Labs

Buffalo's WBMR-G125 won our Best Network Product 2007 (Shopper 238), so we decided to see how it fares against the current competition. Although it's an 802.11g router, it has a turbo mode that increases throughput from 54Mbit/s to 125Mbit/s when used with Buffalo's own network adaptors.

The router's setup wizard is easy to follow and takes you through internet, wireless and security settings. If you're using Centrino or Buffalo network adaptors and you install the supplied client software, you can use the Airstation One-Touch Secure System (AOSS) to transmit wireless settings automatically at the touch of a button. This works well, but it's just as easy to type in

The web interface can be used to configure advanced settings, including port forwarding and QoS. This gets a little confusing, though. The Internet/LAN settings page has a QoS option, but it's full of confusing terms such as Unlimited Bit Rate (UBR) and Peak Cell Rate (PCR) that the manual doesn't explain. They're actually for controlling the ADSL line, and you don't need to change them.

The QoS settings you actually need are found under the Gaming Ports section. Here you can set high, medium or low priority for five predefined applications including FTP, HTTP (web) and email. You can define custom applications, such as for Skype, but you'll need to find out the port numbers they use.

Performance and range were excellent. With our Centrino notebook we got a fast throughput of 19.4Mbit/s at 1m and a reasonable 3.42Mbit/s at 25m. Switching to Buffalo's WLI-CB-G54S CardBus adaptor (£15) improved this, giving us a throughput of 28Mbit/s at 1m and 6.53Mbit/s at 25m. You should have no problem browsing the web from anywhere in your house.

Buffalo's WBMR-G125 is a great product. The low price of the router and network adaptors makes it great value if you simply want to share an ADSL broadband connection.