8/7/2019 NBG4615 Test (HWM April)

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Zyxel NBG4615 WirelessN Gigabit NetUSB RouterIdeal Home Wireless Router

TexT // Muzaffar IsMaIl

Most consumer levelnetworking products oten

lack exibility so i you’re gettinga wireless-N router, that’s all you’llusually get. Consumer networkingproducts with more eatures areoten in the high-end spectrum

and usually have too manyunnecessary unctions that youknow you’ll never use. Thankully,this month’s Zyxel NBG4615Wireless N Gigabit NetUSB Routerdoesn’t all into this categoryas it not only oers wireless-N connectivity but also useuleatures or your home network.

All white with a glossy suracefnish cover, the Zyxel NBG4615is compact and space-saving. Thedesign is inconspicuous and blendsin with the background. Featuringtwo removable and adjustableantennas, it oers our EthernetLAN ports and one WAN port

or the connection to the ADSLmodem. It has two switches, oneto turn o wireless connectionsand one to turn the router o oron. On the side o the router thereare two USB ports that you canuse to connect and share either

 your USB printer or a USB externalhard disk drive. Doing so oersimmediate wireless connectivityor either device turning your USBexternal hard disk drive into asimple Network Attached Storage.

Since the router uses bothantenna, it oers ull edgedwireless-N connectivity with

speeds all the way up to themaximum 300Mbps. Setting-upthe router is as simple as plug andplay with an Easy mode that isvery user-riendly. The Easy modeuses a lot o simple and easy tounderstand graphics, showing

how the computers and devicesin your network are setup alongwith various options below it.These options include the ability toactivate wireless connectivity orgaming consoles, a content flteror parental control, bandwidthmanagement and wireless security.I you’re a bit more tech savvy, theExpert mode oers access to allthe nitty gritty details including aull log o actions in the networkalong with other rather high-endeatures.

Perormance is exceptional withthe router recording a 1GB transertime o 3 minutes and 31 seconds

at the nearest test location, atime o 2 minutes and 48 seconds10 meters away and a time o 4minutes and 23 seconds about 20meters away. Network utilizationand transer speeds were quitegood and stable at the frsttwo locations but became a bitunstable on the third. The routermanaged an average top speed o130Mbps at the frst two test sitesbut dropped down to 87Mbps atthe third. This speed is still blazingast despite this but it is clear thatthe device has a sweet spot about10 meters away.

  at aglance

 WI-fI

N/G/B 

BuTTons

Wireless Switch,WPS (Push-ButtonSecurity), Power-

Switch

Max speed

300Mbps

 Vpn

PPTP, IPSec, L2TP

prICe

RM289

 Awesome home wireless-Nnetwork with great functionsand features

avb

Physique: 8.5

Features: 8.5

PerFormance: 8.5

user Friendliness: 8.5

Value: 8.5

8.5 Vict:

speCIfICaTIons neTWork sTandard

IEEE802.11n, IEEE802.11g, IEEE802.11b // seCurITy

WEP, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, WPA, WPA2 // porTs

4x RJ-45 Ethernet LAN, 1x RJ-45 WAN, 1x Power,2x USB2 // feaTures 2x detacheable antenna,WPS, Easy and Expert mode, multiple SSID, NetUSBsupport, wireless scheduler // WarranTy

3-years // ConTaCT ZyXEL Malaysia Sdn Bhd //  

Telephone (03) 7960 0088 // url www.zyxel.com

The settings menu can be switched rom Easymode to Expert mode

The extra switch on the back allows you toquickly turn-o wireless connectivity

The Zyxel NBG4615 WirelessN Gigabit NetUSB Router is onesurprisingly ast and easy to usewireless-N router or the home.Perormance-wise, it delivers bothin terms o speed as well as rangewhile also oering great shared

unctions that most home-ownerswould appreciate. The router’sEasy and Expert modes makeit even better or home users,especially or those looking tomanage multiple users at home.

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