Anthony Caruana01 July 2008, 8:00 AM
Billion's BiPAC 5200N is a competent router let down by some tricky set up issues
When you spend a lot of time looking at products from a specific category there are often deja vu moments where you think that you've seen a supposedly brand new product before. With the Billion BiPAC 5200N that's an easy trap to fall into as, outwardly, it's identical to the 7300N we recently reviewed. However, under the covers there are a few differences.
As you'd expect from a lower model number, the 5200N skips on a few options such as Billion's Easy Sign On tool. This tool automatically directs a web browser to the router's setup utility the first time a connection's made. With the BiPAC 5200N you'll need to either enter an IP address into the web browser in order to enter setup or use the set up program on the included CD. We chose the CD method.
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The setup wizard was easy to use with clear instructions that were jargon-free. However, the router utility assumed that we were only going to use an ADSL connection to the internet. If we tried to use the utility to configure an Ethernet connection to the internet it failed. We wouldn't expect this to be a significant issue for the majority of potential buyers of the BiPAC 5200N but it does suggest that the utility may not have been thoroughly tested. Also, a visit to the Billion web site is recommended if you're running Windows XP SP3 as some issues with this model have been identified that require newer firmware for rectification.
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Setup was also hindered by the lack of detail in the Quick Start Guide - the only user documentation provided in the box. A full user guide is provided on the CD. The Quick Start Guide lacked the router's default IP address and the default username and password for accessing the configuration tool. However, once we'd negotiated these issues we were up and running with a reliable internet connection.
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Wireless range was, surprisingly, little weaker than the BiPAC 7200N we recently tested. Given that, as far we could tell, the main differences between the two devices is in the firmware, we expected them to have very similar wireless capability.
However, we found the 5200N to have slightly weaker signal strength. At distances of under 10 meters this is unlikely to be an issue but once at about 15 meters and through a brick wall we found that the 5200N had poor strength with some packet loss in our ping test. It is possible that, as our tests were several days apart, that there were some other interference in play that was outside our control.
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ADSL connections were easy to set up and we found that connection speeds to the internet on an ADSL line provisioned by Telstra were no different to those on the modem supplied with the service. As always, there are many factors that determine the quality of an ADSL connection with the modem being just one.
Rounding out the package, the 5200N includes most of the features you'd expect from a home/SOHO router. QoS is included and was reasonably straightforward to configure although you will need to keep a copy of the User Guide open for guidance as the on-screen instructions weren't particularly clear.
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Given the level of saturation in the router market, we always come down to asking the same question. What does this router have that would make us buy or recommend it over others? Well, it delivers plenty of features such as support for all the 2.4GHz wireless standards and a solid feature set that would support the vast majority of users. However, it lacks Gigabit Ethernet and we found the setup a little flaky. If those aren't major issues for you then the Billion BiPAC 5200N is worthy of consideration. However, we're seeing Gigabit Ethernet support as being an almost mandatory feature.