9:11 PM
Sanket Barot
One of the best routers available today with just one flaw. The name ‘Play Max’ raised our expectation before we actually tested this IEEE 802.11n based router and when we did it we were not at all disappointed, in fact disappointment came from other features. 
Once out of box what you have in hand is a compact clean looking router with hidden antennas and single indicator light and WPS button in front for hassle free secure connection setup. Number of connection ports at back is where Play Max has edge when compared with other similar products; there are 5 gigabit ports (1xWAN, 4xLAN) which would be ample for any wired connection plus being gigabit would mean faster data transfer speeds. 2 USB 2.0 ports are also present at the back for connecting external USB based storage devices with FAT 16/32 and NTFS file system, USB printers are also supported by Play Max giving you ability to convert your USB based printer to network one.
Setting up this router was the simplest of jobs and a mere 3 step process with initial configuration provided in small booklet attached to box. To use most of the features of this router including using USB storage/printer you have to install router management software that would sit in task bar and add to CPU usage, which as per us is a major con of Play Max. The main issue we faced with the router was that it does not support plugging in a 3G USB modem.
To test the performance of this router which supports true dual band in 2.5 Ghz and 5 GHz band respectively, we carried out two tests. First we used Qucheck 3.0 to test throughput, we connected one machine with wire to router and other wirelessly to N based laptop (both laptop and machine were running Windows 7) and then checked throughput over TCP protocol. Play Max was able to transfer 1000 Kb payload at 64 mbps which is one of the best scores we have seen. In second test we transferred 40 MB of mixed data from machine to laptop; Play Max was able to complete this transfer in 4 seconds which is again very high when compared to other products. We also tried using the router to stream HD videos from a windows media center to an Xbox 360 over WiFi, and it worked great.
Besides performance and features there are number of bundled utilities for different purposes like torrent gene for downloading files to external storage, bit boost for traffic prioritization, music mover for wireless music play from external storage. All in all, a high performing router with not so user friendly bundled software.
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