D-link DIR-880 Vs EA7500 Vs TP-link AC1900
In today’s the market, D-link DIR-880 is one of most popular wireless AC1900 routers as with high customer rating and is DD-WRT open source firmware support. Which one do you prefer when you compare it with new Linksys Max-Stream EA7500 and TP-link touch screen router P5?
D-link 880L
It is the first model of D-link AC routers in AC1900 network segment which was followed by another model in the same network segment – the D-link DIR-879. D-link 879 comes with four high power 1000mW antennas for larger coverage and with Smart-Connect features, price is higher than the first model D-link 880 AC1900. You may consider the cheap AC1900 router Tenda AC15 when refer to the price, the low price router in AC1900 network segment.
For small to medium homes
D-link 880 is ideal for small to medium homes, you can upgrade your aging wireless N router with this product and connect to your DOCSIS cable modem with Gigabit port and taste the fast wireless AC network with D-link 880L.
That’s the good thing of having separate cable modem and wireless router. However some people prefer the simplicity of cable modem router combo such as new Arris Surfboard SBG7580AC cable modem router, a new product from Arris with built-in fast DOCSIS 3.0 32/8 channel cable modem. Or you probably like the easy home wifi system offered by Netgear – the Netgear Orbi home three band wifi system.
Beamforming and band steering
Most high end wireless AC routers come with Beamforming technology to focus the clients with beam of signal for solid connection while the clients roaming within the network coverage. This is a good feature for mobile devices including laptops and computers that are compliant with beamforming feature. Not many wifi AC adapters are ready with bemaforming technology, you can mention D-link DWA-192 wireless AC1900 with beamforming ready.
The band steering feature is also a good thing you may take account in selecting the router, the feature that force the dual band clients to move to clean 5GHz band for better performance. In a nut shell, D-link DIR-880L is ideal router for small to medium homes.
DIR 880 main features
- Based on wireless AC1900 network segment
- Dual band router speeds up to 1300Mbps @5GHz band and up to 600Mbps @2.4GHz band
- Three external dual band high power antennas
- Beamforming and band steering features
- Gigabit LAN and WAN ports
- Dual USB ports
- Personal cloud features with Mydlink SharePort
- Open source DD-WRT firmware
So far this product receives higher customer rating than its newer product DIR-879. Now, with many new wireless AC1900 router products in the market, which one is suitable to meet your need if you come to a decision to choose between D-link 880, new version of Linksys Max-Stream EA7500 AC1900 router and easy to configure with touch screen model TP-link P5 AC1900 router?
Comparison
The following two tables will help you to choose which one is suitable to meet your need, D-link 880, Linksys EA7500 or TP-link P5. Table 1 shows you head to head spec comparison between D-link 880 and Linksys EA7500 AC1900, while table 2 shows you head to head spec comparison between D-link 880 and TP-link P5.
Take a closer look at the following two comparison tables.
Table 1 D-link DIR-880 Vs Linksys EA7500
| D-link 880 | Linksys EA7500 | |
| Wifi | Wireless AC1900 | Wireless AC1900 |
| Speeds | 1300Mbps @5GHz600Mbps @2.4GHz | 1300Mbps @5GHz600Mbps @2.4GHz |
| Antenna | 3x dual band high gain high power amplifiers external antennas | 3x dual band external antennas |
| Beamforming | Yes, AC Smartbeam | Yes |
| Smart Connect | No | No |
| Band steering | Yes | No |
| MU-MIMO | No | Yes |
| Ethernet Ports | 4x Gigabit LAN Ports1x Gigabit WAN Port | 4x Gigabit LAN Ports1x Gigabit WAN Port |
| USB Ports | 1x USB 3.01x USB 2.0 | 1x USB 3.01x USB 2.0 |
| Cloud | Mydlink SharePort – personal cloud storage | N/A |
| Open source | Yes, DD-WRT Open source firmware support | No |
| Processor | 800Mhz dual core processor | 1.4 GHz dual core processor |
| Price | $129.99 | $169.99 |
Table 2 D-link DIR-880 Vs TP-link Touch P5
| D-link 880 | TP-link Touch P5 | |
| Wifi | Wireless AC1900 | Wireless AC1900 with 4.3 inch 128 ppi (pixel per inch) touch screen |
| Speeds | 1300Mbps @5GHz600Mbps @2.4GHz | 1300Mbps @5GHz600Mbps @2.4GHz |
| Antenna | 3x dual band high gain high power amplifiers external antennas | 3x dual band antennas with high-powered amplifiers provide up to 10,000 sq. ft. of Wi-Fi coverage |
| Beamforming | Yes, AC Smartbeam | Yes |
| Smart Connect | No | No |
| Band steering | Yes | No |
| Ethernet Ports | 4x Gigabit LAN Ports1x Gigabit WAN Port | 4x Gigabit LAN Ports1x Gigabit WAN Port |
| USB Ports | 1x USB 3.01x USB 2.0 | 1x USB 3.01x USB 2.0 |
| Cloud | Mydlink SharePort – personal cloud storage | N/A |
| Open source | Yes, DD-WRT Open source firmware support | No |
| Processor | 800Mhz dual core processor | 1GHz dual core processor |
| Price | $129.99 | $184.88 |
Summary
D-link DIR-880L is one of best wireless AC router in AC1900 network segment with affordable price. It supports DD-WRT open source firmware and is featuring beamforming, band steering, and Mydlink Shareport for your personal cloud storage. You may compare with more expensive Linksys EA7500 and TP-link touch screen router P5 to help you choose the one best to suit your need.
