NETGEAR Antes Up With Its Draft 802.11ac Router

[darksamus]

First 802.11ac (draft) router coming out next month (5/2012). Can't wait how the real world performance is like.

http://www.netgear.com/home/products/wirelessrouters/ultimate-performance/R6300.aspx

 

[thiggins]

With no draft 11ac clients to test it with, you won't be able to tell...

 

[StratmanX]

With no draft 11ac clients to test it with, you won't be able to tell...

We already know it was a lame decision to stick with USB 2.0 ports.

 

[thiggins]

We already know it was a lame decision to stick with USB 2.0 ports.

That's not really an issue. Router SoCs don't have the power to support USB 3.0 rates. At least not power that designers are willing to dedicate to that task vs. routing and wireless.

 

[StratmanX]

Isn't USB 3.0 already implemented on certain routers?

There are currently more USB 3.0 devices than those capable of utilizing 1300 Mbps.

 

[HawkFire]

Apple Extreme 6th Gen.....

Personally I can't wait to see what Apple releases later this year for the 6th Gen router. Maybe they'll up the throughput and coverage. Remains to be seen.

 

[thiggins]

Isn't USB 3.0 already implemented on certain routers?

D-Link DIR-827 is only one I've found so far. Only got 25 MB/s read from a FAT32 WD MyBook 3.0 drive.

 

[here2rock]

If there are no 11ac clients, are there going to be any benefits for the current devices like iPads, iPhones and WD TV Live ?

 

[claykin]

If there are no 11ac clients, are there going to be any benefits for the current devices like iPads, iPhones and WD TV Live ?

Doubt it. Anyway, 802.11ac is only designed to "improve" 5Ghz and iPhone doesn't yet support it and only the "new" iPad does.

 

[here2rock]

claykin, I have the new iPad. Does this mean that this router is going to have an advantage lets say over the ASUS RT-N66U router? I wasn under the impression that even the new iPad was still using the existing 802.11n rather than 802.11ac standard, so unable to utilise the full potential of the new draft 802.11ac standard. So unless it is just as cheap as the current 802.11n routers then I don't see the benefits in the immediate future. I rather wait for the the standard to become final rather the current draft stage.

The market for routers is getting very confusing.

 

[claykin]

claykin, I have the new iPad. Does this mean that this router is going to have an advantage lets say over the ASUS RT-N66U router? I wasn under the impression that even the new iPad was still using the existing 802.11n rather than 802.11ac standard, so unable to utilise the full potential of the new draft 802.11ac standard. So unless it is just as cheap as the current 802.11n routers then I don't see the benefits in the immediate future. I rather wait for the the standard to become final rather the current draft stage.

The market for routers is getting very confusing.

New iPad does support 5Ghz, but its 802.11n. Not sure if 2x2 or 3x3. Regardless its unlikely the 802.11ac chipset will offer much advantage when used with legacy clients. Sure its possible it will perform better on a 802.11ac router since the silicon is of a newer generation. It could include a few tweaks and other improvements to help legacy clients. Until these 802.11ac routers hit the streets we won't know for sure.

Its equally as likely (if not more) that the first gen 802.11ac routers will have a host of issues so I'd recommend a cautious approach.

I agree with you that I wouldn't touch it while 802.11ac is in draft. Certainly not until the first gen routers prove themselves to be more than just a new name.

 

[njweb]

The R6300 is IN STOCK available for purchase now.
It will be officially released on amazon tomorrow.

I love my RT-N66U, but the curious side of me almost ordered one.
It was a hectic day at work - I was thinking of ordering one during lunch but while I was still considering whether or not to get one, I missed the 2 PM CST newegg cut-off for it to be shipped out today for potential delivery tomorrow, so I held off regardless.

I know, as has been noted, there are concerns with "beta testing" 802.11ac

I am more interested in how the R6300 radios would work for range, relative to the RT-N66U e.g., rather than maximum throughput. Ultimately if you get poor range, your throughput at locations furthest from the router will be too low or non-existent.

