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TRENDnet TEW-687GA 450Mbps Wireless N Gaming Adapter Review

Others/Networking Gear by stefan @ 2011-02-27

The new Wireless 450Mbps TEW-687GA from TRENDnet is not USB anymore like the previously released products, but offers a Gigabit network interface between itself and the computer we are connecting the adapter to; this way, we don't have to install drivers anymore and is compatible with any platform (we can even configure it through the Playstation3 Internet Browser). We will perform some data transfer speeds to see if it is really better in terms of performance.

The Software Interface

Right after we connect the adapter to a spare LAN port and power it up, we can run a browser and type in the default URL of the device http://tew-687ga.trendnet; a login screen will appear and we can authenticate with the default user/pass:

In case we want to set up quickly the product, we can run the Setup Wizard, which appears first; in case we want to access the full interface, we can click Cancel:

Like on the TRENDnet routers, the Wireless N Gaming Adapter interface is split into multiple menus: Network, Wireless and Administrator; Inside the Network menu, we can find the “LAN Setting” option. Here we can specify the LAN Connection type, DHCP or Static IP, and the Host name of the adapter (so it can be identified easier in the router interface):

In the Wireless Menu, we can find the Profile option, where we can define our own preferences for each detected network:

In the Link Status option, we can find detailed information regarding the live connection (like channel, link quality, name of the network and MAC):

The Site Survey option lists us the currently detected networks, the MAC, signal strength, channel or Encryption type:

The interface comes also with a statistics page:

In the Advanced option, we can set the wireless mode (2.4b/g,2.4n or 2.4b/g/n), along with advanced options like HT mode, Channel Bandwidth, Guard Interval or MPDU Aggregation:

In the QoS option, we can enable power saving (more details about this feature can be accessed here: http://www.wi-fi.org/knowledge_center/wmmpowersave ):

In case we are connecting the adapter to the router via WPS, the options that we can set will appear here:

In the Management option from the Administrator menu, we can set different options like the administrator password, device name or adapter URL:

The product firmware can be updated from the Upload Firmware option:

In the Settings Management option, we can export or import adapter settings, load factory defaults or reboot the system:

Finally, in the Status option we can find detailed information about the system, network, wireless LAN connection and the link status:

Comment from jmke @ 2011/02/27

What use exactly would you give this product? Add highspeed wireless to a system at $100 ( http://www.google.com/search?q=TEW-6...874725 dc45b7 ) which doesn't have wireless network card? A PCI wireless network card is about $50 for high end one, how does this stack up? How many times do you switch around network between devices?

PS3 and XBOX 360 have wireless network integrated, so maybe for other devices like Popcorn Hour? That one only has LAN, with this you can give it a fast wireless access? It does come at a premium price though, to be honest

Comment from Stefan Mileschin @ 2011/02/27

These devices with the new speed are still at the beginning and I am sure that a lot of speed improvements will be made with firmware upgrades to both router and adapter.

I see this product as a great device to add Wireless LAN and Internet access to any device in our homes with a RJ45 connector, without the need to configure anything else after the main setup wizard has been completed.

The PS3 comes with Wireless B/G so this adapter is a great upgrade to the internal wireless solution.

Comment from jmke @ 2011/02/27

Would this setup be possible?

In a room where you don't have wired connection to your network
- PC1
- PC2
connected with RJ45 to a switch in that room
switch connected to TEW-687GA.
Does the 687GA provide DHCP to more than one client?

Comment from Stefan Mileschin @ 2011/02/27

That would be an interesting test to perform, but I do not have currently a switch handy.

Comment from jmke @ 2011/02/27

a router with 4 UTP ports and its internal DHCP disabled should work too

Comment from Stefan Mileschin @ 2011/02/27

Yes, that is a solution too, but with a regular switch it would have been much more simpler

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