PC World – December 2015

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Linksys WRT1900ACS: The best router for most router enthusiasts BY MICHAEL BROWN 58
REVIEWS & RATINGS In April 2014, the Linksys WRT1900AC was the fastest 802.11ac router I’d ever tested (go.pcworld.com/linksyswrt). And I made a point of including that date in the “At a Glance” part of the review for two reasons: That informa tion is displayed almost as prominently as the headline in our reviews, and the router market was moving crazy-fast back then. It still is. The latest version of that router—the WRT1900ACS, reviewed here (linksys.com/WRT1900ACS)—is an incremental improvement, having gained a speedier AT A GLANCE CPU (running at 1.6GHz, versus 1.2GHz in the Routers that can operate three original) and another 256MB of DDR3 memory independent networks remain (512MB in total, compared to 256MB in the the best choice for people with original). One change I’m not as enthusiastic about very crowded wireless is the trading of an inline power supply for a large, environments, but the outlet-hogging wall wart. The new model also loses WRT1900ACS is a solid choice the unique cooling fan, but it never seemed to spin for most enthusiasts. up anyway, so that’s not a big deal. PROS As you can tell by the model number, this is an AC1900 • Fast wireless performance router, delivering theoretical throughput of • Very fast storage performance 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz frequency band (serving 802.11n clients) and theoretical throughput of • Great industrial design 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band (serving 802.11ac clients). CONS It remains a 3x3 device with four antennas, a so-far • Supports only three spatial unique arrangement in which the router determines streams which three antennas will deliver the optimal range • Dual-band (versus so-called and performance and then dynamically switches tri-band) among them. Like the original, the WRT1900ACS is • Definitely looks like a router outfitted with one eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port and (that will be a Pro for some) one USB 3.0 port. These let you share both storage and a printer over your network. $230 All the changes are under the hood. Linksys wisely didn’t monkey with the design aesthetic. Linksys WRT1900ACS 59
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INSIDE: iPAD PRO FIRST IMPRESSIONS
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DECEMBER 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS »
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REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS You must h
Page 7 and 8: 8 Microsoft releases a Windows 10
Page 9 and 10: then. With the release of the Novem
Page 11 and 12: NEWS Microsoft’s answer to the Ch
Page 13 and 14: NEWS Activation headaches (sort of)
Page 15 and 16: NEWS The runners-up Although we’v
Page 17 and 18: NEWS external storage drives. Beyon
Page 19 and 20: NEWS organizations large and small.
Page 21 and 22: NEWS In order to do this, Facebook
Page 23 and 24: Welcome to Greenbot, a website for
Page 25 and 26: NEWS Robbie the Robot, from the 195
Page 27 and 28: NOVELS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL STAND-UP C
Page 29 and 30: NEWS programs, the Toyota Mirai can
Page 31 and 32: NEWS The sole hydrogen station in N
Page 33 and 34: NEWS This is the sole retail hydrog
Page 35 and 36: NEWS The 2016 Toyota Mirai can driv
Page 37 and 38: for publishers. In a frank post on
Page 40 and 41: Three desktop tools for ultraprivat
Page 42 and 43: Tor Messenger Advantages: Desktop o
Page 44 and 45: F-Secure’s Sense antivirus hardwa
Page 46 and 47: This website helps you find cheap i
Page 48 and 49: Think It Up is a new movement creat
Page 50 and 51: REVIEWS & RATINGS 5 things I notice
Page 52 and 53: crowded with more, assuming the ico
Page 54 and 55: 3. Best software keyboard ever At f
Page 56 and 57: 5. It’s not a hybrid. It’s stil
Page 60 and 61: In addition to its performance, a l
Page 62 and 63: 5GHz 802.11ac performance I plugged
Page 64 and 65: Network-attached storage performanc
Page 66 and 67: Should you buy a WRT1900ACS? I’ve
Page 68 and 69: PCIe versus SATA 10GB Test 4K Write
Page 70 and 71: Performance All testing was done on
Page 72 and 73: XP941 is PCIe Gen 2 (500MBps per la
Page 74 and 75: Samsung XP941 PCIe AHCI $200 The XP
Page 76 and 77: Quad-channel RAM vs. dualchannel RA
Page 78 and 79: How we tested I decided to test jus
Page 80 and 81: Handbrake Encode 0.9.9 (sec) Quad C
Page 82 and 83: 7ZIP 9.38 64-bit 12-threads Quad Ch
Page 84 and 85: Conclusion I’ve written about Asr
Page 86 and 87: What to look for when shopping Most
Page 88 and 89: Local storage: Some cameras include
Page 90 and 91: username, your password, and the li
Page 92 and 93: Roundup: Security Cameras Arcsoft S
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Page 104 and 105: Roundup: Security Cameras Logitech
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Roundup: Security Cameras or I’d
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Roundup: Security Cameras What you
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Roundup: Security Cameras with no f
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FEATURES THIS OLD TECH WELCOME TO T
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FEATURES THIS OLD TECH wondered,
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FEATURES THIS OLD TECH After a few
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SURE, AT FIRST I WAS A LITTLE TAKEN
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FEATURE WINDOWS 10 PRO WINDOWS 10 P
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FEATURE WINDOWS 10 PRO 2. REMOTE DE
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FEATURE WINDOWS 10 PRO Before Windo
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HERE’S HOW 144 Word timesaving ti
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Quickly change Line Spacing You can
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HERE’S HOW screen in the right pa
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HERE’S HOW the phrase up or down
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Join The Nature Conservancy to plan
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HERE’S HOW for Excel 2013 alone.
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HERE’S HOW How to hold Skype chat
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HERE’S HOW The link will then app
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HERE’S HOW Rapportive I’m const
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HERE’S HOW addition to your conta
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Well, that was then. Now, anyone wh
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HERE’S HOW space--and of 15 free
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Tech Spotlight A video showcase of
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PC World – December 2015

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