ASUS WL-500W Super Speed N Multifunctional Wireless Router Review

By:Platon Scheblykin

Date:2007-11-28 10:12:57

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This article continues our series of reviews of network equipment that supports the draft 802.11n standard. Today we are going to talk about the WL-500W router that represents a successor to the previously tested WL-500g Premium. We will see what the differences from the previous model are and what improvements have been made in it.

This article continues our series of reviews of network equipment that supports the draft 802.11n standard. As you can guess from the device name, the ASUS WL-500W carries on the traditions of such popular products from ASUS as WL-500G Deluxe, WL-500g Premium, WL-600g (counting ADSL devices in as well), etc.

To remind you, we tested the WL-500g Premium in our labs before (for details see our article called ASUS WL500g Premium Wireless Internet Router Review). At first sight the WL-500W seems to be the same Premium with the addition of support for the IEEE 802.11n draft. To be exact, it is a four-port Fast Ethernet router with two USB 2.0 ports and with functionality typical of hi-end home routers. The WL-500g Premium left a good impression on me, especially with its hardware section, despite certain drawbacks.

So, I'm interested not only in the speed characteristics of the new router but also in its hardware components ¨C whether anytyhing has changed since the Premium model.

Specifications and Accessories Bundle

Parameter	Characteristics
Wireless standard	- IEEE 802.11b/g - IEEE 802.11n (draft)
Encoding standard	- WEP (64/128bit) - WPA - WPA2
Antenna	- 3 external dipole antennas
Signal modulation	- OFDM - CCK - DQPSK - DBPSK
Operating frequency	- 2.4 - 2.5 GHz
Nominal data transfer rate	- 802.11n (draft): up to 270Mbps - 802.11g: 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54Mbps - 802.11b: 1, 2, 5.5, 11Mbps
Transmit power	- 12~15dBm (g mode), - 15~18dBm (b mode), - 14~16dBm (n mode). (at normal temp. range)
Operating channels	11 for North America, 14 Japan, 13 Europe (ETSI), 3 (non-overlapping)
WAN	1 RJ-45 (10/100 BaseT) Fast Ethernet 10/100Mb/s port with auto crossover
LAN	4 RJ-45 (10/100 BaseT) Fast Ethernet 10/100Mb/s ports with auto crossover
Other interfaces	2 USB 2.0 ports
Power	External power supply unit
Dimensions	215 x 160 x 42 mm
Additional features	- Download Master: Download ftp, http and BT (BitTorrent) automatically; - FTP Server; - WebCAM Server; - Printer Server: TCP/IP (LPR, supported in Windows XP, Windows 2000 and MAC OS).

The contents of the box are quite standard for the device class:

WL-500W router
Power adapter (5V, 2.5A)
CD with software
Installation and setup guide
Category 5e Ethernet cable

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