Asus RP-N53 Wireless N600 Range Extender Review

Test Method & Admin Panel

Testing this signal booster is going to be a little different to how we would normally test an access point for example. Even though the focus on this product is on increasing the range of a current wireless network and less on boosting speed at range, we will still take a look in depth on the speed that is experienced from the unit in our test environments.

In this set of tests, we will position ourself at the furthest point from our main router (a Netgear R6300 for reference) and will perform not only our standard LAN speed test to our wired test system on the other end, but we will also record our broadband speed and mark it against a wired connection also. Once we have these results we will then place the booster in a suitable location, connect via that to the network and then perform the same test again to see how much of a difference it makes.

To add a second set of data into the mix, the repeater will not only be tested in a home installation with the thick heavy walls and high speed internet connection, but also our offices where the walls are hollow and we have a more standard ADSL broadband connection.

Being able to accurately measure the range at which the current and extended networks operate at is not 100% feasible, but what we will do is go to a point where the main network signal starts to fail or is completely lost and check that a connection can be made via the booster.

Test system:

• Asus Maximus V Forumla
• Intel Core i7 3770k
• Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz 16GB
• AMD Radeon HD 7970
• Corsair H80
• Corsair HX1050W
• Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD
• 3 x AOC E2795VH

We would like to thank AOC, Asus, Corsair, Kingston and Lian Li for supplying us with our test system components. Many different software applications are also used to gain the broadest spectrum of results, which allows for the fairest testing possible.

Software used:

• www.speedtest.net – connected to server with best ping.

Admin Panel:

The RP-N53 admin panel is very simple to use and easy to work your way around. The first time you log in to the panel, or after the plug has been reset to factory defaults, the Quick Internet Setup page will appear by default to get the plug quickly connected to your wireless network. The last tab is for the wireless media playback functionality. Through here you can add as many internet radio stations to the plugs known list as you like and these will then appear on the mobile app which is easily demonstrated in the following video.

 [youtube]http://youtu.be/1I4MHycDxqI[/youtube]