
At a glance | |
Product | TRENDnet AC1900 Dual Band Wireless Router (TEW-818DRU) [Website] |
Summary | Broadcom based AC1900 router with USB 2.0 & 3.0 ports |
Pros | • USB 3.0 & 2.0 ports • 500+ Mbps routing |
Cons | • Weak storage write performance • Not great 2.4 GHz range performance • Overall poor 5 GHz performance |
Typical Price: $155 Buy From Amazon |
Overview
TRENDnet hasn't had much success at producing a top-performing AC1750 router. It has tried twice with its TEW-812DRU and TEW-812DRU V2, with both ending up near the bottom of our AC1750 router ranking.
But the industry has moved on to having AC1900 as the top-of-line AC option, so TRENDnet has followed suit with the TEW-818DRU I'm reviewing today.
The callout diagram below shows the 818DRU sports both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, just like NETGEAR's R7000 Nighthawk, ASUS' RT-AC68U and Linksys' EA6900. Otherwise, the ports, switches and indicators are the same as found on the AC1750 class TEW-812DRU V2.
TRENDnet TEW-818DRU front and rear panel callouts
Inside
The 818DRU sticks close to the AC1900 router design playbook with Broadcom's BCM4708A at its heart, backed by 128 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash. Note that TRENDnet has opted for three internal dual-band antennas, while all of its competition uses external, upgradeable dual-band dipoles.
TRENDnet TEW-818DRU inside
Removing the heatsink provides a view of the BCM4708A, which is the only device with a heatsink
TRENDnet TEW-818DRU board
Table 1 shows the key components for both the TRENDnet and its AC1900 competition.
TRENDNet TEW-818DRU | Linksys EA6900 | NETGEAR R7000 (Nighthawk) | ASUS RT-AC68U | |
---|---|---|---|---|
CPU | Broadcom BCM4708A | Broadcom BCM4708A | Broadcom BCM4709A | Broadcom BCM4708A |
Switch | In BCM4708A | In BCM4708A | in BCM4709A | In BCM4708A |
RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB | 256 MB | 256 MB |
Flash | 16 MB | 128 MB | 128 MB | 128 MB |
2.4 GHz Radio | - Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE2623L 2.4 GHz Power Amp (x3) |
- Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE2623L 2.4 GHz Power Amp (x3) |
- Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE2623L 2.4 GHz Power Amp (x3) |
- Broadcom BCM4360 - Unidentified 2.4 GHz Power Amp marked 397 649e 230(x3) |
5 GHz radio | - Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE5003L1 5 GHz Power Amp (x3) |
- Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE5003L1 5 GHz Power Amp (x3) |
- Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE5003L1 5 GHz Power Amp (x3) |
- Broadcom BCM4360 - SiGE 5023L 5 GHz Power Amp (x3) |