Guinea Pig - Netgear Powerline HDX101 - Immediate Review

gord

gord

gord

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Bought the Netgear HD Powerline system from OcUK the other day and just got it up and running.. hey christmas smilies.. anyway.. and the ocuk christmas pudding..

Anyway, i had a lot of doubts:
- Price
- Speed - depends on quality of electric lines etc
- Surges - everywhere says dont put it on a surge protector as it could impair performance..

Anyway, despite all this our wireless had caused me enough grief.. and cat6'ing our rented house was not an option. Thus i took the plunge. I dont like being the guinea pig..

However, I am ECSTATIC.. to say that:
- I have good speed. enough to max my internet line (16Mbit)
- ITS ON THE SURGE PROTECTOR.. so no longer can the device take down my pc with a electric spike. My speed dropped by about 30Mbits from the 120Mbit i was initially connected at.
- The connection doesnt just "drop out" or stop working.. yet.. ive only had it going for a little bit.

So there you go.. ive heard lots of horror stories about these powerline kits and how they dont work etc.. but mine does! [touches all nearby wood]

:)
 
I seriously need a set of these for my house as wireless is just rubbish! The connection speed on my machine upstairs drops to about 11mbs beside the fact the router is about 3 meters below in my bedroom.

I'd love to wire up my house with cat6, but as I'm renting too, this isn't feasible.

One minor problem is that my office only has 2 x single power outlets :(
 
Well, i cant guarantee it will work through a surge protector powerstrip.. but mine is.. and its working well enough for me..
 
Well, i tested CSS, and that was fine.. got some choke sometimes, but nothing to worry about.. was great!

Noticed my speed did drop to 80Mbits.. but thats still enough for my needs.. and its on a surge protector..

Havnt tried XBL but i assume it will be fine..
 
Would it not be better speed wise to plug the adapter into the normal mains socket, then have a network surge protector inline between the adapter and the pc?
 
Phnom_Penh said:
Would it not be better speed wise to plug the adapter into the normal mains socket, then have a network surge protector inline between the adapter and the pc?
Click to expand...
I can honestly say i didnt know you could get network surge protectors.. <runs to internets>

Even with it on a normal electric surge protector my pings were as they would be on wireless and wired.. 20-30 with Bulldog 16meg LLU.
 
I was just about to start the following post 'Netgear HDXB101 Powerline HD Kit - good enough for gaming??', seems you beat me to it, well sort of :)

That’s the one thing holding me back from buying the kit, I can’t be doing with high pings and so on, I'm crap enough at GOW without having to worry about my connection effecting my gameplay.

Can you give me any more info on your experiences with Xbox Live?

Cheers
 
wesley said:
what's the security likes on them? will your neigbours see your network? :eek:
Click to expand...
You set your own network ID.. for someone to be able to use my network they would need to have a) a HD netgear device, not a generic powerline product.. b) my network ID

As for the xbox live.. im planning to give PGR3 and GoW a run tonight.. will report back on that..
 
Played PGR3 for a few races.. no problems.. it was like i was on a wired network..

Played GoW for many rounds because its so damn good.. and again.. like a wired network.. no jumps.. no niggles.. apart from getting grenade stuck! :p

Just remember that this is based on my personal experience. I know our house had its wiring done about 2 years ago or so i think..
 
I use the older 85mps devolo plugs and they work great, i'd like the invest in the HD versions but i don't know if its worth the money.

Have you tried streaming any HD content through the network? i'd be very interested in how they cope if someone is playing games whilst HD is being streamed, i dont want to spend a fortune unless it can do everything i want.
 
I cant test that im afraid.. i dont have any real HD content to stream anywhere as this is simply going from my router in one room to my pc..
 
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