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Netgear R7500v2, R7800 + R8500 have shown up

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Which of the three models do you want to know more about the most?


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mediatrek

Regular Contributor
Just the other day I was checking out the FCC filings, and saw Netgear has three new filings; specifically the R7500v2, R7800, and R8500.

Based on the public R8500 filing, I am assuming it is a Broadcom driven solution being named the “Nighthawk X8 Tri-band Router.” Various D-link filings showed up in the past few days as well with internal shots of their Broadcom MU-MIMO solutions which were announced at CES 2015. The R8500 will operate “up to 600Mbps” on the 2.4 GHz band and “up to 1733.3Mbps” for each of the two 5 GHz bands. The unit has four internal antennas for one 5GHz radio and four external antennas for the 2.4GHz and other 5GHz radio.

From what I have learned from using the Linksys EA8500, is that the Qualcomm hardware performs good, yet runs cooler in temperature than what Broadcom has put out. This is a plus in my book, and takes me to the next two models filed the other day.

The R7500v2 of all three FCC filings is the only one to have the internal images public. As I was expecting, the v2 keeps the powerful Qualcomm-Atheros IPQ8064 at its core, but the other chips are next to impossible to make out. The QCA8337 Ethernet chip is the same, and I can make out that one of the two wireless radio chips is also a Qualcomm chip, but I cannot make out what chip exactly. The filings also make clear the until supports “up to 600Mbps” on the 2.4 GHz band and “up to 1733.3Mbps” on the 5GHz band. I am guessing Netgear has dropped Quantenna in this hardware revision to be able to get actual MU-MIMO functionality right out of the box with 100% QCA solution?

However, Netgear has another Nighthawk model on the way in the R7800. This “Nighthawk X4S” router. Any guesses as to what the “S” stands for?
 
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It looks like the FCC corrected their earlier error in posting the internal images on the r7500v2 before the expiration of the confidentiality period requested. So, here are some of the internal images from the filing that has now been removed…
 

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Two more internal images of the r7500v2...
 

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Thanks for the postings. The following comments are not based on any inside information.

Referencing http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/other/ces/ces-2015/32601-smallnetbuilders-ces-2015-wrap-up

QCA based 4x4 routers support 1733 Mbps for 5 GHz and 800 Mbps for 2.4, to get a rounded-up total of AC2600.

BRCM based 4x4 routers can allegedly support max link rates of 1000 Mbps in 2.4 GHz and 2165 Mbps in 5 GHz due to 1024-QAM support. At least this is what D-Link said in its CES 2015 releases.

BUT, getting 1024-QAM to work is a technical challenge to say the least. According to a chip analyst I've been in contact with, there are currently no transmit power amplifiers that can support the EVM required to support a 1024 symbol constellation.

So it is interesting the test reports are stating 2.4 GHz link rates of 600 Mbps and 1733 for 5 GHz for the R8500.

The R8500 test reports say it has four internal 5 GHz antennas and four external dual-band. So it looks like a 4x4 implementation of Broadcom's "Smart Connect" Xtreme architecture. Could be advertised as AC5300 as D-Link did with the D-Link DIR-895L. Or if NETGEAR is more conservative, they could spec it as AC4500 (2.4GHz 800 Mbps + 5 GHz 1733 Mbps X2, rounded up)

I suspect your guess about the R7500v2 is correct, i.e. Quantenna out and QCA in for the 5 GHz radio. But for marketing reasons, they'll probably keep it at AC2350

R7800 is likely a QCA 4x4, which will be classed as AC2600, like the other QCA 4x4's. And as per the label, "S" stands for "Smart".
 
waiting for a test for the 4x4/1.4GHz routers that supports 1733 Mbps at the 5GHz band and 800 Mbps for 2.4GHz band on the AC2600 in near future ;):p
 
Yes but i want to see one with TP-Link Archer C2600, Netgear R7500V2 also this NEW Routers.
Does all off them support 160MHz bandwith?
 
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Yes but i want to see one with TP-Link Archer C2600, Netgear R7500V2 also this NEW Routers.
Does all off them support 160MHz bandwith?
Those routers use the same QCA-based design as the ones we've reviewed.

