Asus DSL-N55U
A good price and superb performance
in all departments mean that Asus' ADSL dual-band router clambers to the top of
the pile
Asus walked away with a Recommended award
from our last wireless routers Labs; this time around, it’s gone one better and
swung the overall award. The reasons behind this are largely the same.
First, despite a reasonable price, the
router has plenty of features. There’s dual-band, concurrent Wi-Fi, rated at
300Mbits/sec in each band; twin USB ports, each one capable of supporting
either a printer or a hard disk drive; VPN server capabilities; four Gigabit
Ethernet ports; a power switch on the rear; and three, high-gain antennae
sticking out the back.
Asus
DSL-N55U
When you connect to the DSL-N55U’s web UI,
it delivers class-leading usability. The first page helps you set up the ADSL
connection. Once that’s done, there’s a wireless and security setup wizard to
go through, and you finally land on the router’s dashboard page. This displays
a network map, showing an at-a-glance view of the health of your internet
connection, and the status of the wireless network. Click an item on the map
and further information appears in a panel to the side.
With the ability to change basic settings
in these panels, you’ll barely need to wander outside the Ul’s main page for
most changes. When you do, the router provides help by way of some simple
wizards.
We particularly like the AiDisk function,
which allows you to share storage across the internet through Asus’ own DDNS
service. Including account setup, we were able to share our connected disk via
FTP in less than a minute.
The
only significant features missing from the DSL-N55U are wireless repeating
functions, and advanced parental controls
The only significant features missing from
the DSL-N55U are wireless repeating functions, and advanced parental controls.
You can block keywords and URLs and restrict usage based on the time of day,
but there’s no whitelist control, nor more powerful, category-based filtering.
However, we’re willing to set aside these
concerns in light of the Asus’ excellent all-round performance. At close range,
we measured an average file-transfer rate of 13.6MB/sec over 2.4GHz, and 16.5MB/sec
over 5GHz. At long range, speed over 2.4GHz was an impressive 6.3MB/sec. And,
again, the DSL-N55U impressed over 5GHz, gaining a steady rate of 3.1MB/sec.
For range, it’s second only to the Netgear D6300, which is far more expensive,
and in fact, overall, it works out as the third-fastest router in the Labs,
ahead of all its 802.11n rivals by some distance.
The Asus doesn’t only impress in the
wireless department. It also excelled in our USB disk and ADSL throughput
tests. In the former, it delivered an average transfer rate of 12.2MB/sec, and
in the latter it topped the table.
In short, the Asus DSL-N55U couples
table-topping performance in all departments and a great range of features with
supreme ease of use, and does it all for a modest price. There’s no other
router in this Labs that carries off that combination with such competent,
all-round aplomb.
Asus DSL-N55U specs
Pricing
·
Part code: DSL-N55U
·
Price: $136
·
Supplier: www.broadband
·
buyer.co.uk
·
Dimensions inc antennae (WDH): 206 x 185 x 157mm
·
Warranty: 3yr RTB
Core specifications
·
Internet connection type: ADSL2/2+
·
Dual band (2.4GHz/5GHz): yes
·
Concurrent dual band : yes
·
Wireless standards: 802.11abgn
·
Maximum throughput (2.4GHz/5GHz):
300/300Mbits/sec
·
40MHz channels (2.4GHz/5GHz): yes/yes
·
Gigabit Ethernet port: 4
·
10/100 Ethernetports: no
·
USB ports (device support type): 2 (storage,
printer, 3G/4G dongle)
·
Security and parental controls
·
Security types WEP, WPA (personal, enterprise),
WPA2 (personal, enterprise), Radius
·
Web content filtering: no
·
URL whitelisting: no
·
URL blacklisting: yes
·
Schedule-restricted internet access: yes
·
WPS button/router PIN/device PIN support:
yes/yes/yes
Other
·
IPv6 support: yes
·
Wireless repeater functions: no
·
Wireless on/off switch: yes
·
Power switch: yes
·
User-configurable QoS: yes
·
Media server: yes
·
Torrent server: no
·
Storage format support: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS
·
Guest network: yes
·
Android/iOS app: yes
·
Extend ability via apps: no
·
Online firmware updating: no
Measured average speeds (MB/sec)
·
2.4GHz short range: 13.6
·
5GHz short range: 16.5
·
802.11ac short range: N/A
·
2.4GHz long range: 6.3
·
5GHz long range: 3.1
·
USB speed (wired: 12.2
·
ADSL download (wired): 2.4
Belkin AC 1200 DB
Despite the high price, Belkin's
flagship router is a disappointing performer
The AC 1200 DB is the flagship of Belkin’s
range. It boasts the latest 802.11ac technology and, surprisingly, features an
ADSL modem instead of cable support.
