TRENDnet TPL-407E2K 500Mbps Powerline Adaptor Review

Performance Analysis

It's certainly a very poor showing from the TPL-407E2K set in both our tests, with them delivering just 4.4MB/sec (35.2Mbits). In contrast, the Zyxel PLA5215 600Mbps Pass-through managed nearly three times the speed at just under 12MB/sec (95.2Mbits) in typical conditions. That said, the Zyxel set is more than twice the price, but even the ageing Devolo AV500 Pass-through set managed more than twice the speed of the TPL-407E2K.


In perfect conditions, the TPL-407E2K edged closer towards its theoretical maximum, with a speed of 6.8MB/sec (54.4Mbits), but this was still a fraction off what the other powerline adaptors on test managed, with the top-scoring Zyxel PLA5215 topping out at 29.6MB/sec (236.8Mbits), while the Devolo set returned an inpressive 25.5MB/sec.

Despite the poor speeds, there are some situations where the TPL-407E2K won't be hampering things though. If you won't be transferring files around then things already look more rosy and as the UK's average broadband speed is still less than 20Mbits, its throughput of 35Mbps in our typical scenario is only likely to become a bottleneck in a minority of households. It's also one of the cheapest sets we've seen, and you could connect four rooms for the same price as just two Zyxel PLA5215's.


Conclusion

However, there are two issues that make the TPL-407E2K a potentially poor investment, even if you're on a particularly tight budget. Firstly Devolo's AV500 powerline kits only retail for £20 more yet the speed boost is huge - well worth considering if you transfer files or stream data between PCs and other devices, and if you're planning on going for super-fast broadband.

Secondly, Devolo's 200Mbps kits regularly topped 6MB/sec in our typical scenario testing and they currently retail for the same price making the TPL-407E2K's only real advantage its size. As such there are plenty of better options unless you have no alternative due to pesky low-mounted mains sockets.