TESTING METHODOLOGY

   To sufficiently test modem/routers I had to change methodology quite a bit due to the fact that i decided to make use of the online internet speed measurement application called SpeedTest (used with two different destinations/servers). SpeedTest may not be the most "accurate" way to test internet connection speeds since variables change all the time from our ISP to the ISPs of the servers SpeedTest makes use of but the same can be said for every single way one can test internet speed. Bottom line whatever the results always remember that they may not be 100% on the spot. To somehow "help" results I also record the connected downstream/upstream values each modem/router is able to get into the charts (reboot the modem/router 6 times to get the average upstream/downstream value).

   The rest of my testing methodology involves benchmarking the wireless capabilities of the modem/router at hand and thus it's the exact same we use when testing standalone routers. So once again I'll be using the networking benchmark by Passmark (v8), the QCheck by Ixia and ATTO v2.47 (since April 2015). Since we need to test new features and specifications all routers are benchmarked with their highest available wireless standard/band (5GHz in this case). All systems are outfitted with SSDs, AC1200 USB 3.0 adapters (received AC1900 models but so far, results have been somewhat inconclusive in order to replace the AC1200 ones with them) and CAT7 cables and are placed 15m away from the router with 3 concrete walls between them. Each test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average scores are recorded into the charts. Both systems now have Windows 10 Pro installed with all the updates until the time of each review.

   Having received several requests by some of you to also measure power consumption when testing modem/routers that too was added in the charts (average power consumption). Also, again after many requests from April 2017 I'll be measuring USB port performance of modem/routers or standalone routers that find their way to the lab with the help of Crystal Disk Mark v5.1.2 and a Samsung T1 250GB Portable SSD.

* As of 2022 for 4G LTE/5G wireless modem routers I'll be using Speedtest.org, M-Lab and Fast.com to measure incoming and outgoing bandwidth.