MaximumPC 2004 08

Reviews

W

e don’t see a whole lot of

innovation on the router

front. Generally, products

in this category either work or they

don’t. They deliver the speed they

promise or they don’t. They’re easy

to configure or they aren’t. Both the

SMC 2304WBR-AG and the Netgear

WGT624 provide an acceptable level

of service and some above-average

features. Let’s take a closer look to

find out which one’s best for you.

—WILL SMITH

SMC 2304WBR-AG

This router sports one

heckuva long model

number, but that’s accept-

able because it packs so

many advanced features.

Essentially two access points

in one box, the SMC 2304

includes both an 802.11a AP and

an 802.11g AP for the ultimate in

cross-standard compatibility. Because

the integrated 802.11g hardware also

supports the original 802.11b spec,

this AP will work with every Wi-Fi

compatible device ever made. That’s

pretty damn cool. Very few people

actually bought into the 802.11a

spec, but if you have 802.11a hard-

ware, it’s handy to be able to connect

to your wireless network without

using annoying external adapters.

The 2304 performed admirably

in our standard file transfer test,

where we measure the length of time

it takes to upload a 530MB MPEG2

video file from a wireless laptop to

a wired desktop, and then measure

the time it takes to download it

back from the wired machine to the

wireless machine. We were espe-

cially impressed with the 262 second

upload time, which is one of the fast-

est we’ve seen to date.

Unfortunately, the web-based

configuration utility used to manage

the 2304’s more advanced features is

clunky and unintuitive. Frequently,

interrelated options will be buried far

away from each other in completely

different menus. Network adminis-

trators may understand the order-

ing, but your grandma might have

trouble keeping up.

Netgear WGT624

Unlike the SMC router reviewed

above, the Netgear WGT624 does

not support 802.11a networks. Of

course, given the paltry adoption

numbers, few have been missing this

elusive spec. Unless you have legacy

802.11a hardware, g is all you need.

Performance is on par with other

802.11g hardware we’ve tested; it

took a little less than five minutes

to transfer our 530MB test file.

That’s still nowhere near as fast

as a good old-fashioned wired con-

nection, but it’s an order of mag-

nitude faster than an old-school

802.11b connection.

We are extremely pleased with

Netgear’s easy configuration rou-

tine, and the web-based config

utility provides convenient access

to every setting you could possibly

need. It’s easy to set up port for-

warding for your home-based web

server or even a virtual DMZ for

those few games that don’t work

well through NAT-based routers.

Whether you’re looking to set up

your first wireless network or to make

the jump from 802.11b to 802.11g,

either of these routers will serve you

with aplomb.

Walkin’ in a Wi-Fi Wonderland

We poke and prod two new wireless routers from SMC and Netgear

Netgear’s WGT624 can

handle even the most

demanding wireless

networking duties.

The SMC

2304WBR-

AG uses two

antennas, one

for 802.11a

and one for

802.11b/g.

T

he 802.11g spec promises a whopping

54Mb/s data transfer rate, and newer

premium models, such as the two

reviewed here, even tout the ability to

bond two normal 802.11g Wi-Fi channels

together to create a single double-speed

connection. Is there any reason to shell

out extra cash for double-speed Wi-Fi

products? Let’s take a look at the amount

of bandwidth delivered.

The average broadband connection

delivers at most 1.5Mb/s of band-

width to your home, much less than

the maximum practical bandwidth of

even 802.11b. So, if you’re just using

your wireless network to share Internet

access, there’s no reason to shell out for

an expensive 108Mb/s router.

What about sharing music and

video? Well, streaming a 192kb/s MP3

file uses only 192kb/s of bandwidth.

Video is significantly more intensive,

though—a DVD quality video will eat 4

or 5Mb/second of bandwidth.

The bottom line is that unless you

want to stream lots of high-quality

video or transfer large files across your

wireless network, there’s really no rea-

son to pay a premium for greater than

802.11g performance.

A powerful feature set, and a four-port switch com-

bined with support for all the major Wi-Fi specs.

MARCONI

MORSE

You pay a premium for 802.11a support, which

you’ll probably never use.

$170, http://www.smc.com

MAXIMUMPC VERDICT 9

SMC 2304WBR-AG

Its small size conceals a four-port switch and a top-

class 802.11b access point.

WEB SURFING WIRELESSLY

BUNGEE JUMPING WIRELESSLY

The 108Mb/s mode doesn’t really improve per-

formance all that much.

$130, http://www.netgear.com

MAXIMUMPC VERDICT 8

Netgear WGT624

BENCHMARK CHART

ROUTER WIRED TO WIRELESS WIRELESS TO WIRED

Netgear WGT624 256 sec 289 sec

SMC 2304WBR-AG 296 sec 262 sec

Note: All tests are run in the 802.11g exclusive mode. To test, we measured the length of time

it takes to copy a 530MB file from a wired machine to a wireless machine, and then how long it

takes to copy the same file from the wireless machine back to the wired machine.

60 MAXIMUMPC AUGUST 2004

IS DOUBLE-SPEED 802.11G EVEN NECESSARY?