Nighthawk R7000P or R7800

[Caligstar]

Hey guys, which router between the two should I get and why? They are the same price on Amazon right now.

Thank you for your help.

 

[TonyH]

Hey guys, which router between the two should I get and why? They are the same price on Amazon right now.

Thank you for your help.

You will pick one according to your needs. R7800 is newer different class router. I own a R7800. R7000 I had was LONG passed on. I am using the router for simple home networking. Only extra is small 2 bay Synology NAS, two wireless printers are connected. It's been working very well for me since I installed it, maybe because I use just basic functionality. And some +++ is I know what I am doing, LOL!

 

[pete y testing]

the main issue with the r7800 is that its not broadcom based and some have complained about adapter compatibility , whereas the r7000p is broadcom based

wifi speed wise they are about the same

however the r7800 have a faster cpu at 1.7ghz v 1ghz for the r7000P , this would be important if you want to vpn

some talk about the r7000p

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/netgear-releases-new-nighthawk-router-with-mu-mimo.36295/

not heard a lot of usage talk about the r7000p

if it where me i would spend an extra $50 and go for something like an asus rt-ac3100 as its wave 2 and 2516M on 5 gig , unfortunately anything in 2156M in netgear jumps up heaps in price

or even look at the tp link c3150

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AK9TC0Y/?tag=snbforums-20

at $140 usd its a dam good price for a 2156M 5 gig router

the only difference hardware wise between the asus rt-ac3100 and the tp link c3150 is the asus has 512M ram , the tp link has 256M ram

the asus firmware and gui are far better on the asus

 

[eikido]

I'm a little curious here. Why Broadcom over Qualcomm?

 

[avtella]

I'd get the R7800 if it's the same price range. Nothing wrong going the Broadcom route but I don't know of many laptops or phones that support 1024QAM to get that improved 5Ghz link rate on the 7000P or the C3150. Also Broadcom's MU-MIMO implementation wasn't as mature as Qualcomm's unless things have changed.

 

[eikido]

I'm asking because i've narrowed it down to two routers, either R7800 or C3150.
The R7800 has qualcomm and C3150 has broadcom.

I was a bit more into R7800 because of DD-WRT support but now when i hear such a discussion, i'm leaning more C3150.
I'm really 50/50 here

Physically the C3150 seems more appealing.
R7800 has a small bonus, a working MU-MIMO, but i don't know if i'll ever get a use of it.

 

[pete y testing]

but i don't know if i'll ever get a use of it.

and there is the elephant in the room as many dont and wont use it ether , its just another wank feature to print on the box

if you ask me what router to get i would suggest an asus rt-ac series router , more features , better firmware , far better gui

 

[eikido]

Which one?

Both the netgear and tp-link are really high rated.

 

[avtella]

Wasn't TP-Link locking down router firmware in the US? If in the states ASUS maybe your other alternative if custom firmware is important to you. Id get the R7800 if between the TP-Link and the Netgear but as mentioned above ASUS does offer a better GUI and more options. I don't have an Asus to compare (well I have their older n models) at the moment but R7800 beats the R8500 and the newer R9000 in 5Ghz range and speed in my testing.

 

[pete y testing]

Both the netgear and tp-link are really high rated.

its like asking which bad apple to eat , but if you pushed me i would say go the netgear , the tp link firmware and coding is a train crash waiting to happen

 

[eikido]

I'm in the EU.

pete, can you please open up, i'm a little curious?
Why are Netg and TP bad apples and what is better? Obviously Asus, anything more?

 

[pete y testing]

Obviously Asus, anything more?

not much

tp link use old and not so secure patches and coding and often fail to address any concerns on this , the gui is basic and leaves a lot to be desired feature wise

netgear gui is currently a mess and slow and buggy , it lacks features and flexibility


look if you are just after pure wifi performance ether will do but your not after a wireless access point and i assume you want to be able to control and harness the features a wireless router should bring you , the asus does bring you that level of ability

 

[eikido]

ok, i will check out ASUS AC3200 (which is the same as AC88U but with 4 ports instead of 8?).

But just to a bit skeptic, doesn't software reflect on wireless performance?
The TP-Link has the best wireless performance out of the three mentioned and the worst backend? Ofcours backend can be more than wireless performance like you mention above but obviously they've made an ok job if the wireless performance is great...

