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Target price of $129 less the 10% coupon is $116. Coupon Expires 10/31
#1 Rated by the New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutte...fi-router/
You can get the AX3000 (Archer AX 50) for $116 at TARGET (see below)
https://www.target.com/p/tp-link-...A-79847621
HOW TO GET IT FOR $116 AT TARGET (2 WAYS)
New price is $129 and then apply the 10% off one electronic item (Target circle coupon). Total came to $116 and change. If you are a target Redcard member get additional 5% Redcard discount[/QUOTE]
10% coupon can be found here (Expires October 31)：
https://slickdeals.net/?sdtid=14448551&sdop=1&sdpid=141342461&sdfid=30&lno=1&trd=https%20www%20target%20com%20offers%20targ&pv=&au=&sdtrk=SiteSearchV2Algo1&u2=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.target.com%2Foffers%2Ftarget-circle[/QUOTE]
At Walmart, you can get the $99 AX1800 (Archer AX 20) model. Note that "PeteyTheStriker" who is very knowledgeable on routers has commented extensively on this thread has recommended the upgrade from the AX20 to AX50 if you can afford it. Through Target (see above, you can get the AX 3000 for $116)
WALMART
$99 AX1800 (Archer AX 20)
https://www.walmart.com/ip/TP-Lin.../210201077
FOR ONLY $17 More (Target), you can upgrade from the Archer AX20 (AX1800) to the TP-LINK Archer AX50, i.e., AX 3000,
https://www.target.com/p/tp-link-...A-79847621
COMPARISON OF AX20 ($99) VS AX50 ($129) [ Thanks - zpeedster_m ]; Note that "PeteyTheStriker" who is very knowledgeable on routers has commented extensively on this thread has recommended the upgrade from the AX20 to AX50 if you can afford it.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutte...fi-router/
TP-Link Archer AX50
The best Wi-Fi router
In our tests the TP-Link Archer AX50 created a speedy, responsive network even from across a medium house. You have to spend a lot more on a router—or a mesh kit if you have a very large home—to get anything even a little better. It's our first WI-Fi 6 (802.11ax) router pick.
The TP-Link Archer AX50 is reasonably priced, yet it can handle a growing selection of laptops and smart devices while surpassing the performance of routers that cost twice as much. It's generally speedy and able to reach long range, it has little lag even when the network is busy, and it's a great choice if you have a high-performance internet service plan. It's compatible with Wi-Fi 6, the latest wireless standard, and it comes with built-in security in the form of a lifetime subscription to updates.
TP-Link Archer AX20
If our main pick is unavailable
The Archer AX20 offers fewer features than our pick for a slightly lower price, but in most cases it can keep up in throughput, responsiveness, and ease of setup.
If our pick is out of stock or its price is more than $30 higher, you should consider the TP-Link Archer AX20 instead. The AX20 looks like the AX50 and offers a strong, responsive network that's nearly as good, especially if your house isn't larger than our 2,300-square-foot-test home. But it's not quite as fast at longer ranges, and TP-Link sacrifices a few advanced features and settings in its administration interface to meet the lower price
REVIEWS (Thanks "PeteyTheStriker")
https://play3r.net/reviews/networ...er-review/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXVGRKgaxYo
https://www.blacktubi.com/review/...cher-ax50/
https://techprojournal.com/tp-lin...ink_AX3000
Overall if you want a entry level to medium end router, you cant go wrong.[/QUOTE]
OTHER THINGS TO NOTE:
1. Donknows has a review on the AX3000 (Archer AX 50) this has thoroughly been discredited on this thread.
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As was mentioned by me and a few others, that DONGKNOWS review is poorly done. It is not an apples to apples comparison, he used a router with a brand new firmware comparing to an identical router with firmware over 6 months old which had major problems just like any other router around that time. It takes time to work out the bugs and TP-Link, Netgear, Asus to name a few all put out routers with bugged performance with their first set of Wifi 6 routers. So yeah..... Important to make apples to apples instead of reading something without understanding the testing. If he did it the correct way he would have had both side by side on the same firmware.The routers are identical outside USB 3.0 port and Homecare included on one, so you will get identical performance results with the same firmware.
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2. CAT7, a CAT 6 or CAT5e cable is needed for gigabit Ethernet. Most cables made for the last 10 years are already 5e, so just saying that cables are usually never a bottleneck.
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So think again!
You can go to fast.com on your phone over wifi and it will check your wifi speed. Report what you get. Also check that speed against the speed that you have contracted with your internet provider. Yours will be an interesting case to understand and learn. Thanks for your time
If you have spectrum ISP, you can trade up to one of their wave 2 routers (still $5/month rental fee) with a BCM4366E or QCA9984 (3 different SKU's for the same model) which will and should ironically outperform these 2x2 entry solutions at range. The problem with the new spectrum stuff is that you're locked out of the hardware and the router auto selects bands.. which can be annoying. I would honestly use the ISP solution if I could change settings though. No reason not too..all of these have high end W2 hardware.
