Digital Home Thoughts: Linksys E3000 Wireless-N Router

"Cisco's new Linksys E-series routers look a lot like the WRT-series routers they replace, complete with the weird flying-saucer motif and internal antennas. All the new features are under the hood and in the setup software. As befits a flagship product, the E3000 is a dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) router that enables you to operate two discrete wireless networks simultaneously. You can also operate a virtual guest network on the 2.4GHz band that limits clients to Internet access, isolating them from the rest of your network."

Sitting at the top of their current home router line, the Linksys E3000 High Performance Wireless-N Router looks like a winner on the basis of style alone (although apparently at the cost of a vertical stand option). Toss in 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual-band capability "optimized for streaming HD video," 6 internal antennas, and a built-in UPnP AV media server, and it would appear to be an easy purchase decision. Still, Michael Brown, at MaximumPC.com, notes several shortcomings in its performance and control software, and feels it falls short of their category winner. Read his review for more details, including comparative performance test results!