Nighthawk X8- R8500 Tri Band Quad Stream WiFi Router

[avtella]

Is this router compatible with jumbo frames? Thanks.

The FAQ says no (8th question on the list). In fact the last 6 devices I tested for them did not either.

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29916/~/r8500-faqs

 

[irev210]

So I've been using the R8500 for a few weeks now and I've been pretty happy. Very solid speeds/stability for me and being able to separate my 5GHz traffic on two radios has seemed to improve performance a bit.

I also like the fact that additional gigabit ports are available though I am not sure if I understand the design decision behind just adding two if they are already paying for the additional switch, why not give us 4+4+wan?

Overall, this is a great router and given the way I use wifi, it is a nice upgrade from the R7000 having the extra 5GHz band. I wouldn't spend $400 on this but at $287 I feel like I got an OK deal. I think $299 with $249 sale prices would have been more appealing.

 

[scoopnog]

I wouldn't spend $400 on this but at $287 I feel like I got an OK deal. I think $299 with $249 sale prices would have been more appealing.

Where did you find it at that price point?

 

[sm00thpapa]

Where did you find it at that price point?

I would like to know also. Cheapest I have seen is $339.99 on Amazon.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[scoopnog]

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=998340

Looks like the new Kong build includes the R8500.

 

[doubleroll]

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=998340

Looks like the new Kong build includes the R8500.

Great news! Prob too soon to try it but very promising.

 

[irev210]

Where did you find it at that price point?

Newegg

33-122-814 NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 - AC5300 Tri-Band Quad-Stream Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (R8500)
1
$299.99
COM DISCOUNT FOR PROMOTION CODE
1
$-15.00

Subtotal:
$284.99
Tax:
$0.00
Gift Wrap:
$0.00
Shipping and Handling:

$0.99
EggPoints:
$0.00
Total Amount:
$285.98

 

[Prozac]

Hello all, long time reader, new forum member. I have to agree with irev210 the r8500 has been rock solid. Like a lot of folks, we seem to have been taken unawares by the explosion of network devices and implements of horror (the latest being a refrigerator with internet diagnostics, promptly blocked since it likes to hog bandwidth). In short the tri-band has helped with bandwidth congestion. Christmas was the big test. We have 7 adult children between us, with a few significant others thrown in, each with smart phones, tablets and laptops, so our house is an internet café on holidays. I did not set up guest networks since our children have been net security conscious for a long time. I did divide all mobile devices, excluding laptops to one 5 GHz band, and laptops and desktops to the other 5 GHz band (SSIDs appropriately named "Mobile" and "Desktop"). The 2.4 GHz is set for Direct TV Genie/Media Server, and other legacy devices like printers.The r8500 took it all like a champ, even a few sessions of FaceTime.

I am a gearhead, and my interest lies mostly with pc hardware. I know enough networking to be dangerous to myself and others, so I rely on real world results. What I can see and use, is my benchmark. I replaced an ASUS RT-AC 68P(U) so that is my latest basis for comparison. I live in a tri-level house, with the router being on the middle level (ground), and users mainly in the home theatre (lowest, basement level) and upper levels including the bedrooms (technically 4th level since basements aren't usually counted). With the ASUS I had to resort to running range extenders and old routers configured as access points. Those are now no longer necessary.

I read the SNB review on the r8500 several times, and while Greek to me in most parts, I did comprehend there should be no appreciable increase in range. My experience has been contrary. Taking a conservative WASG (Wild A** Scientific Guess) I am seeing about a 25% increase in range. This would be a diagonal upward distance (think 7 o'clock to 2 o'clock) of about 90ish feet through 2 flights of stairs, 4 walls and assorted ductwork, wiring and plumbing. It is sitting in a not ideal location on a glass shelf under a LCD TV next to a Blu Ray player, surrounded by the cable modem DTV receiver and DTV cable modem.

I am a gamer, so the capstone for the above mentioned test parameters was a 40 man world boss raid in World of Warcraft with maxed out settings on video (SLI GTX 980 cards), so there was a lot of data being pushed in both directions, compression and all. WoW has a built in meter for signal delay (lag) measured in milliseconds. Additionally it is color coded to monitor at a glance (Green, Yellow, Red). At the peak I was seeing 12 to 14 ms lag, with a frame rate of 96fps on IPV6. IPV4 yielded similar results at 22 to 24 ms lag with 82 fps. For reference, it is considered good to be under 300ms lag at an average fps of 60ish. I am on Time Warner Road Runner cable, with their 50MBps plan. I am on a neighborhood loop that has at least 5 homes attached, but Ookla gives me ping ratings to my Chicago game server relay of 62 to 66MBps on average.

This was with stock out of the box router settings with no QoS or metering, with the latest Netgear firmware, with simultaneous access of mobile devices and Pay For View streaming on the 2.4GHz band. My gaming PC is connected via lan 1 (no switch, not aggregated) and the 5GHz-1 band. There are currently no NAS/USB devices attached.

It is expensive, but appears to be the solution I needed. I did manage to get a pre Christmas sale price of $350 at the local Best Buy (price matched with New Egg and Amazon). Hope this sheds some perspective on the discussions. It may not be the solution for everyone, but it delivers for me currently. Time will tell.

 

[Prozac]

One thing I am a little concerned about, not related to performance is the DC Power in connector. It's not very snug, and the power cord slips out easily. Not good when dusting etc.

