TP-Link Archer D7 1750AC Router Review

Today we are taking a look at the Archer D7 1750AC Router from TP-Link. It retains many of the same features as its bigger brother, the Archer D9 AC1900, but comes in at a lower price. Could this be the best budget option for a router in 2015? Let’s find out… The Archer D7 has several features found on higher end routers, including AC wireless support and dual-band frequencies. Specifications: Up to 1300 Mbps 5GHz speeds. Up to 450 Mbps 2.4 Ghz speeds. Dual Band WiFi. 802.11ac wireless technology. ADSL/EWAN ports. Two USB 2.0 ports. 3 external antennas. The Archer D7 ships in standard packaging. On the front of the box we see a picture of the router itself, with several features listed underneath including Gigabit wireless speeds, external antennas and dual USB ports for external storage and media sharing. The back of the box goes a little more in-depth, with talk of parental controls, guest networks along with ADSL/EWAN ports. The router itself is very thin and light. It looks quite modern and wouldn’t look out-of-place in the house. However, it does have a glassy finish, which will attract marks and dust. The three antennas all screw on to the back of the router and should theoretically extend wireless range. We do have a separate wireless range extender from TP-Link to take a look at as well, so we will do a few range tests. On the back of the router you will find two USB 2.0 ports rather than 3.0, which are found on the higher tier Archer D9. There is an ADSL port, four gigabit Ethernet ports, the power switch along with a WiFi on/off switch and reset button. In the box you will find a software disk, power brick, a really short Ethernet cable and a modem/phone line splitter. The TP-Link Archer D7 is doesn't really require any additional setup to get working, you could just plug it in and forget about it. However, digging in to the web browser interface will provide access to a wide range of features. The main page shows a general breakdown of the router. On the side of the screen you will find tabs for every other setting on the router. The interface is very text heavy it might not look like much but it works. 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz settings are mostly the same, letting you change the SSID and wireless mode. The wireless security settings are fairly extensive, giving a wide array of options for protecting your network. One cool feature that TP-Link has packed in is the ability to hook up an external storage device and create a media server. The settings will allow you to control who has access among other security features. Those of you with kids may be interested in parental control features. The TP-Link interface allows you to set up a schedule for Internet access and set up various blocks. Speaking of controls, you can also set up bandwidth access. In the image below, you will see the firewall settings, allowing you to configure extra protection for the network. In the final tab, we can see the system log, providing usage details and listing any changes made recently in the settings. TP-Link's browser interface isn't very flashy in the looks department but it gets the job done. Everything is easy to find and navigate through. There is also plenty of room for configuration, which should keep most people happy. To test the TP-Link Archer D7 1750AC router, we use Totusoft's LAN Speed Test software to measure the real-world network throughput when transferring a 200MB file over the network. LAN Speed Test provides real-world performance results as it creates the file, measures the time it takes to transfer and then calculates the effective throughput on average. In order to eliminate potential bottlenecks, the 'server' computer was connected to the router via Gigabit Ethernet. The 'client' system will run this test connected to both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz wireless frequency bands. For our short-range test, the system will be positioned around 3 meters away from the router in the same room. This represents a typical usage scenario where the Archer D7 is required to provide a wireless signal for multiple devices in the same room. For medium range testing, our system was positioned around 6 meters from the router in another room. This way the signal will have to travel through a wall, making things a bit tougher. These tests are being run in a typical four bedroomed house, so it is a fairly common usage scenario for our readers. We will also be running a long-range test with the system positioned around 10 meters from the router, on the upper floor of the building. The signal will have to travel through the ceiling/floor along with several walls- making this procedure the most demanding. This represents a typical usage scenario in which the router is required to provide a wireless signal to multiple devices located in separate rooms of the house. We'll be using a 'client' system featuring the Asus PCE AC68 wireless card, which supports 802.11ac wireless as well as 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. Test Procedure: Totusoft's LAN Speed Test software, 200MB file transfer between client and server computers. We measure the transfer speed when copying a large media file across the network to certify the Totusoft LAN Speed Test results We run the test five times and take an average. When averaging the recorded transfer rates, we will determine and eliminate outlier results and run an extra test in place. This should reduce the effect of random errors. 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands are tested. 'Server' PC: CPU: AMD FX-8350 Motherboard: MSI 990FX GD-65 Test Drive: Kingston 250GB SSD Now V300 OS: Windows 8.1 Short range results: Medium range results: Long range results: As you can see, performance is fairly good, competing heavily with routers within the same price range. Speeds remain fairly high over longer distances as well. Overall the TP-Link Archer D7 1750AC Router is a bit of a mixed bag. It comes with an ADSL modem built-in, unfortunately, this isn't compatible with Virgin Media Fiber Optic connections and Internet speeds over ADSL will be limited to 24Mbps. I don't feel like it adds much to the product and could have been left out. LAN speeds are pretty good for a router in this price bracket. The Archer D7 isn't actually far off the slightly more expensive Archer D9 in terms of performance. While there is a significant performance dip between our short-range and long-range results, we still managed to achieve decent speeds over the network. While you will find everything you need inside of the box, in the future I would like to see some longer leads, particularly a longer power cable as the one included heavily limits exactly where you can put the router, which isn't ideal. The TP-Link Archer D7 1750AC Router can be found over at Overclockers UK for £119.99. This price likely could have been lowered a bit if the ADSL modem component was taken out. Discuss on our Facebook page, over HERE. Pros: Modern look. 802.11ac wireless support. Decent transfer speeds. Cons: Glossy plastic attracts marks and scratches. Included cables could be longer. ADSL modem won't be useful to those using Fibre Optic connections. KitGuru Says: If you are looking for a wireless router to upgrade your internal network, then the Archer D7 from TP-Link does the job.

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TP-Link Archer D7 1750AC Router Review

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