D-Link DIR-857

D-Link Amplifi HD Media Router 3000 (DIR-857)

D-Link's Amplifi HD Media Router 3000 (DIR-857) is the company's highest-end consumer router, with theoretical throughput speeds up to 450 Mbps on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. What may have been excellent throughput two or three years ago is below average when compared with that offered by competing dual-bands, such as those from Netgear, Linksys, Buffalo and now Western Digital. Although the DIR-857 is a bit cheaper than the average competing dual-band router—$170.00 versus the average price of about $200, the router needs an interface refresh, dropped its WAN connection coming back from reboot several times, and gets fairly hot after only a few hours of uptime. Specs and Design D-Link's latest Amplifi series routers all look so much alike, when I get a new one I think, "Didn't I review this already?" It's got the black, attractive housing of its other Amplifi Media routers, with a high gl0ss casing (the only smudge-resistant high-gloss casing on a device I've tested) and a herringbone-like decorative overlay on the top of the case.