Netgear xr500 your experiences with this router.

[pinkfloyd1173]

Just wanting to see who owns this router and see how your experience is with it. I have a Asus rt-3100 router and it been working fine, we are a big gaming family here in my house hold and I have been thinking about getting this router. Wondering if the gaming stuff really works for both Ps4 and Pc? So if anyone would like to put there 2 cents in, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

P.S
I have spectrum internet 300 down 20 up.

 

[avtella]

It’s an R7800 with extra 128 MB of flash. As for the QoS, I find the standard Qualcomm Streamboost way simpler to use with the basic Very/High, Medium, Low settings. They basically took out Streamboost and overlaid NetDuma UI and QoS along with their monitoring apps on top of the standard Netgear stuff.

Is it worth the extra $100 or more over the R7800? In my opinion no, but some people like the NetDuma QoS very much. I personally never had issues with Streamboost after setting devices priorities myself. Gaming usually uses very little bandwidth, around a few 100 kbps at most. Upload is usually the main bottle neck especially with things like cloud uploads of photos from phones and things like that, that’s where QoS would help most when there is contention between devices, your download speeds are pretty high so not much to worry about in that aspect as even streaming from multiple devices shouldn’t saturate that. In general I think a standard R7800 would do just fine.

 

[coxhaus]

Spectrum is now upping the 300 meg down to 400 meg internet down. You might check. My area has changed. I received a letter from Spectrum.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Had this router for a few weeks to demo it. IMO it's way better than the R7800. The OS is different from NG OS, however does have some features seen in the NG FW. And is not a overlay of NG FW. There OS and code is completely different from NG FW. The wireless range is also better. I got far better coverage than compared to the R7800. Both are good for multi game console/PC environments. And my R7800 works great for wifi.

I added this to my post here regarding which routers handle multi gaming environments here:
http://badmodems.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=21

I'm hoping to come back to this router again. Been testing Orbi.

The DumaOS is tuned towards getting into matches with in a certain range across the land and tuning out unwanted other gamers:
https://netduma.com/features/

Overall, it's a solid gaming router with more features for game tuning and greater wifi coverage for a single wifi router unit. It's definitely worth going BestBuy, Frys or Amazon and getting one to try out with a good refund policy.

 

[avtella]

Its the same hardware with a different board id, if you got more range then your R7800 is probably defective. Same amps, same cpu, same QCA9984 chipset. Its kinda like the WRT3200AC vs WRT32X. Ironically some reviews even saw lower 5Ghz performance with the XR500, here is one:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/02/05/netgear-nighthawk-xr500-pro-gaming-router-review

Its definately NetDuma stuff overlaid on stock Netgear stuff. Nothing wrong with that as they do add some new feature sets but I wouldn't say the hardware is different other than the 256MB flash. In my use I didn't find it any better than streamboost QoS for gaming. Infact SQM Piece of Cake on OpenWRT is the best I have used when under heavy contention.

 

[Voxel]

The OS is different from NG OS, however does have some features seen in the NG FW. And is not a overlay of NG FW. There OS and code is completely different from NG FW. The wireless range is also better. I got far better coverage than compared to the R7800.

You are probably mistaken. I've checked GPL of XR500 vs R7800: the same OS, the same packages, the same drivers. Difference is in Web GUI and DumaOS add-on. So range should be absolutely the same. It is R7800 with additional 128 flash in new box. Plus DumaOS add-on with changed GUI. Marketing.

Voxel.

 

[avtella]

Thank you Voxel for confirming, I keep saying that and some people don’t believe.

 

[kamoj]

I read in some LEDE-thread that the extra 128 MB flash is not even used/usable in the XR500.

 

[Voxel]

Thank you Voxel for confirming, I keep saying that and some people don’t believe.

Moreover, I am sure that it is possible to flash XR500 firmware to R7800 after some processing.

(To avoid misunderstanding: I'll not do that, because NG would be so angry IMO . )

P.S.

Interesting that finally some from my hints re.g. OpenSSL acceleration passed to NETGEAR Guy for NG's developers reached target. It seems that new version of stock fw for XR500 will be asm accelerated (plus use of most recent December's version, as I suggested).

Voxel.

 

[Voxel]

I read in some LEDE-thread that the extra 128 MB flash is not even used/usable in the XR500.

I agree. Now difference is that R7800 does not accept FW with size more than 25MB. Almost 30 for XR500. But even 35 is OK (IMO) as for R7800 as for XR500.

Voxel.

 

[Killhippie]

You are probably mistaken. I've checked GPL of XR500 vs R7800: the same OS, the same packages, the same drivers. Difference is in Web GUI and DumaOS add-on. So range should be absolutely the same. It is R7800 with additional 128 flash in new box. Plus DumaOS add-on with changed GUI. Marketing.

Voxel.

