Cisco Linksys E4200 v2 Maximum Performance Dual-Band N900

Linksys' E4200 v2 Maximum Performance Dual-Band N900 router ($200) does not look any different from the original E4200, which came to market at the beginning of this year. That's a good thing, too because the E4200 is perhaps the most stylish consumer router available. The difference between the E4200 v2 and the original are under the surface. A ratcheted-up processor, tweaked software and a flawless setup process makes the E4200 a router that delivers power to even the most technically clueless of users.

Make no mistake?it's expensive, at a list price of $200. That price should come down somewhat if purchasing through various online retailers. However, if you are looking for a router with speed only topped by Netgear's powerful N750 and N900 dual-band routers, and you want an even simpler setup and user experience than Netgear provides; the E4200 v2 is the router to choose.

Hardware Specs

The E4200 v2 is Cisco Linksys' first router to provide throughput of up to 450 Mbps on both the 2.4- and 5-GHz bands.? This is achieved by 3x3 spatial stream MIMO antenna arrays for both bands. Six internal antennas along with internal and external amplifiers help the router keep good throughput at range?although not as consistent as that of Netgear's N750 and N900 routers.

The E4200 v2 has four Gigabit Ethernet ports, and a USB port for connecting printers and external storage. The processor has been upgraded from 533 MHz from the previous E4200 to 1.2 Ghz which results in faster copy and file transferring to and from a connected USB storage device.

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Setup

The setup process is fantastic: the best we've ever seen. Setup takes only a couple of minutes and does not require anything more than a computer with a working wireless adapter. You need no wired connection to get the E4200 v2 set up. During setup, I ensured the laptop I was using wasn't connected to the Internet via one of the many WLANs in proximity. The router sets up SSIDs, security and other preliminary configurations. Not only that, but after configuring, my laptop was connected to the newly created wireless network without requiring me to do anything. ?

By default, the router gives both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands the same SSID. This way, wireless devices will typically select the most appropriate band, which is fine for those who don't want to deal with the underbelly of networking. I prefer to distinguish the 5 GHz band by denoting it as "<SSIDname>-5" because this makes it easier for me to select which devices should access which band for myself. For more on which of the most popular wireless devices connected to which bands, check out The Wi-Fi You Need For The Gadgets You Want.

The features are the same as in latest E-series routers. You can read the full description of features in the Cisco Linksys E3200 review. The Cisco Connect software is a user-friendly interface for setting up parental controls, guest networking and other tasks. The only management you can't do it from it is work with devices connected to the USB port. That has to be done through the advanced settings interface.

Testing and Performance

The E4200 v2 is a speedy performer, only bested by Netgear's latest dual-bands. I was a bit disappointed with the range?throughput dropped 7 percent as I moved from 5 to 30 feet?just a little more than the E3200's which has a drop of only 4 percent. You are still getting excellent throughput at longer distances, however, so this is not a big issue.

Other than the range, my only other issue is how hot a portion of the bottom of the router got after leaving it up for a day and half. There are air vents at the bottom and running underneath the lip of the top chassis, so the hardware should be protected. The hottest part was a plastic strip running underneath the bottom with information like the serial number printed on it. Hopefully there is nothing important hardware-wise under that strip.

File copy performance to and from an attached storage device has greatly improved over older E-series routers with the same capability. ?Uploading a 1.5 GB file to an attached 250 GB USB external drive clocked 7.7 Mbps over 5 GHz. Download speed was an impressive 13 Mbps. This is better performance than copying a file with the Cisco Linksys E3000, which only managed 6.25 Mbps download. The improvement is due to the buffed-up processor in the E4200 v2. The USB can support a printer or serve as a connection for external storage to serve light network-attached storage needs.

Here are the throughput benchmarks at 2.4 GHz in Mixed mode, channel width set to "Auto 20/40 MHz" encryption set to WPA2/WPA compared to other dual-band routers:

Here are the throughput numbers at 5 GHz, 802.11n-only mode, with channel width set to 40 MHz and ecryption set to WPA2 Personal:

Our Favorite Dual-Band Router

The E4200 v2 is our new Editors' Choice for dual-band routers. While Netgear had faster throughput with the N750 and N900, the E4200 v2 also has excellent throughput and its setup process and software can't be beat. This is a future-proof router with support for IPv6 and is an excellent choice for the home with lots of data demand and lots of wireless gadgets whose users don't want any hassle with setup and maintenance.

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