Labs

Linksys's WAG325N won a Best Buy award in Shopper 235, so we wanted to find out how it compares with the latest devices. It has three antennas: two are the usual size, but there's also a single high-gain antenna. None can be replaced.

Configuration is very easy. A CD-based setup wizard takes you through configuring your internet connection and setting up a secure wireless network. That's enough for most people, but the web-based management interface offers much more.

This router has the most comprehensive QoS settings here. You can tell it how much bandwidth your line has, so that it knows how much it can assign to each application. It can also auto-detect your internet bandwidth.

It's then a

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matter of configuring the applications you want to prioritise and how important they are (high, medium or low priority). Linksys provides a decent set of default settings for applications including Skype and MSN. You can also create custom applications, but you'll need to find out which ports they use to do this.

There's also keyword and web address filtering, complete with scheduling, so that you can block access to unsavoury sites. As with the other routers here that support this feature, you'll need to configure these settings carefully to avoid blocking legitimate sites.

Performance was excellent with our Centrino notebook. The throughput of 18.78Mbit/s at 1m may not sound like much, but 15.16Mbit/s at 25m shows that this is a powerful router capable of maintaining a strong connection at distance.

Switching to the WPC300N-UK CardBus adaptor (£47 from www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop) improved things no end, and the router achieved the second-fastest throughputs here. In particular, the throughput of 20.98Mbit/s at 25m is excellent.

The WAG325N was great when we first reviewed it, and is still brilliant now. It's excellent value, with superb throughput and tons of features. It's an excellent buy.