Asus RT-N16

Full Review

Wireless routers generally are boring devices – except when they take a quantum leap into the next generation of consumer grade technology like the Asus RT-N16 has. It supports Gigabit ethernet (4 ports), the draft-N 2.0 standard, and also the older wireless b/g standards. The three adjustable and removable antennae help this router maintain signal coverage over a fairly large area (150 feet good enough for you?), and also help it attain good speeds as we shall see.

Setting up the router is simple with the included CD (a cheesy wizard named Dr. Surf) or directly from a browser through its Web interface. The N16 can be wall-mounted, or simply tucked away someplace from where it continues working.

You could even connect a standard USB printer and use it over the network from all connected PCs.

Four Gigabit ethernet ports at the back make this a router targeted at power users. A WAN ethernet port is provided for linking it to the Internet through your modem. An interesting feature is the inclusion of 2 USB ports. These can be used to connect storage devices like a pen drive or external HDD (FAT32/NTFS). You could even connect a standard USB printer and use it over the network from all connected PCs (we tested this feature with a HP PhotoSmart C4348, Windows 7 just detected it, installed drivers and managed to print).

The firewall put up a good show on the ShieldsUp test. Securing this router won’t be hard with its support for WPA2 encryption, and WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). Transfer speeds over a Wi-Fi connection were good upto 30 feet (58 Mbps), and tolerable even at a distance of 60 feet (24 Mbps), but slightly lower at very close range. Bear in mind that these speeds were obtained when the router was secured with WPA2-PSK AES encryption, so reducing the encryption level can only improve the numbers. It has a lot of memory onboard, making it ideal for those who’d like to use custom firmware. The quibble is that it operates only in the 2.4 Ghz spectrum, not the 5 Ghz range. The MRP quoted for the device is not bad at all for the functionality it provides.

Bottom Line

Asus has a winner with this router's sheer range of features, and its very acceptable performance. Wide coverage area, USB ports that can make the device a file/print server, and plenty of memory onboard make the RT-N16 a good choice for an enthusiast who wants to make his home network wireless.