DG834GT Opinions please?

Azazel · Jan 15, 2008, 10:52:43

So, my Billion 7300G died horribly yesterday and whilst this has been by far the best router for sync speed and throughput i have had I am tempted to change now becuase of feedback i have had from idnet (lots of errors over the last months)

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone can give in regards to this, i have tried the 2wire 2700 and that was the same sync speed as my netgear so worse than the 7300G, having read around abit the DG834GT has good feedback but im always glad to hear from you guys.

Sebby · Jan 15, 2008, 22:49:56

I'm surprised you didn't have a good experience with the 2Wire. It's possible that you had a faulty one; there's been a lot of them about lately.

The SpeedTouch 585v6 is another router you should consider. I've never been keen on Netgear myself. Their support is shocking!

Gary · Jan 16, 2008, 06:45:49

I had a DG834GT, it ran super hot, dropped wireless connections and then burnt out within two weeks filling the lounge with this great smell of burning

I tried another but to be honest it ran so hot and still had wifi issues I took it back, I would not touch one myself but maybe they have got better now $:-\$

Azazel · Jan 16, 2008, 08:57:04

They are on V3 or something now and i have not read too many bad things about them, the 2wire didnt appear to be faulty, everything worked fine it was just the sync rate was ****e my billion 7300G got 6500 off my line stats with no modding, the 2wire got me 4000 which is the same as the current netgear syncs at (TI AR7 Based)

I will give it a go if its cr*p and burns out i can always get my money back (thank god for distance selling regs)

What little contact i have had with netgear support wasnt that bad, and i have already tried a 585v6 doesnt aggree with whatever dslam i have at the other end in a big way! (lots of resyncs and errors and a very low sync speed)

Gary · Jan 16, 2008, 09:30:59

Quote from: Azazel on Jan 16, 2008, 08:57:04
They are on V3 or something now and i have not read too many bad things about them, the 2wire didnt appear to be faulty, everything worked fine it was just the sync rate was ****e my billion 7300G got 6500 off my line stats with no modding, the 2wire got me 4000 which is the same as the current netgear syncs at (TI AR7 Based)

I will give it a go if its cr*p and burns out i can always get my money back (thank god for distance selling regs)

What little contact i have had with netgear support wasnt that bad, and i have already tried a 585v6 doesnt aggree with whatever dslam i have at the other end in a big way! (lots of resyncs and errors and a very low sync speed)

My 2700 has increased my line from a 4500 profile to a 5500 profile so I would say it depends on what one you get, as for Netgear support I was not impressed when they gave out my email address and changed the password on my account for a router that had been registered to me that I had sold to a friend, it went wrong and Netgear let them have access to my account as they were "a friend" that was a breach of the data protection act because the account had personally identifiable information in it so watch out for their security! As for support itself I never used them personally but hear they are fine, but after that password fiasco would never use them again on principle but for most people they are great, to be honest most people would never have noticed issues with the TI AR7 chipset unless they had been told, as the Netgear DG834G won many awards for being a solid router.

Rik · Jan 16, 2008, 09:35:29

Quote from: Azazel on Jan 16, 2008, 08:57:04
I will give it a go if its cr*p and burns out i can always get my money back (thank god for distance selling regs)

Just in case you do need to return it, you should be aware that the Distance Selling Regs would not apply in that situation. Instead, you would be demanding a refund under the Sale of Goods Act. DSR is only used if you change your mind, not if the goods are faulty.

Azazel · Jan 16, 2008, 10:42:13

yeah i had figured that after i posted it!

I have no problem at all with the DG834G it served me well for about 2 years and it is indeed a solid well rounded router, no problems with it at all apart from low sync speed and lack of configurable options.

Lots of other routers do the same thing but better with many more user choices, it was a good router for me to start with learning what you can and cant do then you move up in the world and get stuck into some serious config and tweaking. Hence me switching to a 3rd party firmware for the DG834GT to give me more choices on what i can and cant do.

