Tenda Wireless N ADSL 2+ Modem Router W300D Review

1. Introduction2. Tenda W300D 3. Tenda W300D User Interface and Settings4. Testing and Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

While it is very hard to quantify the performance of a router, we did test all of the possible features and analysed the overall interface to report any glaring issues. We did compare to several other routers we have at hand, such as the Buffalo AirStation Nfiniti (WZR-HP-AG300H) model, a Belkin N+ Wireless Modem router and our ‘free' Virgin Media modem router.

Firstly, in terms of bandwidth performance we were initially impressed as the Tenda W300D consistently beat our Virgin Media router. The Tenda W300D didn't fare quite as well against the Buffalo or Belkin as they offered a full 300 Mbps all the time, while the Tenda W300D would occasionally drop down to ~260 Mbps.

The performance from the other side of a house was not quite as conclusive, with the Belkin, Tenda and Virgin routers all delivering similar results – reading ‘Fair' on signal strength, while the Buffalo only dropped to ‘Good' when we ventured into the garden. At this distance, the Buffalo was providing 200 Mbps of bandwidth, compared to the Tenda W300D which was running at a more measly 120 Mbps. For comparison, the Virgin router was struggling to maintain 65 Mbps and the Belkin router maintained a fairly impressive 150 Mbps.

Unfortunately, this Tenda router doesn't have Gigabit Ethernet, and that is a real shame as otherwise this could be the perfect, low cost solution for many users.

The performance is sadly unremarkable but it did fare quite well when compared against the ‘free' Virgin router. The interface is clean and simple to use with plenty of options available. Our only criticism was it lacked descriptions and explanations as to what each option actually changed. Inexperienced users would find the interface bewildering.

The retail price of this modem router is a very competitive £27.35. That said, unless you are severely restricted by budget, I would aim slightly higher to get improved wireless speeds and Gigabit LAN ports.

Pros

• Very cheap.
• Fairly reliable bandwidth speeds.
• Looks good.
• Has most key features.

Cons

• No Gigabit Ethernet.
• Lacks descriptions and clarity on setup pages.
• Wireless performance could be better.

Kitguru says: There are better options available online, but this is a cheap alternative if you are on a very strict budget.

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