For a very reasonable price, the Trendnet 300Mbps Wireless N Gigabit Router (model TEW-633GR) has almost all the features you could want. But although the company went to the trouble of providing 4 Gigabit Ethernet wired ports, the router doesn’t support operation in the 5GHz band, which would let the wireless perform optimally. Still, if you’re not in an area crowded with other 2.4GHz wireless devices and you have no wireless G or B clients, the TEW-633GR is a competitive choice.

The installation procedure needs help, though. Among other annoyances, the wizard gave incorrect instructions and hung. Still, setting up wireless network wasn’t hard. Trendnet’s standard Web Based management screens were clear and intuitive.

Like the SMC SMCWGBR14 Barricard N, the TEW-633GR supports virtual servers, letting you host multiple Web servers. You’ll also find support for a standard QoS rules page, StreamEngine technology for priotizing gaming traffic, and Wireless Intelligent Stream Handling, which prioritizes wireless traffic. Security feature include an SPI firewall, traffic filtering, and content filtering.

Throughput at 20 feet using the Trendnet 300Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter averaged 186Mbps (very quick for a 2.4Ghz connection). At 80 feet, that dropped to a still respectable 36Mbps.

The Trendnet 300Mbps Wireless N Gigabit Router gives you decent throughput and a lot of high end functionality for the price. But for installation, scan the docs and bypass the wizard.

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