Belkin N600 DB wireless modem/router

Despite looking similar to its modemless cousin, the N600 DB wireless modem/router is a different entity. Problems with Intel and Ralink chipsets, worrying heat output, middling wireless performance and long waits between changing settings mean that this one should be passed over.

CNET Editors' Rating

2.5 stars

Average User Rating

0.5 stars 8 reviews

Price: AU$219.00

Video

Right from the outset, it's important to note that there's a Belkin N600 DB that's just a wireless router, and one that's a wireless modem/router. While they share many similarities, these are very different beasts performance-wise, so the results here should not be conflated with the other product. For this review, we're focusing on the modem/router version.

It's an odd shape, this one. A vertically standing, convex wedge in piano black, with a rim of grey and an activity light on the top. Despite looking near identical in pictures, the modem/router version is larger than the wireless router version.

Specs at a glance

Connections

The N600 DB takes the standard approach; four 100Mb Ethernet ports, and a USB port that can manage either printing or storage. A phone jack is on top to connect to the internet. Belkin isn't particularly friendly with where it stores its ADSL settings; they're filed under "Internet WAN".

Power jack, USB, 4x 100Mb Ethernet and 100Mb WAN port.
(Credit: Belkin)

UI and features

Belkin hasn't given its UI a once over for a very long time. It's still the same old grey, which works well enough, but it's certainly dull. Page level contextual help is given via a link at the top right. While a techy will be right at home, for a company that appears to pitch itself at less-educated users, the UI is nigh on hostile, hiding ADSL settings under headings like "Internet WAN" and putting parental controls under "Firewall" and calling them "Access Control".

Same old same old, but it works.
(Screenshot by CBS Interactive)

Unlike the N600 DB wireless router, this model carries on the incredibly annoying Belkin bugbear of not allowing spaces in SSIDs. It supports such features as guest wireless (on 2.4GHz only), QOS, outbound WAN stats, a media server and the standard glut of features that you'd expect on a standalone router.

In a disturbing trend, saving settings on the router is incredibly slow, which is a vastly frustrating experience for someone who is trying to set up their network just right. Often, it restarts the router to apply a setting that shouldn't need a restart, dropping all connections. Although the time varied depending on what changes we made, on one particular settings change we were asked to wait for 100 seconds — utter madness.

Performance

After analysing the spectrum with InSSIDer, an empty channel of either 1, 6 or 11 is chosen for 2.4GHz wireless testing. Usually, the router is restricted to the 20MHz band if the option is available.

We use iperf to determine throughput, running eight streams with a TCP window size of 1MB and an interval of one second. The test was run for five minutes in three different locations on two separate occasions. The locations are in the same room as the router: one floor down around spiral stairs and with concrete walls and floors, and two floors down under the same conditions.

The wireless throughput is tested using three chipsets (the Atheros AR5008X, the Ralink RT2870 and the Intel Ultimate-N 6300), and then all results are averaged.

The N600 DBs aren't class leading, especially when it comes to close quarters. Despite our best efforts, our Ralink-based USB adapter would not see the 5GHz network on the modem/router, so the results above for 5GHz are averaged from only two adapters. Even then, performance appears capped to some degree.

Other problems cropped up. The N600 DB modem/router ran worryingly warm, which is something its plain wireless cousin didn't have an issue with. Our Intel adapter, which usually gives wireless performance its best chance, would only connect to 2.4GHz at 144Mbps, regardless of what settings we applied. The 5GHz channel would do the same, only connecting at the full 300Mbps if we turned off the 2.4GHz channel first.

Warranty

Belkin covers the N600 DB with a "lifetime" warranty, considerably outstripping its competitors.

Conclusion

Despite looking similar to its modemless cousin, the N600 DB wireless modem/router is a different entity. Problems with Intel and Ralink chipsets, worrying heat output, middling wireless performance and long waits between changing settings mean that this one should be passed over.