D-Link DI-524 review

Verdict:

Review Date: 19 Jan 2007

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Reviewed By: David Ludlow

Our Rating 3 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

D-Link's DI-524 is a standard 802.11g wireless router. It has four Ethernet ports for connecting wired clients and a WAN Ethernet port for connecting to a separate ADSL or Cable router.

It's configured using D-Link's Click 'n' Connect wizard, which runs from the provided CD. This takes you step-by-step through the installation. As well as showing you what to do, it has some built-in checks, such as making sure the WAN port is connected to a router. This ensures you don't make any simple errors that could stop your internet connection working. The wizard also guides you through configuring your wireless settings, including turning on security (WEP and WPA are supported). It's easy to follow, and we had our router set up in no time.

If you want to change any of the more advanced settings, you'll have to venture into the router's web-based management page. Settings such as making one of your PCs act as a server are tricky to configure, though. There's an advanced firewall you can use to configure specific rules. Again, you'll need to know exactly what you're doing before you change anything; the default firewall settings should provide enough protection for most people.

Performance was a little below that of our standard reference router. This router is fine for web browsing, but you'll want something faster for sharing files. The router's aerial is detachable, though, so you could replace it with a hi-gain model to increase your wireless range and throughput.

The DI-524 is cheap and does a good job if you're just looking to share a broadband connection for web surfing. However, Dynamode's BR-6004 W-G1, which we reviewed in What's New: Networks, Shopper December 2006, is faster and costs just £30 including VAT, even if it is a little bit trickier to set up.

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