JiWire Lab Test Results

The NetGear WGT624 is one of the fastest routers we've seen, second only to the D-Link DI-624, and significantly faster than the rest of the pack. It has great range too, one of only three 802.11g routers we tested with a usable signal at 50 ft from the base station through various walls and up stairs.

It also has a 108Mbps mode that nearly doubles throughput when used with NetGear 108Mbps client adapters (the results below are for standard 54Mbps clients). The 108Mbps mode is greatly affected by other wireless devices in the vicinity, however, especially 802.11b clients. Don't count on this performance unless you have a relatively isolated network and the required 108Mbps client cards.

Throughput vs. Distance

Chart Key: Click on a product to see its results...
D-Link AirPlus XtremeG Wireless Router DI-624
NetGear 108Mbps Wireless Firewall Router WGT624
Microsoft Wireless-G Base Station MN-700
Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT-54G
Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (with modem)
Buffalo AirStation G54 (WBR-G54)
NetGear Cable/DSL Wireless Router MR814v2

How We Tested

Our real-world performance tests measure actual throughput in a typical wood-frame house, through walls and floors, at five distances from the base station: 3 feet (same room), 15 feet (same floor), 25 feet (same floor), 35 feet (upstairs), and 50 feet (upstairs). All tests were conducted with 128-bit WEP encryption on, and in 802.11g-only mode, if available.