Buffalo AirStation AC1300 N900 Router and AC1300 N450 Bridge Review
Buffalo AirStation AC1300 N900 Router and AC1300 N450 Bridge Review
What comes after N? In the alphabet, that would be O. In the world of Wi-Fi standards, the answer is ac. Buffalo’s AirStation AC1300 N900 dual-band router and AirStation AC1300 N450 dual-band bridge are based on the second revision of the not-yet-final 802.11ac standard, which promises Gigabit Ethernet speeds wirelessly, up to 1300Mbps maximum on the 5GB band and 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band.
Keep in mind that you can only get 802.11ac speeds with 802.11ac-compatible gearâ€"and everything on the market except for draft-ac routers like this, including everything Apple makes, tops out at 802.11n. That’s why you need both the Buffalo router, which connects via Ethernet to your modem, and the 802.11ac bridge, which you locate next to your Mac, your TV, your Apple TV, whatever you can wire to the bridge’s four LAN ports with Ethernet cable. The router and the bridge communicate wirelessly, but all your stuff is hooked up with wires, basically.
So what’s the point, then? While it’s true that I didn’t see a big speed gain from this, since my 20Mbps cable Internet plan is the weak part of the chain, early adopters will still find this setup attractiveâ€"for example, it can provide the fastest possible speeds to your media streaming without having to move your main router next to the TV. And it’s easy to set up and administer. Buffalo’s config page is the nicest browser-based tool that I’ve used, with a handy Internet Connection Wizard, easy port forwarding, and clear, Plain-English explanations along the right side of each page.
Getting the router set up was a matter of plugging it in, turning it on (real on/off buttons!), and connecting my modem. Then to set up the bridge, I just pushed a pairing button on the front of the bridge, a matching button on the front of the router, and then wired the bridge to my MacBook Pro. (A flat Ethernet cable is included with each product.) Done. If you want, you could buy two of the routers and set one up as a bridge, but this router-bridge combo is dead-simple to use right out of the box.
By default, the N900 router causes two networks to appear in your AirPort menu bar icon: one labeled A, which runs on the less-crowded 5GHz band, and one labeled G, on the 2.4GHz band. It can even combine both of those bands. The dual-band bridge connects to the router automatically, and one of the LED lights on the front is a steadily glowing 5GHz indicator. The router has five Gigabit Ethernet ports, and the bridge has four. They have small footprints and are relatively handsome except for the extra-bright LED-lit Buffalo logo (which changes from white to red if something’s wrong), and even come with brackets and screws for mounting.
The bottom line. If you use Apple gear and you need to replace your AirPort Extreme before Apple supports 802.11ac, Buffalo’s router-bridge setup is nearly as easy to work with, and should set you up for a speedy future, if your Internet connection doesn’t hold you back. Today, those speeds just come with Ethernet cables attached.
AirStation AC1300 N900 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router
Buffalo Technology
www.buffalotech.com
Price: $179.99
Requirements: Mac OS 10.4 or later
Pros: Easy to set up. Lots of Gigabit Ethernet ports. Gives you a jump on 802.11ac.
Cons: Requires a bridge (or a second router acting as a bridge) to benefit today’s 802.11n hardware.
AirStation AC1300 N450 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Ethernet Bridge
Buffalo Technology
www.buffalotech.com
Price: $179.99
Requirements: Mac OS 10.4 or later
Pros: Easy to set up. Lots of Gigabit Ethernet ports. Gives you a jump on 802.11ac.
Cons: It costs as much as the router.
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