Five-hundred bucks is a lot for most common-folk to just hand over. Especially for a router. But if you’re a gamer, a VR-enthusiast, stream everything you can, or getting a jumpstart on the looming IoT invasion , perhaps you’ll want to get your hands on NETGEAR’s Nighthawk X10 AD7200 smart router.
Touted as the world’s fastest router , it’s packed with everything but the kitchen sink… unless one day your kitchen sink becomes smart.
Specs to note:
1.7GHz quad-core processor
802.11ac quad-stream Wave2 WiFi
60 GHz 802.11ad WiFi
7200 Mbps Wireless Data Throughput
2.4 GHz / 5 GHz / 60 GHz Frequencies
Four active antennas with high powered amplifiers
Built-in Plex Media Server
Six Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports with dual ports
Two USB 3.0 ports
10Gbps fiber port
Multi-user MIMO
Hardware
Let’s get one thing out of the way – this router is a beast. The four antennas look positively space-age, and feel rather plastic-y. That said, the body itself feels hardy.
Unfortunately, 802.11ad is a short-range line-of-sight technology – meaning any AD7200 router on the market can’t simply be hidden out of sight. So u nless your decor is so ultra-modern it looks as though Spock is your roommate, this model-monstrosity may look out of place. But in the end, it’s well worth it. Around back, the Nighthawk X10 has every port you could possibly want – six gigabit LAN ports, a 10Gbps fiber port to boost backups and streaming, and two USB 3.0 ports. And inside, NETGEAR didn’t leave anything out either.
The Nighthawk X10 supports multi-user MIMO technology – a key feature all soon-to-be overtaxed routers need – complete with channels operating up to 160 MHz, 4×4 spatial streams, and extended 5 GHz frequency support.
Other features include 512MB of NAND flash memory, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, built-in Beamforming+, and a plethora of other tech features you’ve come to expect.
Performance
Basic setup is insanely easy. With NETGEAR’s Up app for Android and iOS, I was up and running in under 10 minutes – which included rearranging of some other equipment for said line-of-sight allowance.
And unlike typical routers that just spray WiFi, the Beamforming+ allows the Nighthawk X10 to directly, well, beam signals directly to devices. This results in a stronger, more reliable connection that’s locked in even if the device is moved (or in my case, falls of the precarious shelf I had it on…).
The signal strength also translates to mobile devices.
Is it for you?
This is not for the average customer – price range and specs can tell you that.
But for people looking to upgrade their home office, are hard-core gamers, or just – like me – go ga-ga for the latest and greatest (with a good chunk of change laying around… so not like me at all…) this is a great router that will go with you well into the future.
And it’s worth every penny.