Nighthawk X8- R8500 Tri Band Quad Stream WiFi Router

[thiggins]

Can someone tell me the benefits/consequences of using the same SSID and password for all three bands (2ghz + both 5ghz)? I have smart connect enabled.

NETGEAR's implementation of SmartConnect does not support band-steering. So there is no benefit other than not having to remember two SSIDs.

 

[avtella]

I found having 2.4/5Ghz with same SSID can be detrimental for things requiring high bandwidth such as file transfers to a NAS or another computer on the network as you maybe on the 2.4 Ghz band and not the 5Ghz band. However you could set your adapter properties to 5Ghz only, but then might have issues at very long ranges in comparison to 2.4Ghz.

 

[Random737]

Does the r8500 intentionally try to place devices on whichever band is most optimal? That is, how does the unit decide whether a device should be on 2.4 or 5?

And does it know to assign nearby devices to 5ghz and then switch the devices to 2.4ghz if they are suddenly moved farther away? Or is all of this just totally random when 2.4 and 5 SSID's are identical?

Thanks so much

 

[thiggins]

NETGEAR has not enabled band steering on either of its tri-radio "Smart Connect" routers. I've heard there is a beta for the R8000 that enables band-steering. No beta for the R8500.

 

[m3tpe]

Currently on sale at amazon for 299$. should i get it to replace my ac87u from asus?

 

[RMerlin]

Currently on sale at amazon for 299$. should i get it to replace my ac87u from asus?

Do you actually need triple bands?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[scoopnog]

Currently on sale at amazon for 299$. should i get it to replace my ac87u from asus?

Looks like they are matching Best Buy's price that came out in the store mailer today which is also available online.

 

[connorm]

Do you actually need triple bands?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

i know i am not who you asked

but for me its the only tri band router that doesnt look stupid

im actually interested in this product, the only other router then R7000 i would consider replacing it with would be the RT-AC3100 or the X8 - R8500, have also been considering new UBNT AC Lite ( i have not been a fan of asus router design since RT-AC66U)

this 6+ antenna designs are starting to look very silly if i do say so myself, certainly not anything i wanna look at every day

netgears new antenna design is very smart, and putting the other 2 radios on the inside is perfectly fine with me, its not like you need a second 5GHz with the same range as the 1st, and its not like internal 2.4 isnt gonna outdo external 5GHz, so 2.4GHz might be hit, but i dont wanna use 2.4GHz anyway

i also heard RT-AC87U isnt that great and IMO that router was a big fail on asus part and scared me away from new asus product, i would have probably ripped out all my hair by now waiting for the 5GHz radio to start LOL

 

[sm00thpapa]

Currently on sale at amazon for 299$. should i get it to replace my ac87u from asus?

Nope get the 88U the 87U is history.

 

[NightOwl326]

Maybe not Tim. This was I recall hearing from a product briefing a few months back. Let me check with them for a current date.

Bob Silver
Netgear Networking Advisor

Well?

 

[thiggins]

Review is up
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...r8500-nighthawk-x8-smart-wifi-router-reviewed

 

[RMerlin]

Review is up
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...r8500-nighthawk-x8-smart-wifi-router-reviewed

What cipher are you using in your OpenVPN tests?

 

[thiggins]

I just generated the file via the GUI and used it. Looks like AES-128-CBC.

 

[RMerlin]

I just generated the file via the GUI and used it. Looks like AES-128-CBC.

Ok, that's the ideal cipher then. OpenSSL has improved performance with that cipher. However I think Netgear is still using an older OpenSSL version which lacks the recent ASM-level optimizations for AES. That would explain part of the lackluster OpenVPN performance. They need to update to OpenSSL 1.0.2 if they haven't done so yet.

 

[irev210]

Well, I've been itching to try a tri-band router and pulled the trigger at $285.98 from newegg. The $400 was way too steep. Even at $286 I feel like I spent a bit more than I should have.

