
N° and issue date : 314 - 01/04/2014
Circulation : 49071 Page : 106
Frequency : Monthly Size : 100 %
ComputerShopper_314_100_19.pdf 7358 cm2
Website: http://www.computershopper.com
104
WIRELESS
ROUTERS
NETGEAR
D6200
* * * *
£124
inc
VAT "
From
www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
A
wide
range
of
features
and
fast
5GHz
performance
appeals
,
but
the
web
interface
leaves
something
to
be
desired
IF
YOU
WANT a small
,
inconspicuous
router
to
sit
in
the
corner
of
your
sitting
room
,
the
Netgear
D6200 isn'
t
for
you
.
It'
s a
rectangular
black
wedge
a
little
larger
than
a
hardback
book
and
sits
upright
on
an
integrated
stand.
It'
s
also
expensive
,
but
you
get
a
lot
of
features .
The D6200
supports
802.11ac
5GHz
Wi-Fi
with
a
theoretical
maximum
throughput
of
867Mbit
/
s
,
as
well
as
the
2.4GHz
band still
used
by
many
mobile
devices
and
laptops.
The
router
has
both
an
ADSL
modem
and
a
Gigabit
Ethernet
WAN
port
,
so
you
won'
t
have
to
throw
it
away
if
you
switch
to
a
cable
or
VDSL
service
.
There
are
also
four
Gigabit
Ethernet
LAN
ports
and
a
USB
port
,
which
can
be
used
to
attach
an
external hard disk
or
share
a
USB
print
server
.
A
power
button
and
recessed
reset
switch
are
at
the
back
,
while
buttons
to start
a
WPS connection
and
enable
or
disable
the
Wi-Fi
are
on
the
right.
Illuminated
icons on
the
glossy
front
surface
show
the
status
of
various features
and
connections
.
The wireless connection
is
TENDA
W300D
COMPUTER
SHOPPER
Y
*
* * *
BUDGE BU
M
£21
inc
VAT " From www.ilgs.co.uk
VERDICT
If
you
just
need
to
get
online
at
little
cost
,
this
budget
ADSL
modem router could
be
exactly
what
you
need
THE
TENDA
W300D
is
one
of
the
cheapest
wireless
ADSL
modem routers around
. It
has
two
non-replaceable
antennas
and
supports
MIMO
for
a
theoretical
maximum
wireless
throughput
of
300Mbit
s . It
also
has
four
10
/
100
Ethernet
ports
,
one
of
which
can
also
be
used
as an
Ethernet
WAN
port
.
This
adds
to
the
router'
s
flexibility
if
you
switch from
a
standard
ADSL
internet connection
,
as
you
can use it
with
an
external
cable
or
fibre
modem
provided
by
your
ISP.
Also
on
the
rear
is
a
power
button
and
a
button
that
doubles
as
a
WPS connection
button
and
,
if
you
press
and hold
it
,
a
factory
reset switch .While
this
combination
invites
mishaps
,
we
didn'
t
have
any
problems
during
testing
.
A
bank
of
lights
at
the
front
tells
you
which
ports
are
connected
,
whether there'
s
an
internet
connection and
if
it'
s
working properly.
The
web interface
is
clearly
laid
out
,
but
there aren'
t a
lot
features .
If
you
want
to use
your
router
to
share
USB
hard disks
or set
up
a
guest
network for visitors
,
you
should look
secured
by
default
,
with
a
strong
but
easily
readable
password
.
When
you
first
connect
to
the
router'
s
IP address
,
it
helps
you
establish
an
internet connection
.
Like
Netgear'
s
mobile
and
desktop
apps
,
the
web
interface
uses
Netgear
Genie
branding
and
icons.
However
,
we found
the
D6200
could
be
slow
in
responding
, particularly
if
it
failed
to
detect
an
active internet
connection
.
We
also
found
that
some
aspects
of
the
interface
felt
disjointed
.
For
example
, clicking
on
Parental
Controls
takes
you
to
a
download site where
Mac
OS
and
Windows users can download
an
OpenDNS
content
filtering
plugin
.
Even once
you'
ve
set
up
filtering ,
you
can'
t
access
its
control
screen
directly
from
the
router
,
but
instead
have
to
run
an
application
on
your
PC.