From the time the C3150 has been out, there's only been one FW release. The netgear has had many in comparison. Basically it looks like TP-LINK drops the support immediately after release which is bad so i will remove C3150 from my list and compare R7800 vs Synology AC2600 vs Asus AC3200.

 

[pege63]

In the end its up to the client anyway wath they supports.

 

[pete y testing]

ok, i will check out ASUS AC3200 (which is the same as AC88U but with 4 ports instead of 8?).

un no the asus rt-ac3100 is the same as the 88u

doesn't software reflect on wireless performance?

nope hardware does that and to be honest they are all pretty much the same hardware wise

Synology AC2600

forget that its complex and is only average wifi wise and is 1733M max on 5 gig

Asus AC3200.

this is just 1300M on 5 gig

--------------------------

asus wise look at the rt-ac3100

 

[eikido]

Yes you are absolutely right about the ac3200, thats wrong. It's AC3100 and we don't have that where i live.
Thanks bud.

I will continue my quest.

The AC88U is 100 USD more than R7800 where i live.

 

[pete y testing]

The AC88U is 100 USD more than R7800 where i live.

tbh its worth the $100 more


the r7800 is only 1733M on 5 gig , the 88u is 2156M plus 8 ethernet ports and link aggregation and the asus gui

 

[avtella]

tbh its worth the $100 more


the r7800 is only 1733M on 5 gig , the 88u is 2156M plus 8 ethernet ports and link aggregation and the asus gui

The following reviews show the R7800 which is "only 1733M" actually has better range and speed on 5Ghz at both close and far ranges while the AC88U wins on 2.4 Ghz by a wide margin. Both reviews say as Pete posted earlier that the Netgear GUI isn't very good though lol.

R7800
-IGN
http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/03/29/netgear-nighthawk-x4s-smart-wi-fi-gaming-router-review
-CNET
https://www.cnet.com/products/nighthawk-x4s-ac2600-smart-wifi-router/2/
AC88U
-IGN
http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/04/13/asus-rt-ac88u-ac3100-dual-band-router-review
-CNET
https://www.cnet.com/products/asus-rt-ac88u-router/2/

Get the ASUS for a better GUI, user options and RMerlin's custom firmware but not so much because of "2165 vs 1733" advertising. Most laptops with Intel or Atheros adapters and most phones don't even support NitroQAM which is a Broadcom proprietary feature, kinda gimmicky and just to inflate numbers on packaging. Get the 4 port version of the ASUS if you don't need link aggregation that extra $100 might not be worth it. Nothing wrong looking at the Synology AC2600 either, it's pretty much the same chipset and CPU as the R7800.

 

[pete y testing]

The following reviews show the R7800 which is "only 1733M" actually has better range and speed on 5Ghz at both close and far ranges

in all cases the speed testing isnt dont with the correct client as i can assure you with a 2156M pce-ac88 pce wireless adapter the 88u is far faster throughput wise , you gotta look at the details in the test rigs

but not so much because of "2165 vs 1733" advertising. Most laptops with Intel or Atheros adapters and most phones don't even support NitroQAM which is a Broadcom proprietary feature, kinda gimmicky and just to inflate numbers on packaging.

thats a client issue , with the right adapter for the job 2156 v 1733 isnt a gimmick

Most laptops with Intel or Atheros adapters and most phones don't even support

they also dont support 1733M as most portable devices are only 2 x 2 867M max so your logic doesnt stack up there

i agree the asus rt-ac3100 may be the way to go if its available where you are OP , but alas its not available here in australia and i dont think grey imports are the answer

Nothing wrong looking at the Synology AC2600 either,

having tested this myself ( and put it back in the box ) i wouldnt bother with it as its overly complex and has average wifi performance esp when compared to 2156M routers

 

[avtella]

I clearly meant NitroQAM support in clients in general, not the full 1733 or 2165 advertised theoretical speeds which you kept bringing up hence the quotes ... so you end up at 866 on 2x2 clients or 1300 on 3x3 Macbook Pros as you said yourself. Even with one of those few NitroQAM supporting clients I'm skeptical you would get higher than the R7800 in 5 Ghz as I don't think you would get the full 1.25x gain. I remember RMerlin called NitroQAM a marketing gimmick in the RT-AC5300 forum.

Just out of curiosity if you don't mind and have time to spare can you post some speed tests with the 4x4 adapter in your signature and your R8500 or AC88U.

Pete could you elaborate on the Synology being complex? I have seen a few reviews but nothing in depth about the UI.