You’ll have to pay through the nose for it,
however. This router is the most expensive on test, and if you include the cost
of the accompanying Belkin 802.11ac adapter at around £70, the overall price
rockets to $400.
Belkin
AC 1200 DB
Is it worth paying this much for any
router? Certainly not this one. Standard, 802.11n performance was middling: at
long range over 5GHz we recorded an average of 2.2MB/sec - less than half that
of the best on test. At long range over 2.4GHz, that result remained well
behind the leaders, with an average of 4.5MB/sec.
The short-range tests were more
disappointing, registering speeds of 10.6MB/sec over 5GHz and 8.2MB/sec over
2.4GHz. Using Belkin’s own 802.11ac USB adapter, we recorded short-range speeds
of 18.9MB/sec, which is the slowest of the three 802.11ac routers on test this
month, and the other results are a long way behind its flagship rivals.
To
make matters worse, we only managed to achieve these rather slow speeds after
resetting the router to factory settings
To make matters worse, we only managed to
achieve these rather slow speeds after resetting the router to factory
settings. Our attempts to change passwords and switch on the router’s 20/40MHz
mode to boost 2.4GHz speeds had the reverse effect, dropping the speeds even
further.
The AC 1200 DB has two USB ports on the
rear, so you can hook up a printer and a USB drive, but using the router as a
NAS box isn’t practical with a hard drive connected, we recorded poor average
transfer speeds of 2.9MB/sec. It was also the only router in our ADSL tests not
to exceed 2MB/sec in the FTP file-download test, hitting only 1.1MB/sec.
With disappointing all-round performance
and a mediocre feature set, the Belkin does little to justify its price. It’s
cheaper rivals are quicker, and offer improved parental controls and mobile
apps, making this a router we’d avoid at all costs.
Belkin AC 1200 DB specs
Pricing
·
Part code: F9J1106v1
·
Price: $240 ($288)
·
Supplier: www.currys.co.uk
·
Dimensions inc antennae (WDH): 204 x 75 x 217mm
·
Warranty: 2yrRTB
Core specifications
·
Internet connection type: ADSL2/2+
·
Dual band (2.4GHz/5GHz): yes
·
Concurrent dual band: yes
·
Wireless standards: 802.11abgn+ac
·
Maximum throughput (2.4GHz/5GHz):
300/867Mbits/sec
·
40MHz channels (2.4GHz/5GHz): yes/yes
·
Gigabit Ethernet ports: no
·
10/100 Ethernetports: no
·
USB ports (device support type): 2 (storage,
printer)
·
Security and parental controls
·
Security types: WEP, WPA (personal, enterprise),
WPA2 (personal, enterprise)
·
Web content filtering: S (via Norton)
·
URL whitelisting: no
·
URL blacklisting: yes
·
Schedule-restricted internet access: yes
·
WPS button/router PIN/device PIN support:
yes/yes/yes
Other
·
IPv6 support: yes
·
Wireless repeater functions: no
·
Wireless on/off switch: no
·
Power switch: no
·
User-configurable QoS: yes
·
Media server: yes
·
Torrent server: no
·
Storage format support: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS
·
Guest network: yes
·
Android/iOS app: no
·
Extend ability via apps: no
·
Online firmware updating: yes
Measured average speeds (MB/sec)
·
2.4GHz short range: 8.2
·
5GHz short range: 10.6
·
802.11ac short range: 18.9
·
2.4GHz long range: 4.5
·
5GHz long range: 2.2
·
USB speed (wired): 2.9
·
ADSL download (wired): 1.1
