Pros: - Open box - Load driver - Plugin and go
Cons: None
Overall Review: I have an older serial device that works well and its not worth upgrading. Its for my homeautomation hobby and lots of people have to deal with this issue My concern was going "too cheap" on a serial coverter as there a number of stories about things that don't work This one works and is a no brainer. Is it really worth $5 less than this to roll the dice on your serial device working? No
Pros: - The E350 and A45 Chipset work extremely well together. - Virtualization performance with 1 VM session is great, 2 sessions including XP is ok - The value of the package: Good performance, W7 Pro, 2 GB and 500GB, its pretty tough to beat for $270
Cons: - 100mb ET - No PCI or PCI E slots - USB 2.0 - The best network wise you can ever do is 200mb through USB/ET or ~270gb with wireless N 5Ghz USB - Dual Core, but not Hyper-threading
Overall Review: While not a screamy game box, its not a low end system. The onboard 100 mb ET is an extremely efficient NIC, not constrained by PCI. The drive performance is good as well The E350/A45 chipset is stunning in its ability to handle load. The GPU plays an active role even when there are no graphics. Its like what diesel is to engines: its not the fastest, but it takes a load very well. Multi tasking is this unit's sweet spot. I use this box as a home server to run homeseer, streaming media and run a linux virtual machine. I am impressed at its steady state, unshakeable power. I would have given it 5 stars if USB 3.0 (5gb) were used, that would allow a way to get faster networking
Pros: Works. I am using it on 5ghz (with a DIR 825 Router). Performance is high. Like the dlink super g bus card it replaced, it stays connected, I never hear about connectivity problems from my family using the computer connected to it. Dlink has always seemed to struggle a little with designing PCI cards. For USB, they got it very right. No fuss set up. It comes with a nice usb base and extenstion cord so you can position it for a clear signal, not worry if its stuffed in back of your pc in a cabinet.
Cons: The dlink connection wizard shows a lower graph bar signal strength then the windows built in wireless. This is odd because the actual strength is consisitent with what windows shows and the throughput is exceptional, typically 240+mpbs. The signal strength, however, is not any better than Super G card that the 160 replaced even when normalizing on windows wireless as the source of truth. Granted, I live in an RF "blackhole", however i thought the signal would be perfect as the distance is only 15 feet (through 1 floor at a high angle which makes it the same as 40'. Still not that far and the same distance as the super g card)
Overall Review: I guess I am amazed and thankful that wireless works as well as it does. I am continual repeat dlink customer and this product keeps me in that place.
Pros: This is my 3rd dlink router in 6 years. It is by far the biggest advance forward. Specifically * The 5ghz and 2.4 ghz do work simultaneously. Well. * The QOS and WISH features allow me to run 2 media renderers and 2 workstations at the same time. Prior to this router, connecting to the renderers was dicey at times. The renders and the PCs missed or skipped on play back. That's all gone now. This router adds QOS smarts to the LAN and manages local traffic. Wonderful! I split my traffic between 5ghz and 2.4ghz. Ironically I had to do it backwards, 5ghz for the workstation and 2.4ghz for the older media renderers that only do G. However, it works well. The internet to desktop performance remains excellent as always. I can measure a slight decrease when all of the QOS and wish features are on (using speedtest.net). This is to be expected, attention is given to the local streaming services. And even then, its ridiculously fast... over 24 megabits
Cons: I 'over expected' on the shareport feature. Technically it does work, however it only allows one client at a time share. So if I have 4 PCs and 1 USB drive attached to the 825, it allows any one of them to "check out" the usb drive. Everyone else is told to wait until the checked out user is done. I thought I was getting a traditional shared drive. That all pc's could access a shared drive simultaneously. The comment "for all to share" is not false, but mislead me. I would suggest specific clarity on dlink's marketing material. This works technically and may be right for some. Not me.
Overall Review: Like one of the other users, I used old school configuration through the router's web interface. I was "migrating" from an existing router, so some of the newer autoconfig tools looked interesting would have taken me, an existing dlink customer, longer. So I'm not offering comments either way on how the automated setup features work.
Pros: Its a simple, cheap device that works. You will want to use it with your smart phone and buy an application to read the ELM327 do translate the data into something useful. For android, I use the ELM327 with Torque and its a knockout combination, less that $20 total
Cons: No documentation. The ELM327 comes unceremoniously jammed in a box in a plastic bag with a small cd. Different accounts on the internet claim unwanted applications / spyware on the CD. I am using Torque for Android and I will not need/us the CD The ELM327an enabler but not and end to itself, expect to buy additional software on your phone or laptop.
Overall Review: Be realistic. All roads lead to a learning curve. You'll need to understand what the different engine readouts mean and can do for you. You'll need to know how pair a bluetooth device with your computer or phone. You'll need to know that your computer has bluetooth if that's the route you're going.