Review: Buffalo AirStation 1750 802.11ac router

At long last I've completed my first reviews of the new 802.11ac Buffalo AirStation 1750 (model WZR-D1800H-EU) - you can read these over on ZDNet UK, ITProPortal and Computeractive, and I must say I'm pretty impressed with how 11ac is looking. Given that this is a Draft 2.0-spec device, the throughput and range are excellent, certainly much better than any 11n router I've tested. It's not quite so brilliant in 3-stream 11n mode, with fairly average results, but in 11ac mode (coupled with the WLI-4H-D1300-EU AirStation 1300) it flies.

It doesn't have a lot of extras compared to some routers I've seen lately, but as it's really just there to get a foot in the market and test the waters, that can be excused for now. It has achieved the aim of getting on the shelves before its rivals, but only dedicated early adopters with deep pockets are going to be able to afford this pair of devices.

Below I've posted a copy of the range versus throughput chart I compiled, showing how well it does even compared to 3-stream 11n kit. Those expecting Gigabit throughput rates will be disappointed, but to be honest anyone expecting those would be living in cloud-cuckoo land. I saw the maximum 1300Mbps link rates only at close range - over about 5m it dropped down to 700-800Mbps before tailing off with increasing distance. All tests were done with Passmark Performance Test, using the Advanced Network Test module.

It's quite stylish, too

The web interface is...different

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