Of the three routers we’re taking second looks at, none has changed more than Buffalo’s WZR-HP-G300NH. That’s because Buffalo has thrown the firmware we tested earlier out the window and adopted the open-source DD-WRT.
We weren't impressed with the AirStation Nfiniti WZR-HP-G300NH's TCP throughput, but its price tag is a saving grace.
Comparing our earlier benchmark numbers to the performance we recorded this time out, however, we much prefer the Kick Ass award–earning router we tested in January to the one in front of us now. That router turned in the best throughput we’ve ever seen with our client in our well-insulated media room and in our furthest outdoor location; this one took fifth-place finishes in both tests (in a field of seven). We have little doubt the reason for this performance discrepancy is due to the fact that no matter how we configured the router, we couldn’t coax Buffalo’s WLI-UC-G300HP01B USB client adapter to connect to it at a stated data rate faster than 130Mb/s.
This is a single-band router that enables you to run virtual wireless networks with distinct SSIDs, but these aren’t true guest networks that provide Internet access while isolating guest clients from your primary LAN. The router is equipped with a single USB port that’s limited to NAS functions—you can’t use it to share a printer attached to your network. It does, however, feature a DLNA-compliant media server, and it can be converted to a wireless bridge/repeater when you upgrade to a newer router down the road.
DLNA-compliant media server; integrated BitTorrent client; DD-WRT firmware.
Poor range; USB NAS feature supports only FAT32 or XFS formatted drives; no guest network.
| 2.4Ghz | |
|---|---|
| Bedroom, 10ft (Mb/s) | 56.9 |
| Kitchen, 20ft (Mb/s) | 42.8 |
| Enclosed Patio, 38ft (Mb/s) | 3.7 |
| Bedroom 2, 60ft (Mb/s) | 41.5 |
| Media Room, 35ft (Mb/s) | 3.7 |
| Outdoors, 85ft (Mb/s) | 0.5 |
| AirStation Nfiniti | |
|---|---|
| Radio Frequencies | Single-band: 2.4GHz only |
| Guest Network | Sort of |
| DLNA-Compliant Media Server | Yes |
| USB Ports | One (for storage only) |
| NTFS Drive Support | No |
| WDS Bridge/Repeater Support | Yes |
netarc
June 14, 2010 at 10:11pm
picked up this router, and so far it's working quite well (though I've not really tested its range limits).
I will say, though, that the Buffalo interface is garbage, just pure, unadulterated carp. I mean, you make a single change (e.g., SSID), and you need to save the config page you're one, causing the router to REBOOT ?!? ... meaning you wait 30s before you move on to the next setting ... and it continues on like this.
Terrible, just terrible design, Buffalo - and MaxPC, I'm amazed that you didn't comment on this!
That being said, I wait with bated breath for Buffalo to release the DDWRT version of their firmware for this router (July, I hope?), so I'll be keeping this router.
billcheese5
September 08, 2010 at 5:40pm
I know, I hate it when my router interfaces are carpy. I much prefer salmon-y interfaces.
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