That being said, my RT-N66U is more than meeting my needs, so I should probably just resist the urge to try the latest and so-called "greatest" router technology. (Note I am not saying it is the "greatest"by any means, I'm talking about how 802.11ac is being advertised).

Anyway, it is available (in stock, not pre-order) at newegg for anyone who is interested...
Has anyone ordered the R6300?

 

[klas]

So after getting disappointed with RT-N66U 5Ghz range I decided to give 6300 a try. Hoping it will be better then my trusty RT-N56U. Should have it tomorrow.

 

[claykin]

So after getting disappointed with RT-N66U 5Ghz range I decided to give 6300 a try. Hoping it will be better then my trusty RT-N56U. Should have it tomorrow.

You may want to check this so you know what you're walking into with the R6300. Seems Netgear shipped it with beta firmware missing features and arguably with not so great radio performance.

http://forum1.netgear.com/forumdisplay.php?f=126

Why do they do such things? Hold it back until it works and at least offers the features they advertise. Anything for a buck. Sad!

 

[klas]

You may want to check this so you know what you're walking into with the R6300. Seems Netgear shipped it with beta firmware missing features and arguably with not so great radio performance.

http://forum1.netgear.com/forumdisplay.php?f=126

Why do they do such things? Hold it back until it works and at least offers the features they advertise. Anything for a buck. Sad!

That's fine, I am an early adopter for most things anyway, so I don't mind waiting until bugs are worked out with the firmware, but if range sucks, I'll just send it back. I am mostly happy with my dual N56U setup, 5Ghz coverage is the best of the bunch, but what I need is parental control and guest network (yes I know it's not there yet) and hopefully a better range/coverage.

 

[claykin]

That's fine, I am an early adopter for most things anyway, so I don't mind waiting until bugs are worked out with the firmware, but if range sucks, I'll just send it back. I am mostly happy with my dual N56U setup, 5Ghz coverage is the best of the bunch, but what I need is parental control and guest network (yes I know it's not there yet) and hopefully a better range/coverage.

Let us know how it works for you. Happy beta testing...

 

[klas]

Just got it, will post my unprofessional comparison with N56u by EOD.

 

[thiggins]

First Look

I have run some initial tests: routing throughput, 2.4 GHz two stream and 5 GHz two stream. Also ran 11ac (5 GHz, 80 MHz B/W) max throughput tests. Results are in the Router Charts database.

I confirm that there is no Guest mode and that NETGEAR is working on new F/W to add. There are, however, both WDS bridge/repeat and non-WDS bridge modes and AP mode, too. I used Bridge mode on a second R6300 to run the 11ac tests.

I purchased both routers from Amazon. NETGEAR won't start shipping review product for another week or so.

You can run comparisons yourselves, but I would not say that either 2.4 or 5 GHz two-stream performance is as bad as some of the NETGEAR forum and Amazon reviews would have you believe. The main drawback I'm seeing is that 40 MHz mode causes low throughput in Location F--something not unique to the R6300.

 

[klas]

I concur, the router so far pretty good, you can read my initial thoughts at Amazon.

thiggins> Can you confirm that when you power on router no lights come on for a few minutes?

Looked at new benchmarks, they don't make sense to me, it looks like it was rated below N56U for the most part, but my real world experience showing that range/coverage is definitively better then N56U. I can finally use 5Ghz band throughout house where with N56u I had to use 2 of them.

Also, I am not finding where 40 Mhz setting is, unless they are calling it something different.

 

[thiggins]

Klas,

We are seeing different performance. Could be explained by using different clients. Remember I posted only for two-stream (max 300 Mbps) link rate tests.

At any rate, neither 2.4 nor 5 GHz range is exceptional.

NETGEAR uses "up to xxxMbps" instead of 20/40/80 nomenclature.
For 2.4 GHz, "Up to 217 Mbps" is 20 MHz, "Up to 450 Mbps" is 40 MHz.
For 5 GHz, "Up to 289 Mbps" is 20, "Up to 600 Mbps" is 40 and "Up to 1300 Mbps" is 80 MHz/draft 11ac.