Labs

Edimax doesn't supply a CD-based setup wizard, so you have to use the router's web interface instead. This works well enough, but it's a shame the wizard only takes you through setting up your Internet connection. To set up a secure wireless network you'll have to configure it manually.

This was the only router on test that had UPnP turned off by default. You'll need to turn it on if you want

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to connect devices like the Xbox 360 to the Internet easily. More worryingly, the firewall was also turned off by default; it should be turned on at the first opportunity to keep hackers at bay. The BR-6504N supports QoS, so you can control how much bandwidth applications such as VoIP will get; however, this was difficult to configure. Push-button WPS is supported, but the client software supplied with Edimax's USB adaptor didn't support this feature under Windows Vista.

Performance was pretty good with our Centrino laptop. Throughput of 3.21Mbit/sec at 25 metres was good enough for web browsing, but other routers here offered better performance. Switching to the USB adaptor, we got much better performance, with 64.53Mbit/sec at one metre and 16.36Mbit/sec at 25 metres.

Having to turn on UPnP and the firewall is a little annoying, but this router is cheap enough for us to forgive that. If you're looking for Draft-n performance on a tight budget, it's a decent choice.