Networking Gear by stefan @ 2012-09-19
The TP-LINK N600 is an affordable dual band USB adapter, which offers decent performance, a quite good coverage and supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup. As a bundle the manufacturer also offers an USB extension cable and an easy to use software for the Windows operating system.
At first I would like to thank TP-LINK for offering me a sample of their TL-WDN3200 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter for testing and reviewing.
"TP-LINK is a global provider of SOHO networking products and No.1 market share holder in China, with products available in over 100 countries to tens of millions customers. Committed to powerful R&D, effective production and strict quality management, TP-LINK continues to provide awards-winning networking products in Wireless, ADSL, Routers, Switches, IP Cameras, Powerline Adapters, Print Servers, Media Converters and Network Adapters for Global end-users.
Based on the confidence of tens of millions of customers, TP-LINK is now growing to become one of the most competitive providers of networking products with aspirations of becoming one of the top 3 networking brands and striving for a larger global market share, while further advancing in the world of networking to better serve our most valued customers with a product that makes their lives easier."
Dual-Band N (IEEE 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz, IEEE 802.11a/n 5 GHz)
Maximum speed up to 2.4GHz 300Mbps and 5GHz 300Mbps
USB 2.0 interface
Supports ad-hoc and infrastructure mode
Easy wireless security encryption at a push of the WPS button
Supports Windows XP 32/64bit, Vista 32/64bit, Windows 7 32/64bit
Easy Wireless Configuration Utility
The N600 (TL-WDN3200) USB Dual Band Wireless adapter from TP-LINK comes shipped in a tiny cardboard box, with a photo of the product along with some product highlights posted on the frontal side:
By flipping the box on a side, we will find the list of technical specifications:
The opposite side comes with the package contents list and a small sticker which shows the product model number, the hardware version and some serial numbers:
On the back side, we will find some drawings that show how the adapter should be used, along with the features and benefits, in multiple languages:
By removing the outside packaging, we will discover another box, this time plain white:
Inside it, on the first layer, we’ll find the documentation, along with the driver CD:
As with the previously tested samples from TP-LINK, the N600 ships with a Purchasing Guide, this is a leaflet that shows other products sold by the manufacturer, two Quick Installation Guides and a notice of 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks usage:
You may wonder why there are two Quick Installation Guides and not one? Well, TP-LINK has included in one the Package Contents, Supported Systems and some instructions on how to locate the drivers on the CD and the other has step-by-step guides on how to perform the driver and utility installation:
The Wireless Adapter does not come alone, but with an USB cable extender:
The product looks more or less like an USB Flash Adapter:
On one end we will find a hole where a lanyard can be attached:
By looking on a lateral, we will discover a tiny WPS technology button:
On the back, we get to see some more product identification numbers:
To uncover the USB connector, we simply have to remove the protective cap; the cap is not held by the rest of the product body by anything, so we must be careful where we’ll place it, to avoid loss:
CPU: Intel I7 3770K Retail
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional
RAM: AVEXIR Core Series 4x8GB DDR1600
Video: AMD RADEON HD 7970 3GB
Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.11
Case: Thermaltake ARMOR+ LCS
On the installation CD, besides the drivers, we will also find a small customization application, that we can choose to install or not (it is not mandatory); the application comes with a pleasant and easy to use GUI and the menus can be accessed by pressing the buttons represented by icons on the top side. The Status menu shows us detailed information regarding the current network we have connected to:
If we are using WPS, we should go straight to the respective menu:
On the Network tab, we will find the currently detected networks nearby, along some details like operating channel, security type or signal levels:
When connecting to a network, we will be prompted for a password and if the connection is successful, a profile will be created in the respective menu:
Finally, the Advanced tab lets us choose the current network adapter, use SoftAP (which transforms the small adapter into an access point so other devices like mobile phones, tablets can connect too to the network) or use the Power Save mode:
For performing the tests, we have used a Media Center PC equipped with the AMD A6-3650 APU, the Radeon HD 7750 VGA card and 12GB of RAM.To test the USB Wireless LAN adapters throughput, we have connected the server ( I7 PC ) to the router with a UTP wire and the client ( Media Center ) had installed the Wireless LAN adapters.
The application we have used to test the speeds was Performance Test 7.0, fully compatible with Windows 7.
The latest dual band wireless USB adapter from TP-LINK comes with the TL-WDN3200 code name and is shipped with an easy to understand software utility. The signal level acquired two rooms away is quite good and the acquired speeds were decent in the performed tests, with the same WNDR4300 router.
The adapter also ships with an USB cable extender, so we could place it in an area where we would get maximum signal (preferably as far away as possible from the back side of the computer chassis).
TP-LINK set an affordable price for this adapter too, so it can be found in online stores for about 22 Euros.
I would like to thank again to TP-LINK for making this review possible!