DumaOS has very specific gaming features though which makes it stand out as a very different router tbh. I'm using the XR500 now, personally I like its QoS much more that streamboost because its so much more flexible for my needs, I can change the upload and download of each individual device just by typing in how much bandwidth I want to give each device or adjusting it with the Duma 'petal' GUI also QoS on my unit is set set to come on only when I game, or stream once the session is finished it goes back to not using QoS which I prefer as I don't have a need for it as a always on feature. Gaming wise setting a limit for distance to who I connect to and what server I connect to and blacklisting ones I don't want is great with the Geo filter, which means I get to connect to gamers within a certain area as well as servers of my choosing for better pings, and a better online gaming experience.

The router has an auto update feature which is useful too and can be turned off should you want to manually update the firmware instead. As far as devices on the network map I can block individual devices for as long as I want, handy if you have kids or visitors you want to have more control over their usage. It has a DPI engine which the R7800 does not I believe, have which is part of DumaOS so it recognises certain traffic and the way I have it set up switches QoS on only when I game, or if my TV is streaming.

I actually get much further 2.4Ghz coverage than my R7800 but I attribute that to the R7800 ageing, the R7800 being just over two years old, it has been used hard and its performance has waned slightly over time but you cant defy the laws of physics and coverage is pretty much identicle.

The R-Apps are good and more are coming and it has a hybrid VPN so if you want you can separate which devices go though the VPN rather than all traffic. You can also set how much bandwidth to assign to all other devices globally and also help contol bufferbloat, once again this is done by typing it in or adjusting sliders, mines set to 80% of my bandwidth and shared equally to all other devices but giving a little more to my iMac and TV and PS4, you can turn that feature off and manually assign how much each device gets if you want as well. The Network map is much clearer in fact the GUI is great it shows devices that are actively on, and those not using any bandwidth in a separate part of the tree that shows all your devices, and it does not forget your settings in QoS like the R7800 does when powered down. I find once again for my own usage the QoS to be far more very granular on this device. Its a horses for courses router as some may find it a bit complicated and hands on I suppose initially, but it works well and DumaOS is more than an overlay and much more than 'marketing' with its feature set as I see it tbh but that’s just my take on the device. We all have different needs and functions for the devices in our homes so what fits one may not fit another.

 

[Voxel]

DumaOS has very specific gaming features though which makes it stand out as a very different router tbh. I'm using the XR500 now, personally I like its QoS much more that streamboost because its so much more flexible for my needs, I can change the upload and download of each individual device just by typing in how much bandwidth I want to give each device or adjusting it with the Duma 'petal' GUI also QoS on my unit is set set to come on only when I game, or stream once the session is finished it goes back to not using QoS which I prefer as I don't have a need for it as a always on feature. Gaming wise setting a limit for distance to who I connect to and what server I connect to and blacklisting ones I don't want is great with the Geo filter, which means I get to connect to gamers within a certain area as well as servers of my choosing for better pings, and a better online gaming experience.

The router has an auto update feature which is useful too and can be turned off should you want to manually update the firmware instead. As far as devices on the network map I can block individual devices for as long as I want, handy if you have kids or visitors you want to have more control over their usage. It has a DPI engine which the R7800 does not I believe, have which is part of DumaOS so it recognises certain traffic and the way I have it set up switches QoS on only when I game, or if my TV is streaming.

I actually get much further 2.4Ghz coverage than my R7800 but I attribute that to the R7800 ageing, the R7800 being just over two years old, it has been used hard and its performance has waned slightly over time but you cant defy the laws of physics and coverage is pretty much identicle.

The R-Apps are good and more are coming and it has a hybrid VPN so if you want you can separate which devices go though the VPN rather than all traffic. You can also set how much bandwidth to assign to all other devices globally and also help contol bufferbloat, once again this is done by typing it in or adjusting sliders, mines set to 80% of my bandwidth and shared equally to all other devices but giving a little more to my iMac and TV and PS4, you can turn that feature off and manually assign how much each device gets if you want as well. The Network map is much clearer in fact the GUI is great it shows devices that are actively on, and those not using any bandwidth in a separate part of the tree that shows all your devices, and it does not forget your settings in QoS like the R7800 does when powered down. I find once again for my own usage the QoS to be far more very granular on this device. Its a horses for courses router as some may find it a bit complicated and hands on I suppose initially, but it works well and DumaOS is more than an overlay and much more than 'marketing' with its feature set as I see it tbh but that’s just my take on the device. We all have different needs and functions for the devices in our homes so what fits one may not fit another.

IMO it is something like to compare two versions of laptops: hardware is almost identical (except size of HDD) but second (for example) also has more advanced version of Windows and e.g. MS Office included. Some users who need Office will select second more expensive laptop. But if somebody intends to use alternative OS such as Linux, they will save their money selecting first laptop.

Additional money for XR500 is just a cost of DumaOS. And marketing

The router has an auto update feature which is useful too and can be turned off should you want to manually update the firmware instead.

BTW it is already included into R9000/R8900 firmware. I think it will be added to R7800 too in the next releases. 1.0.3.x. To replace my builds automatically .


Voxel.

