Trendnet 300Mbps Wireless N-Draft Firewall Router review

TrendNet's 300Mbps Wireless N-Draft Firewall Router is the cheapest pre-N router we've reviewed.

At just £62 including VAT, it's around the same price as a regular wireless router. It's not much to look at, though, as it uses TrendNet's typical cheap-looking blue plastic case. With three ugly aerials sticking out of the back, this is one router you're going to want to hide away in a cupboard.

In addition to wireless, the N-Draft also has four Ethernet ports and an Ethernet WAN port that needs to be connected to an existing broadband modem (ADSL or cable) to share your internet connection. Configuration of the router is through the web-based management, as the provided CD doesn't have a setup wizard, only the manual in PDF format. It's no trouble to do it using the web interface, though. TrendNet has two wizards: the first helps you configure your internet connection, and the second helps you set up your wireless settings. It's thorough, and the wireless wizard prompts you to turn on security.

We noticed the setup wizards are exactly the same as those on Zyxel's Prestige 336M reviewed opposite. However, that router is even easier to configure; it supports Microsoft's Windows Connect Now, which lets you configure your wireless settings on your PC and transfer them to your router using a USB flash drive. It isn't just the wizard that's the same, though: the whole interface is. This isn't a bad thing, as it's one of the better web interfaces we've used.

Setting up advanced settings such as virtual servers is easy. Just select the kind of server you want to run - web, for example - and pick the PC it's running on from the drop-down list. You don't have to mess around typing in IP addresses and port numbers.

Performance is key, especially in a product that claims to have such a high throughput. Using our Centrino notebook, we were impressed, and we got some of the best throughputs we've seen. There was no drop-off at long range, showing it's a powerful router that should be able to cope with most homes. Sadly, performance using the supplied N-Draft PC Card wasn't very good, as you can see from the average performance shown below. The router wasn't consistent. We managed a throughput of 31.5Mbit/s once, but this was rare and most throughputs were much lower. We manually changed the wireless settings, selecting our own channel and forcing the router to use just 802.11n, but unfortunately this made no difference.

As a pre-N router, the Wireless N-Draft Firewall Router isn't very good and you're better off buying D-Link's RangeBooster N 650 Router. However, if you're looking for a fast 802.11g router, it's a good buy and has great throughputs.