My current ASUS 4x4 AC wave 2 router pushes over 450mbps @ 30 feet, and 600mbps @ 20 feet. Much higher than most entry 2x2 AX stuff, granted I paid a little more. I know for a fact (personal testing) that a lot of entry 2x2 routers cant touch these speeds without AX clients, but that's a product of my environment and local congestion.
If you have spectrum ISP, you can trade up to one of their wave 2 routers (still $5/month rental fee) with a BCM4366E or QCA9984 (3 different SKU's for the same model) which will and should ironically outperform these 2x2 entry solutions at range. The problem with the new spectrum stuff is that you're locked out of the hardware and the router auto selects bands.. which can be annoying. I would honestly use the ISP solution if I could change settings though. No reason not too..all of these have high end W2 hardware.
My current ASUS 4x4 AC wave 2 router pushes over 450mbps @ 30 feet, and 600mbps @ 20 feet. Much higher than most entry 2x2 AX stuff, granted I paid a little more. I know for a fact (personal testing) that a lot of entry 2x2 routers cant touch these speeds without AX clients, but that's a product of my environment and local congestion.
The 2x2 AX stuff will trade off depending on clients used. if you have AX clients, the AX20 and AX50 products will perform much better close range but also fall off quicker than a typical higher end 4x4 routers regardless of AX or AC standards.
Its not that AC w2 is better or worse than AX but more or less price points vs hardware configuration.
Right now there's not too many advantages to buy AX hardware solely for AX improvements given cost vs performance. I recommended a low cost ASUS router in the beginning of this thread because it completely decimates everything at its price point of $89.99 MSRP. Goes on sale for $60-75 at times...
Unless of course you need super fast wireless speeds (700+mbps) 5-10 feet away from the router, then by all means, the AX 2x2 options might be better (with ax client).
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The 2x2 AX stuff will trade off depending on clients used. if you have AX clients, the AX20 and AX50 products will perform much better close range but also fall off quicker than a typical higher end 4x4 routers regardless of AX or AC standards.
Its not that AC w2 is better or worse than AX but more or less price points vs hardware configuration.
Right now there's not too many advantages to buy AX hardware solely for AX improvements given cost vs performance. I recommended a low cost ASUS router in the beginning of this thread because it completely decimates everything at its price point of $89.99 MSRP. Goes on sale for $60-75 at times...
Unless of course you need super fast wireless speeds (700+mbps) 5-10 feet away from the router, then by all means, the AX 2x2 options might be better (with ax client).
The AX3200 from Costco should perform better assuming you use the high end "nerfed" radio which is likely "5G-2" but I'm not 100% on that. Testing is required.
If the performance isn't much better than your previous router, return both. A lot of people are upgrading to AX just to "future proof" but these lower end designs sometimes yield no advantages over legacy AC HW. At least, not until AX clients are wide spread. The same goes for the new 6E stuff launching at the end of this year.
The AX3200 might be a tad special since it has a 4x4 radio, but its either nerfed to 64QAM or running in 3x3 mode with 256 QAM. In any case, It should out perform the other radio and AX3000 in regards to range (unless something funky is going on).
Could always test and return it. Walmart is pretty easy to deal with if you wanna return locally.
I bought a R8500 — Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router i picked up 3 or 4 years ago and I am wondering if it's time to move on to a better router ?
I bought a R8500 — Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router i picked up 3 or 4 years ago and I am wondering if it's time to move on to a better router ?
I would only consider upgrading to something like a NETGEAR RAX200 or ASUS AX11100, but then again.. I likely wouldn't do it unless my router was giving me trouble or AX clients become widespread. If speed/range isn't bottle necked, I don't see the point.
If you shared your password (with a neighbor, for example), now is a good time to change it to lock anyone out. Also, just a heads up: your wifi password doesn't need to be that complicated / contain special characters UPPER or lower case unless you have a real reason to (if you don't know exactly what that is, you don't need it complicated). I setup all of my routers wifi passes to 'hotdog123'. It's just the password for access to your internet, and I doubt that anyone will guess that! Makes it much easier to remember or give to a friend.
I think they are all 2x2 on both bands. The Asus and Netgear support WPA3. The Netgear and TP-Link support 160Hz. Only the TP-Link has a USB port. And last, only the Asus has a 1.5Ghz quad core CPU and mesh capability. I guess also the Asus has 4 external antennae and it seems to me that Asus' software is generally preferred as well.
2) The TP-Link has 4 external antenna.
I would love to see others comment on these 3 routers as to which is best and to which extent. I mean if you already got one of these, should one exchange it for the other?
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