 

[Voxel]

Additional money for XR500 is just a cost of DumaOS. And marketing

And BTW because of this we should not expect inclusion of this into R7800. Marketing, only marketing.

Voxel.

 

[Voxel]

In my use I didn't find it any better than streamboost QoS for gaming.

BTW, streamboost QoS is just included into XR500. I just see init scripts to run streamboost QoS. Similar to R7800. Version of QoS is 2015.08.13. Perhaps double QoS or so...

Voxel.

 

[avtella]

They took out the page for it. So as good as not available I believe, for the end user I mean.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

My point is, is for the OP to at least give the XR500 a try. I agree there is similarities, however proof is in the operation and performance. IMO, It blows the R7800 out of the water in wifi and gaming performances. Something that NG and even your FW Voxel, can't quite keep up with. These has been tested and tired and true results. you can look at the GPL and some of the code. It's all in how that's implemented. Not saying the R7800 is a bad router either, I love it and still recommend it to those asking.

The DumaOS is tuned for gamers and there environments. There is differences here. I also have there R1 router. No similarities in HW here. It's WELL worth the demo and to try it out. If you really haven't tried one, then you really don't have a perspective idea of the XR500 and how it really works other than to say it's "just like the R7800". When it's really not.

Not here for a contest either. Just here to give the OP a reason to at least try it out for him self, Lets let the people asking questions make there own decisions on what works for them. He might find the XR500 to expensive or may not do what they really want. Maybe the R7800 will be a better choice for them. It's all up to the user to decide.

Enjoy.

 

[Killhippie]

At the end of the day its up to the user what they want but as has been said if you haven’t tried you don’t know and for some it might be a better fit for others the R7800 is a great fit. I’m not saying that the r7800 is not a a good router it is, for me the XR500 is a better router for my needs and has more granular controls. As I said we all like different things but the routers are quite different really. A direct comparison doesn’t work that well because NetDumaOS is so different to netgears offering to use. My view is it has more control for those that want that it’s more for the gaming community and it is a less sit and forget device. Also the QoS fits my needs better than streamboost which is not available in the XR500, and considering the mess that has been for myself since version 1.0 2.38 which was the last time it worked properly for me, I’m happy to leave that behind for now. As to the VPN I didn’t think the r7800 had the ability to separate different traffic though a VPN simultaneously so with the X500 you can have your gaming going through the VPN and maybe your main computer but not your phone or any which way you want to set that up which is very flexible, if the 7800 has that feature now that’s great.

I still have my r7800 as a back up but the XR500 works for my gaming and streaming needs and is far more reactive I think. This is not meant to be a competition, this is just a comparison of similar hardware with different functions And one that has a much more modern and flexible GUI and with tools more suited to the gaming community. And one that is solid and powerful that is designed more to set and forget. Both are great products but aimed at different user bases.

 

[Voxel]

Tastes differ. I am not a gamer (I had to stop playing games long time ago when I found that I am distracted from my primary duties). I believe that XR500 is good because of improved software for some people. But I do not believe miracles. Hardware is the same. I do not think that for my needs XR500 will be faster or will do something better. But I am not ordinary user . My preferences are that these routers should perform some additional job such as temperature monitoring, video surveillance guard, web service, LTE modem support etc. It is too specific...

Well. It is something like: you did not try to type in MS Word. Try it: you will be happy. But I do not need to type anything.

IMO NG did very correct marketing step forward. I am glad that consumers like their movements in this direction. IMO in such evolution:

R7500->R7500v2->R7800->XR500

"R7500->R7500v2" is most significant step (bugs correction). But" R7800->XR500" is just correct marketing. Plus finally re-use of what-is-done (e.g. OpenSSL acceleration). Bravo NG!

Voxel.

 

[avtella]

The point is it’s not better wireless wise, I even posted a review where it did worse in 5Ghz Performance over the R7800. It’s all the same parts with a different casing. Even the FCC filing is the same.... there should be no WiFi differences, if it’s there that means your R7800 is defective. Even Voxel pointed out all the stock Netgear software packages underneath.

I was a tester for Netgear on the project so I definitely tested it and can say its QoS is not that much better, buffer bloat scores to gaming etc in normal use. Its different but I wouldn’t necessarily call it superior.

This is literally an WRT AC3200 vs WTX32X situation. You can even run that Duma stuff on the R7800...Granted I can’t provide the firmware due to NDA, that’s how testing was done, on an R7800.

I think it’s got nice additions with the traffic monitor and a different style QoS and all but my biggest gripe is simply branding things as gaming and making minor changes to “overcharge” people. Anything branded gaming and people will pay a premium for diminishing returns. Cake QoS on OpenWRT performs way better in my testing.

 

[doc octopus]

System info on XR500 indicates that flash memory is 128 MB.
R7800 has bad menus, badly set and difficult to read (ex. the devices connected).
I congratulate Voxel for the effort, I hope Netgear will pay him, he certainly deserves it more than the engineers who work within the company.