It was somewhat sobering to read the review. Tim, thank you for taking the time to test it. I feel like I could have saved $100 by getting a standard AC3200 instead of this. Maybe future firmware updates will help? Anyway, it's good to know that the better performance is on the lower 5GHz band and stick with putting devices that are closer to the router (xbox, laptops) on the upper 5GHz and cellphones on the lower 5GHz for better range.

 

[kvic]

Review is up
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...r8500-nighthawk-x8-smart-wifi-router-reviewed

5G uplink and downlink max throughputs are both less than 600Mbit/s when doing 3x3.

I assume both r8500 and ac88u based on the same brcm platform. The above throughputs are quite contrary to some ac88u users are experiencing. They are seeing more than 750Mbit/s throughout.

Would be interesting to see if that's illusion or indeed asus gets something more right..

Thanks for the detailed write up. Waiting for the asus one.

 

[sm00thpapa]

Well, I've been itching to try a tri-band router and pulled the trigger at $285.98 from newegg. The $400 was way too steep. Even at $286 I feel like I spent a bit more than I should have.

It was somewhat sobering to read the review. Tim, thank you for taking the time to test it. I feel like I could have saved $100 by getting a standard AC3200 instead of this. Maybe future firmware updates will help? Anyway, it's good to know that the better performance is on the lower 5GHz band and stick with putting devices that are closer to the router (xbox, laptops) on the upper 5GHz and cellphones on the lower 5GHz for better range.

This is why you don't run out and buy something new without any reviews first. Something I learned years ago. I want the 88U but I will not buy it until Tim's review.

 

[NightOwl326]

Review is up
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...r8500-nighthawk-x8-smart-wifi-router-reviewed

Does your testing method answer the Netgear claim for this router that the active antennas would be of benefit to low powered clients such as smart phone?

Thanks....Scott

 

[sfx2000]

from the review...

Why?

• Even with its amplified antennas, the R8500's wireless performance isn't better than its competition where buyers want it: range. And to make matters worse, NETGEAR's Smart Connect algorithms will steer highest performance devices to its high-band radio, which uses the internal non-amplified antennas.
• You won't get the advertised maximum link rates, even when connected to an R8500 in bridge mode, sitting in the same room.
• USB 3.0 connected write storage performance is half the best available from less expensive routers and only about the same for read.
• The R8500 runs with the pack for wired routing performance. But if you're looking for outstanding OpenVPN throughput, the R8500 doesn't have it.
• Although advertised as a 4x4 MU-MIMO router, the feature is still in development. It remains to be seen if NETGEAR will make its promised "before the end of 2015" MU-MIMO release date. Even if it does, MU-MIMO readily-available MU-MIMO devices (at least in the U.S.) are still about a year away. MU-MIMO routers deliver no benefit to devices that don't support MU-MIMO

Some thoughts from someone that has actually designed router/AP's...

1) Injection Noise - been there, done that - four antennas on the radiated package across 3 radios - they're basically desensing each other, and the "active" amps on the one 5G radio aren't helping things there...

2) See issue one above - it's an analog RF issue - been there myself with devices with multiple radios and limited antennas...

3) The USB3 perf isn't bad actually, just pales perhaps to some others...

4) Routing performance - no issues there, pretty much same as any AC1900 and higher - we're pretty much at saturation point with current Cortex-A9 (and similar) SoC's...

5) OpenVPN perf - might be a tuning issue with the libraries - OpenSSL has done some updates, and perhaps Netgear hasn't pulled them in - this is an easy fix for them

6) MU - I think Netgear has likely made the right choice here, putting off the feature for a bit on a flagship device - there's plenty of interop issues that still need to be sorted between the different vendors from an AP/Device perspective...

 

[sfx2000]

Does your testing method answer the Netgear claim for this router that the active antennas would be of benefit to low powered clients such as smart phone?

I think it proves that it's an engineering dead-end...