By Rockafella
on 17th May 2004
Rockafella's Ratings| Time Modem and Networking Equipment Owned | 1 - 6 Months |
|---|
| Ease of Set Up | 9/10  |
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| Ease of Use | 9/10 |
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| Value for money | 10/10 |
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| Overall value | 9/10 |
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 Rockafella's recommendation |
Good Points
Value for money, Good interface, 4 ports
Bad Points
Firewall difficult, power cable can be knocked out easily
General Comments
I have had this ST Labs Borandband Router XDSL/Cable for well over 2 months now and has done exactly what it says on the box. I personally use it for splitting my broadband connection between my computer and my Sony Playstation 2 which has a network adaptor. With both running at the same time, there is barely any connection speed loss which I was first worried about.
It was initially easy to set up thanks to additional instructions supplied by the retailer but after going over the manual supplied, it is also a very simple task to get going. No drivers make this overall very easy. It features evrything the basic user needs : a firewall, 4 ports, access control, DMZ control and more.
The DMZ control is particularly useful if you are using any of the ports for gaming as they require uploading should you host a game. The firewall however, even if switched off, sometimes disallows certain actions which is annoying at times, however this does not happen unless you are the host as mentioned before.
The interface used to control everything is it's strong point due to its ease. Everything is explained on each page so you know which things you are changing and why.
The only pratical flaw is the fact that the power cable can come out easily if moving the router itslef to prepare to be disconnected if you are doing so!
These retail for around £20 on auction sites and £25 in shops, therefore this makes it excellent value for money.
