INTRODUCTION

   How many of you remember the design and wireless capabilities of the very first modem/router you ever used at home or at the office? Mine was a Zyxel one which looked pretty much the same as a small switch and didn't even feature Wi-Fi so it was really nothing to be excited about. However as years went by manufacturers started not only to improve the wireless capabilities of their models by using different chips and increasing the number of antennas but also to make their enclosures more appealing towards enthusiasts and gamers. Of course even today there are many modem/routers in the market that look a lot like regular switches but all the latest ones feature at least two high-gain antennas for broadcasting signal in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The DIR-890L Ultra Wi-Fi Router by D-Link released last year (took its time getting here) is not only one of the best looking models in the market today but it also features AC3200 technology for superior wireless performance.

   D-Link helps you connect to more of everything with our innovative approach to computer networking. From relatively modest beginnings in Taiwan the company has grown over the last 29 years into an exciting global brand offering the latest network solutions. Whether it is for the home consumer, business or service provider we pride ourselves on offering award winning networking products and services. We will continue to lead the way in building networks for people around the world.

   The DIR-890L is a tri-band Wi-Fi router so just like the DIR-880L it features simultaneous broadcast of two wireless bands, 802.11n (2.4GHz 600Mbps) and 802.11ac (5GHz 1300Mbps) but ontop of those two it also features the broadcast of a second 802.11ac (5GHz 1300Mbps) band to achieve the advertised AC3200 status (Unfortunately unlike the Nighthawk X4 by Netgear the DIR-890L lacks a single AC1900 5GHz band but considering there are just a handful of receivers that support it that's not a big deal). In order to support these three bands D-Link used the 1 GHz ARM® Cortex™-A9 dual-core BCM4709A communications processor by Broadcom (32KB I-cache/32KB D-cache per core/256KB shared L2 Cache) with 512MB RAM, 128MB flash memory and 6 external high-gain antennas. As expected from an ultra-high end router the DIR-890L supports several advanced technologies such as smart beam forming technology (used to focus wireless signal on connected devices) and smart connect technology (automatically assigns devices on the most powerful band available). In terms of wired connectivity the DIR-890L features a total of 4 RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet Ports, WAN Gigabit Ethernet port, USB 3.0 port and a USB 2.0 port. So once again the time has come for us to find out whether or not it's worth spending your hard earned money for the product in our hands.