None of them support 160MHz bandwidth. They use 80 MHz, just like all other AC routers.
 
While none of the brick and mortar stores in my area (Best Buy, Staples, OfficeMax) have the r7500v2 in yet (just LOTS of the v1), I went ahead and ordered today from frys.com the r7500v2. This is what they are saying they are shipping out now.

This unit is what I have been waiting a LONG time for. QCA MU-MIMO with Streamboost-based Dynamic QoS. I have the Linksys EA8500 and love it’s performance, but want the Streamboost solution and was disappointed that it was not included with the EA8500. My EA8500 will most likely be used as a wireless bridge to replace the Broadcom-based Netgear EX6200 I use now that runs so hot I could cook an egg on it.

The only thing I do not know is what chip solution Netgear went with for the 2.4GHz radio on the R7500v2. Any ideas? I know the chip used in the original R7500 (QCA9880-BR4A) did not support transmit beamforming, while the EA8500 does on 2.4GHz.
 
The FCC filing confidentiality for the Netgear R7800 expired a few days ago, and I am disappointed to see it is not a 4x4 MU-MIMO Qualcomm IPQ86x, 2.4GHz QCA998x, and 5GHz QCA998x solution. Instead it is a 4x4 Broadcom-based BCM47094 solution (with the massive required heatsink) with an unidentifiable BCM chip for the 2.4GHz radio and a BCM chip for the one 5GHz radio.

The dynamic QoS in the Netgear BCM units (R8000, R8500, R7800) is not as mature as the dynamic QoS QCA Streamboost units (R7500, R7500v2). This leaves Netgear’s only QCA MU-MIMO model the R7500v2, which still uses an older QCA9880 chip for the 2.4GHz radio that does not support transmit beamforming, instead of the QCA9982.

I have attached external images from the R7800’s FCC filings to my posting for those interested.
 

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The "unidentifiable" Radio SoC in the R7800 is a BCM4366. This makes the R7800 an AC3100 class, with non-functional MU-MIMO at this point.
 
Regarding the R7500v2 I am fairly certain the 2.4 Ghz part is the same as V1.
 
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The "unidentifiable" Radio SoC in the R7800 is a BCM4366. This makes the R7800 an AC3100 class, with non-functional MU-MIMO at this point.

:D

looking very good for tomato support :)

think this is same radio/cpu combo as rt-ac3200 which is working on tomato, only missing the smartconnect, and with only 1 5GHz this is looking great :D :D
 
The FCC filing confidentiality for the Netgear R7800 expired a few days ago, and I am disappointed to see it is not a 4x4 MU-MIMO Qualcomm IPQ86x, 2.4GHz QCA998x, and 5GHz QCA998x solution. Instead it is a 4x4 Broadcom-based BCM47094 solution (with the massive required heatsink) with an unidentifiable BCM chip for the 2.4GHz radio and a BCM chip for the one 5GHz radio.

The dynamic QoS in the Netgear BCM units (R8000, R8500, R7800) is not as mature as the dynamic QoS QCA Streamboost units (R7500, R7500v2). This leaves Netgear’s only QCA MU-MIMO model the R7500v2, which still uses an older QCA9880 chip for the 2.4GHz radio that does not support transmit beamforming, instead of the QCA9982.

I have attached external images from the R7800’s FCC filings to my posting for those interested.

Take a look at this FCC ID also designated as R7800 in the label photo, this one has a newer filing....
FCC ID PY315100319 (11/04/2015)
https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=Y&application_id=3DTs6tvvsfVZjMhwboIBFQ==&fcc_id=PY315100319
 
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Why don't they give it 160MHz support for 3 and 4 stream devices?
Also, why only 512MB of RAM, why not 1-2GB of RAM instead so that it can run more services?

For a super high end model, they should consider releasing a router with at least an Intel core i3 CPU, 4GB RAM, and have it run pfSense.
 
Why don't they give it 160MHz support for 3 and 4 stream devices?
Also, why only 512MB of RAM, why not 1-2GB of RAM instead so that it can run more services?

For a super high end model, they should consider releasing a router with at least an Intel core i3 CPU, 4GB RAM, and have it run pfSense.
Why not have it fly too?
 

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