4 and 5 bars even when I am sitting within 2 yards from the router. Still, the situation is the same when I am 6-8 yards away. (Sorry, I live in 730 sq. ft., so I cannot tell you about longer ranges. I assume this router works fine up to 30-50 yards (depending on the band, 2.4 goes farther), but don't take my word for it.)
Intelligent router that gives priority to my VoIP calls over video streaming or downloads. (This feature requires some user configuration, and the Belkin setup panel failed to update features first, but worked fine at my second attempt.)
The router comes with two USB ports. You cannot use them unless you install Belkin's proprietary program, which creates a little overhead but nothing serious. As using the USB ports requires the router to act as a server, your firewall might go nuts. (Mine did.) Once I realized that I am unlikely to use the USB ports, I uninstalled the program, but the uninstall feature left the internal server in the registry, so I had to reinstall my firewall. (Well, a system restore would have worked too, but I did not have one available.)
Belkin has good customer service. Once I encountered the problem with their uninstaller, a tech rep helped me out in less than a minute. They even followed up on their service the next business day! A great advantage over Netgear or Asus in my experience. Just make sure you get to a real tech rep, because the people answering the support line first usually cannot do much more than read the manual and the internal bulletin (this is universal with high-tech companies). Once you get to their second tier, you get no-nonsense, professional support. Well, there is usually not much to do, because the router is so strongly preconfigured for dummies that there is simply not much to adjust; it's plug-and-play for the average home user.
Some users on the web complain that they cannot configure the router as an access point. As far as I know, there is no need for that for the home user. My PDA and my Zune connect to this router without a problem. - Wireless Router - Wireless N Router - Best Router - Cisco'
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