The
advanced
options
screen
is
better
and
gives
you
access
to
a
wide
range
of
features
,
including
wireless
guest
networks
,
blacklisting
for
specific
sites
,
setting
up
a
VPN
and
using
a built-in
DLNA
media server
to
share
content on
an
attached
USB
disk.
elsewhere .
However
,
it'
s
easy
to
access
vital
features such
as
port
forwarding
and
wireless
settings.
Sadly
,
the
router'
s Wi-Fi
connection
isn' t
encrypted
by
default
.
This means
that
,
as
soon as
you
connect
to its
wireless
network
,
you
should
log
into
the
web
interface
and
set
a
password
to
prevent
unwanted
guests
using
your
wireless network
.
When
you
connect
to
it
via
your
browser
,
it
opens
a
basic
settings
page
that
prompts
you
to
set
your
location.
Do
this
accurately
,
as it
determines
which
frequency
bands can
be
used
;
European
Wi-Fi
bands
extend
from
channels
one to
13
, while
the
US
is
limited
to
using
channels
one to
11.
You'
re
also
asked
to enter
your
internet
connection
type
,
username and
password.
Finally ,
enter an
easily
memorable
passphrase
into
the
Security Key
box
.
This
is
your
wireless
password
,
vital
in
keeping
your
network secure.
Unusually
,
even
in
the
advanced
settings
,
we
were
unable
to
disable
channel-bonding
,
which
we
usually
do
while
testing
,
as
doing
We
tested
Wi-Fi
using
our
laptop' s
integrated
wireless
chipset
and
a
Netgear
A6100
USB
Wi-Fi adaptor .
In
our
2.4GHz
test
,
the
results
of
our
throughput
tests
were
fairly
close
,
but
the
laptop'
s
wireless
chipset
did
a
little
better
,
getting
45.8Mbit
/
s at
1m
,
45.9Mbit
s at
10m
and
11.8Mbit s at
20m
.
The
A6100
adaptor
failed
the
20m
test
.
In
the
5GHz
test
,
the
difference
between
the
Wi-Fi
standards
began
to
show
. While
our
laptop
did
fairly
well
,
getting
76.3Mbit
/
s at
1m
,
74.2Mbit
/
s at
10m
and
13.2Mbit
/
s at
20m
,
the
802.11ac
USB
dongle
gave
us
139.8Mbit s at
lm
,
135.9Mbit
/
s
at
10m
and
a
speedy
48.4Mbit
/
s at
20m.
The
flexible
WAN
connection
options
and
good
performance
in
our tests are
both
points
in
the
D6200'
s
favour
,
but
its
interface
is
a
little
disjointed
, particularly
when
it
comes
to
optional
elements
such
as
content
filtering.
It'
s a
good
router
,
but
the
BT
Home
Hub
5
has
a
better interface
,
even
though
it
doesn'
t
have
as
many
features
as the
D6200.
so
typically improves
transfer
speeds.
Performance
was
acceptable
in
our
near
and
far
tests
using
our
laptop'
s
Centrino 2
wireless
chipset.
We
saw
transfer
speeds
of
31.3Mbit
/
s at
1m
and
27.7Mbit
/
s at
10m
,
but
we unable
to
complete
the
test
at
20m
.
A
£7 Tenda
W311U
USB Wi-Fi adaptor
gave
us
similar
results
of
37.2
Mbit
/
s at
1m
and
23.6m
at
10m
,
so
it'
s
not
worth
buying
the
adaptor , particularly
as
ours
was unable even
to see the
router when
it
was
set
to
channels
12
or
13.
This
is
a
cheap
router
with
a
decent
interface
,
so
we were
prepared
to
be
forgiving
when
it
came
to
performance
.
If
you
need
to
shunt a
lot of
data
around
on
your
network
or
play
games
using
it
,
this isn'
t
the
router for
you .
If
you
primarily
use
a
wired
connection
and
just
need
to be
able
to
get
your
phone
or
tablet
online
,
then this
basic router
is
a
bargain
. It
wins
our
Budget
Buy
award.
APRIL
2014 COMPUTER SHOPPER
ISSUE
314
7 / 12
Copyright (Computer Shopper)
No reproduction without authorisation
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