ZyXel PLA4205 500 Mbps Powerline Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

The ZyXel PLA4205 HD power line adapter is the fastest I've seen yet, thanks to the combination of the Powerline AV 500 standard and Gigabit Ethernet. It offers more than twice the speed of a regular Ethernet connection, which is all the more reason you should get a pair of these instead of running network cable to that far corner of the house where your Wi-Fi signal can't reach.

The PLA4205 isn't perfect since it doesn't come with a pass-through power socket. The adapter itself could also stand to slim down a bit to keep the wall socket area clear, or use power cable to connect to the wall, instead of the current snap-on design. At the street price of around $50 per unit or around $80 for a kit of two, however, the ZyXel PLA4205 is one of the best deals for those wanting to build or expand a power line home network. Not only does it save you setup time, it also offers speed closer to that of a Gigabit Ethernet network than any of its peers. See our list of top power line adapter options.

Design and features
The ZyXel PLA4205 is quite large, about twice the size of the recently reviewed Actiontec PWR500. On the bottom, toward one of its sides, it has a two-prong power connector that goes into a wall socket. This snap-on design is convenient but also means that the adapter will obstruct access to any adjacent receptacles. And since the adapter doesn't comes with a pass-through power socket, you shouldn't use it in a place where there's only one wall socket.

On the far side from the two prongs, the PLA4205 has a Gigabit Ethernet (1,000Mbps) port. This is an important difference from the Actiontec PWR500, which has only a regular Ethernet 100Mbps port. This means the PLA4205 can offer the real benefit of the Powerline AV 500 standard it supports, which caps at 500Mbps. The Actiontec PWR500 also theoretically supports Powerline AV 500, but because of the speed at which its port caps, that of the regular Ethernet standard, which is only 100Mbps.

On top of the ZyXel PLA4205 are an Encrypt button and a recessed Reset button. Pressing the Encrypt button of multiple units within a two-minute period will create a secure power line network in between them. This is a helpful feature in case you live in an apartment building and don't want neighbors to tap in to your home network by using an adapter. This is quite a real risk since the ZyXel PLA4205 is compatible with basically all power line adapters on the market. The Reset button restores the adapter to its default settings, in which no security feature is used.

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TRENDnet Powerline 500 Nano AV adaptador (TPL-406)

Powerline AV 500 Nano Adapter (model TPL-406E) is the response of Actiontec PWR500 adapter Trendnet. The two are so similar that are almost like a device located in two different cases, and basically they offered the same performance in my tests.

Trendnet TPL-406E also has the same defect as their Actiontec counterpart: has a standard Ethernet network port. This means that despite its support for the standard of Powerline AV 500 500Mbps, adapter performance speed is limited to the regular Ethernet, which is 100 Mbps.

At a street price of around $35 (or $50 if you get a kit of two - TPL-406E2K), Trendnet TPL-406E makes a great purchase for those who want to venture into the field of power supply line for the first time. Alternatives, see the list of feed line adapters more top-rated.

Design, configuration and characteristics
Measures 6 x 3 x 6 inches, the Trendnet TPL-406E adapter is small and fits right in your Palm. It is not the smallest I've seen - is slightly larger than the Actiontec PWR500 - but call it supercompact would not be an exaggeration.

As Actiontec, the Trendnet TPL-406E has a design of snap-on, which is usually a problem with larger adapters since they block access to the adjacent outlet. This is not a problem with the TPL-406E, however, thanks to its small frame.

At the bottom, the device has a standard network port. This port, unfortunately, only supports the standard regular Ethernet, which caps to 100Mbps. If the adapter supports the standard Gigabit Ethernet much faster, it would be able to offer the maximum benefit of Powerline AV 500, which is up to 500Mbps data throughput speed. In its current state, most can be reached off Trendnet TPL-406E is the speed of regular Ethernet.

This type of help of the Ethernet standard rarity is not new, however; Actiontec PWR500 and the recently reviewed the ZyXel PLA4231 are in the same boat. According to Trendnet, this is because they share the same chip power line AR7420 of Qualcomm that trades Gigabit support for a lower price. Future chips will offer a higher speed, however.

As mentioned above, the Trendnet TPL-406E is available in either a single unit or in a kit of two. The reason for line power adaptors tend to come in a kit is that it takes at least two adapters to create the first power line connection. However, if your home is equipped with other feed line adapters, to add another connection device to the network only you must get a new adapter.

Trendnet TPL-406E works with other vendors line power adapters, but in this case, might need to disable the security on all adapters for them work together. This is because the safety feature can only operate between providers of the same line power adapters. Trendnet TPL-406E comes with a safety function itself, which can turn on and off by a little fair button beside your network port. This is a useful feature for those who live in an apartment building that you want to make sure that your network at home will not be shared by accident with people in other apartments that also use power line adaptors.

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Actiontec 500 Mbps Powerline Network Adapter Kit

At a street price of around $50 for a kit of two units, the Actiontec 500 Mbps Powerline Network Adapter Kit is a bargain. And that's not the only good thing about it. The kit, retail model number PWR511K01, comes with two identical adapters, currently the smallest of their type, that offered very good performance in my testing.

The only real complaint I have is that these adapters don't support Gigabit Ethernet, hence offering the limited data rate of the regular Ethernet standard at most. However, the affordable price and the supercompact design still make the kit an excellent investment for those wanting to expand their wired network to the far corners of their home, where a Wi-Fi signal can't reach.

Design, setup, and features
The reason power-line adapters tend to come in a kit of two is because you need at least two adapters to create the first power-line connection. The two adapters included in the Actiontec PWR511K01 kit are those individually modeled PWR500, indicating that they support the Powerline AV+ 500 standard, which has a theoretical speed cap of 500Mbps.

Like most power-line adapters, the PWR500 has one network port. Unfortunately, unlike any Powerline AV+ 500-based adapters I've seen, the PWR500's network port doesn't seem to support Gigabit Ethernet but just the regular Ethernet standard, which caps at 100Mbps. This means, despite the adapters' support for Powerline AV+ 500, their top data rate is 100Mbps at most.

Measuring merely 2.2x1.2x3.4 inches, and weighing 6.4 ounces, the PWR500 power-line adapter is the smallest of its type I've seen. In fact it's just about one-fourth the size of the Netgear XAV5501 adapter. The new power-line adapter is shaped like a two-prong power adapter and can be snapped on a wall socket. While this is a terrible design for a larger power-line adapter -- since a large adapter crowds the wall socket area and blocks access -- the small physical size of the PWR500 poses less of a problem when used in areas with multiple wall sockets.

And you do want to use it in an area with multiple wall sockets. This is because the PWR500 adapter itself doesn't comes with a pass-through socket, meaning that should you use it in an area with just a single wall socket, there will be no outlets left for other devices. Note that, like all power-line adapters, the PWR500 adapter should be plugged directly into a wall socket. In most cases it doesn't work well or at all when plugged into a power strip or a surge protector.

Right next to the network port, the adapter has a security button that helps create a secure network connection between multiple units. This is only necessary when you want to keep your power-line network secure, in case you live in an apartment building and don't want others to tap in your home network by using another power-line adapter in their own apartment. This secure feature worked well in my trials, though it only works if you plan to use power-line adapters from Actiontec. If you want to use a mixed pool of power-line adapters from different networking vendors, this secure feature shouldn't be used for compatibility purposes.

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