Azazel · Jan 17, 2008, 12:19:34

All set up and tweaked to the hilt, got 5.5mb sync speed currently, which is acceptable. Pleased with it so far and the extra options are handy.

Rik · Jan 17, 2008, 12:21:41

Keep us posted with your progress.

Sebby · Jan 17, 2008, 13:02:37

Good stuff. At the end of the day, there's no one best router. A router that some people find brilliant on their line is terrible on others, and vice versa.

Rik · Jan 17, 2008, 13:05:46

Life was so much simpler pre-Max.

Sebby · Jan 17, 2008, 13:18:47

Indeed it was. If it hadn't allowed me to quadruple my speeds, I'd still be on a fixed product.

Rik · Jan 17, 2008, 13:22:03

I've reached the dizzying height of 2.5x, with a hint of a possible 3x to come. I like Max too.

Though life was much simpler on fixed rate...

Lance · Jan 17, 2008, 13:24:32

At least with the 2700 life is a little simplier on MAX!

Sebby · Jan 17, 2008, 13:25:45

Indeed, Lance.

Max is certainly more interesting. Fixed rate products just worked; where's the fun in that?

Rik · Jan 17, 2008, 13:29:23

I can remember times when they didn't too...

Sebby · Jan 17, 2008, 13:31:52

What I mean is, they either worked or they didn't. If they didn't, you had a case to get it sorted.

With Max, for no apparent reason, your sync can halve - which we all know is extremely frustrating - but often nothing can be done about it because it's doing what it's supposed to do (i.e. be rate-adaptive).

Azazel · Jan 17, 2008, 15:24:15

yeah im getting more and more tempted now to try Be* its a short contract so if i dont like it i can always pop back to IDnet but from what i hear it is a very reliable service with good pings and throughput and decent customer service.

But its always the hassel of having to change my email address and all that cr*p everytime that i dont like, i keep thinking about buying a domain name and sticking it on my hosting as a email address but never manage it.

Sebby · Jan 17, 2008, 15:35:32

Quote from: Azazel on Jan 17, 2008, 15:24:15
yeah im getting more and more tempted now to try Be* its a short contract so if i dont like it i can always pop back to IDnet but from what i hear it is a very reliable service with good pings and throughput and decent customer service.

I think it's a temptation for most, although I have a reasonably poor line, I'm not sure the gains are worth it. Plus haven't they been taken over by O2 now? That's enough to put me off.

Quote from: Azazel on Jan 17, 2008, 15:24:15
But its always the hassel of having to change my email address and all that cr*p everytime that i dont like, i keep thinking about buying a domain name and sticking it on my hosting as a email address but never manage it.

Get your own domain, even if you decide not to leave for now. It's so much more flexible and you won't feel tied to an ISP, even if it is a good one like IDNet.

ducky22 · Jan 17, 2008, 20:33:42

The DG834GT is my favourite of all ADSL routers. I've found the wireless to be great, uber stable with maxdsl and very functional. There are also a lot of custom firmwares around which allow it to do even more like set the target SNR etc etc.

I'd definitely give it a vote.

Lance · Jan 18, 2008, 07:46:35

If you do decide to move to "Be" than bear in mind should you want to move back to a BT line it will cost £125 for BT to reconnect your line. Thankfully, IDNet don't charge the £60 broadband connection fee on migations from LLU providers

Rik · Jan 18, 2008, 09:58:20

I thought Be used SMPF, Lance, so the line stays with BT?

Lance · Jan 18, 2008, 10:41:05

You are probably right Rik. It was early and I was assuming that most companies that provide LLU move your voice line over as well to avoid the small BT cost to themselves.

Rik · Jan 18, 2008, 10:46:33

I think Be is the exception which proves the rule, Lance.

Azazel · Jan 18, 2008, 16:56:30

yeah the voice element is still held on BT so thats all cool, they dont provide voice services so i should be able to avoid that charge at least!