 

[monfster]

I purchased this at full price from Best Buy, because I just had to have it. I regret it now - initially spoke to Netgear about problems with the fact that it had absolutely no ipv6 firewall.

They've fixed it with the current beta release, in a sense. There is a firewall, and it blocks every port stealth style. Unfortunately, they neglected to give us a way to turn off the ipv6 firewall, as well as not giving us a way to open a port to a specific IPv6 address behind the router. It blocks so well, that the only way to do an IPv6 traceroute is to use -I to force ICMP packets instead of UDP.

I asked, and they indicate they have no plan to give that ability to the router. I hope the Kong build will do it (does the current Kong build turn on Mu-MIMO?), otherwise I'll probably opt for the ASUS AC5300, which, if it has the same interface as the AC3200, has a very nice IPv6 firewall and the ability to open ports.

 

[scoopnog]

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/30188

New stock firmware out today, version 1.0.2.26

Lower version than the beta, and appears not to have MU-MIMO support from the beta build but includes the other changes.

 

[Random737]

Netgear guy -- what's the word on the security updates (I believe "SSL") from the engineering team?

It's been quite a while so I assume they've responded by now

 

[NETGEAR Guy]

VPN performance has been improved with the recently released fw v1.0.2.26.

Have discussed with engineering regarding the Open SSL version upgrade, however performance improvement hasn't yet occured and we're looking at a future upgrade.

Will keep the post updated.

 

[red_pope]

A quick comparison between the R8500 and the C2600 using the results from Mr.Higgins

I was reading the bench mark test conducted on this router , and it happens that I decided to compare to the NETGEAR R8500 Nighthawk X8 Smart WiFi Router.

The bench test mark results of Mr Higgins in the areas of 2.4 and 5,00 GHz are on favor of the C2600 both superseded the netgear r8500 .

If I was going to upgrade my WIFI the TP-LINK WILL BE MY CHOICE!
​

 

[L&LD]

A quick comparison between the R8500 and the C2600 using the results from Mr.Higgins

I was reading the bench mark test conducted on this router , and it happens that I decided to compare to the NETGEAR R8500 Nighthawk X8 Smart WiFi Router.

The bench test mark results of Mr Higgins in the areas of 2.4 and 5,00 GHz are on favor of the C2600 both superseded the netgear r8500 .

If I was going to upgrade my WIFI the TP-LINK WILL BE MY CHOICE!
​

Your assumptions though are not valid for a lot of people. Not only are the WiFi benchmarks not the most important aspect to consider, but these two models are also not the only routers available either.


And please stop cross posting.

 

[red_pope]

Your assumptions though are not valid for a lot of people. Not only are the WiFi benchmarks not the most important aspect to consider, but these two models are also not the only routers available either.


And please stop cross posting.

Sorry for the cross posting.

But did you bother in reading the WIFI benchmarks that are post it?

Take a look at the results which is not my assumptions.

You will find the difference clearly. Even do, they are both different class of routers. The tp-link as inferior as it looks IT DOES EXCELS! in the areas of 2.4 and 5,00 GHz are on favor of the C2600.


Just pointing the difference, not that I favor any specific maker.

Respectfully
Yes my comments are valid with proof.

 

[L&LD]

Sorry for the cross posting.

But did you bother in reading the WIFI benchmarks that are post it?

Take a look at the results which is not my assumptions.

You will find the difference clearly. Even do, they are both different class of routers. The tp-link as inferior as it looks IT DOES EXCELS! in the areas of 2.4 and 5,00 GHz are on favor of the C2600.


Just pointing the difference, not that I favor any specific maker.

Respectfully
Yes my comments are valid with proof.

I never doubted the validity of the 'proof' you offer. Just pointing out that other factors (not to mention other brands) are able to sway the decision one way or another for reasons that are more (or just as) important to others than simple WiFi performance.

Features such as regular updates to squash bugs, bring new features (as possible) or the most important; close known security holes that have been identified since the model / firmware was initially released.

Just as respectfully,

L&LD

 

[red_pope]

I never doubted the validity of the 'proof' you offer. Just pointing out that other factors (not to mention other brands) are able to sway the decision one way or another for reasons that are more (or just as) important to others than simple WiFi performance.

Features such as regular updates to squash bugs, bring new features (as possible) or the most important; close known security holes that have been identified since the model / firmware was initially released.

Just as respectfully,

L&LD

cool!

 

[RMerlin]

Sorry for the cross posting.

But did you bother in reading the WIFI benchmarks that are post it?

At 3-5% of performance difference, I would consider this to be a non-factor. Firmware features, device reliability and long-term support are far more important than seeing a 3% performance improvement on the 5 GHz band - something that you would never be able to notice outside of a synthetic benchmark. And in these areas, I would go with Netgear before TP-Link any day.

Any performance difference below 7% should be considered either within a margin of error, or invisible in day-to-day use.

 

[red_pope]

At 3-5% of performance difference, I would consider this to be a non-factor. Firmware features, device reliability and long-term support are far more important than seeing a 3% performance improvement on the 5 GHz band - something that you would never be able to notice outside of a synthetic benchmark. And in these areas, I would go with Netgear before TP-Link any day.

Any performance difference below 7% should be considered either within a margin of error, or invisible in day-to-day use.

Rmerlin
Well, like the old saying says: " We live a world of many colors, many different taste, and many smells", choose what you like, at your own desire and risk...

Even do, some routers are real expensive, having the latest gizmos and whistles, sometimes a simple underdog router excels at his best. That was just my findings.