D-Link DIR-890L AC3200 Wireless Tri-Band Gigabit Cloud Router

I have been reading reviews on the D-Link DIR-890L AC3200 Wireless Tri-Band Gigabit Cloud Router a while back and recently. With the launch of D-Link DWA-192 AC1900 Wireless USB 3.0 adapter,  a matching wireless external adapter for the router, i decided it is time for me to bring home the monster..

DIR-890L and DWA-192

Technical Specifications

General

Device Interfaces

• 802.11a/g/n/ac wireless LAN
• Four 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN ports
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit WAN por
• Two USB ports (one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0)

Standards

• IEEE 802.11ac
• IEEE 802.11n
• IEEE 802.11g
• IEEE 802.11a
• IEEE 802.3
• IEEE 802.3u

Functionality

Advanced Features

• SmartConnect
• Guest zone
• mydlink SharePort™ web access
• Multi-language web setup wizard
• Green Ethernet
• DLNA media server support
• Advanced AC SmartBeam
• Dual active firewall
• Network Address Translation (NAT)
• Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI)
• VPN Passthrough (PPTP/L2TP/IPsec)
• Advanced QoS
• QuickVPN - L2TP over IPsec

D-Link market DIR-890L as AC3200 over its previous generation of AC1900. AC1900 is the combined throughput of 600 mbps in 2.4 GHz and 1300 mbps in 5 GHz giving a total of 1900 mbps. DIR-890L uses Tri-Band Technology which have 3 radio operating in the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz spectrum delivering a total of 600 mbps + 1300 mbps + 1300 mbps = 3200 mbps and thus the name convention of AC3200

Tri-Band Technology delivering AC3200

With Tri-Band Technology and speeds up to 3200 mbps, it delivers performance to power demanding connected homes claiming it the best wireless home router for gaming.

Tri-Band Wireless

DIR-890L comes in 2 variants. Hardware wise, they are exactly the same except for the black and the red housing. In line with our nation's 50th years of independence, its not surprising that i chose for the bolder red version.

DIR-890L

The box containing DIR-890L is HUGE. The amount of stares i garnered bringing the monster back home on public transport is tremendous. Lets see the contents in the box.

DIR-890L Contents

To support the increase in third wireless radio, D-Link bundled a 12V 5A power brick delivering up to 60W of power!

12V 5A power brick

The DWA-192 AC1900 Wi-Fi USB 3.0 Adapter lets you connect over the 2.4 GHz (600 Mbps) and 5 GHz (up to 1300 Mbps), for faster streaming, gaming, and VoIP calls. In addition, its Advanced AC Smart Beam technology brings high-bandwidth wireless connectivity, vastly increasing the speed and coverage of your network via USB 3.0 

DWA-192 paired with DIR-890L 

Packaging contents of DWA-192

DWA-192 larger than a tennis ball

DIR-890L powering up

Another layman speed test this morning on 22nd Sept