The current top router from
Linksys is the EA4500. While there are many routers on the market,
for a power user that wants a full featured networking solution, the
EA4500 is worth considering.
What's in the box?
- EA4500 router
- Cat 5e networking cable
- power adapter
- Setup CD
It is worth pointing out
that everything in the box is arranged nicely, and the out of box
experience is on par with Apple. Also be aware that the while many
devices have WiFi built into them, if you need a wireless adapter,
they are sold separately.
Features:
- Ultra fast wireless speed connectivity (up to 450 + 450 Mbps)
- Simultaneous dual-band to maximize throughput and help avoid network interference
- Maximum range and reliability with full 3x3 MIMO antenna array
- Four Gigabit ports (10x faster than Ethernet)
- One USB Port for shared storage or printer
- Cisco Connect Cloud (Available summer 2012)- Get anywhere, anytime access to your home network from a browser or mobile device.
Ease of setup has been a strong point with
the Linksys products, and the EA4500 did not disappoint. I plugged
in the power adapter to the router, and utilized the Ethernet cable
to connect the router to the modem. There is only a solitary light
on the router, and it was pulsing in white to signify the successful
connection.
Now in the past, you needed to be wired to
setup the new router. In other words, for the initial setup, it was
required that the computer, via an Ethernet cable, needed to be
plugged physically into the router. However, there are any
number of scenarios where this could be quite inconveneient; after
all, you are purchasing a wireless router so it does not need to be
plugged in to access the internet. Thankfully, for the EA4500 and
the setup, it can now be done over WiFi. The process took about 5
minutes, and was quite painless via the supplied software CD. (As an
aside, I still like software included on a CD, and always find it
more convenient than having to download it from an online source).
The router comes with a default name, and the opportunity is given to
change it from a default such as "Blue Monkey" or "Green
Diamond." Then a password is provided for the default WPA2
encryption protocol, and it is a solid ten digits long, and not a
word from any dictionary, utilizing upper and lower case letters.
There is also a guest password for visitors, and the number of
simultaneous users that can connect to the router can be limited. As
this all happens as a default out of the box, even a newbie can setup
a professionally encrypted network that will stand up to an attack
with ease.
With the EA4500 up and running, it was
time to put it to use. What follows is a few words about my
networking setup. My internet is provided from Optimum Online, and
the speed tier is 15/2, which lately gets "overprovisioned"
to 20/2 to ensure bandwidth on the download side. The EA4500 is in
the basement close to the modem. My desktop is one floor up, about
100 feet away, with pipes and air ducts running in between. My
desktop WiFi is provided via a Cisco Valet USB adapter.
Across several days of testing, the EA4500
router performed flawlessly. I did not have to reboot the router
once, and it provided a stable connection. From my desktop, the
speeds according to Windows were anywhere from 39 mb/s to 104 mb/s
download (the USB adapter has a stated theoretical maximum speed of
150 mb/s). All videos streamed well with no hiccups, including 1080p
content on YouTube.
My notebook also connected to the EA4500
with no issues. The internal WiFi uses the older "g"
protocol. Even in the one room of the house that has no basement,
and is on concrete slab, with another nearby WiFi netowrk for
interference, the notebook maintained a very stable connection over
hours. The speed was pinned at 54 mb/s, which is the maximum for the
"g" protocol.
Into the USB port of the router, I plugged
in a 4 GB flash drive. This simple feature quickly becomes a must
have option as it acts a NAS (network attached storage) that allows
all the computers on the network to have shared storage space to
place files. Alternatively, a USB printer can be turned into a
network printer to share between devices.
The EA4500 conforms to the WiFi 802.11
"b," "g," "a" and "n"
protocols. The "n" is the latest approved protocol, and is
quite fast. Be aware that there is also an "ac" protocol,
that promises speeds up to 1300 mb/s. However, the "ac"
protocol is not official, and may not be for years (seriously, it
took 6 years for the first "draft n" to get finalized to
"n." Furthermore, the "ac" adapters are not out
yet, and the current speeds obtained with the initial "ac"
products don't offer any significant speed improvements over the
current "n" protocol. In other words, I don't hesitate to
recommend a solid "n" router at this time, and would take a
wait and see approach with "ac."
Speaking of speeds, I ran SpeedTest with
the router, connected to my desktop 100 feet away. I was pleased to
see that the test came up with speeds that were as good as having the
computer plugged directly into the modem, with no router in the loop.
In summary, the Linksys EA4500 is top end router, for the more serious networking enthusiast. The current pricing is $179, which buys quite a bit of performance for the price. Also, stay tuned for this Summer, when Cisco Connect Cloud will be launched, which will make this product even more compelling.
Jonas
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