Every year there's seems to be a new wireless router that comes on the scene regarded as being the fastest and most technologically advanced than what's currently available for consumers. Most routers today, especially those in the high end category, you know the upper echelon priced options have Tri-Band technology and a bevy of other implemented features. What Tri-Band technology is in case you're wondering, it allows a router to have more than one wireless signal, usually it'll have three in total, one 2.4GHz, and two 5GHz frequencies.
Netgear's Nighthawk X10 AD7200 is that, a high end router with the first of its kind to have 802.11ad wireless standard. Its garnished attention from many folks like myself, and with good reason. But before I explain what sets this particular router apart from the rest, let's outline some of its standout features snd specs.
This feature rich router have a uniquely abstract design that resembles something from a sci-fi thriller. Its all black gloss color scheme, adds character to what seemingly already is a impressive router, in the image above this paragraph notice how well placed LED signal indicator.
But what's under the hood of Netgear's flagship router? Well there's lot here going on here, starting with a very powerful 1.7GHz quad-core processor, probably the only router of its kind to have a processor this powerful, it also carries 512MB DDR3 RAM. Adding to what's already a powerful router is FOUR enhanced active dual-band antennas with powerful amplifiers ( not exactly under the hood but its hardware so you get the point ). You'll find the usual Ethernet ports which in the case of the Nighthawk X10, there's seven ports in total, 1 WAN and 6 LAN (six gigabit Ethernet LAN ports), two USB 3.0 ports. And of course what's a router without its secured encryption, the Nighthwak X10 have the 64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK. There is also implicit and explicit Beamforming for 2.4GHz and 5GHZ bands. What Beamforming does for those curious about this technology is in simplistic term its WiFi that focuses its signal in one direction, reducing overall interference.
Great hardware along with some standard features seen in most high-end expensive routers, you got that. But here's where the router stands out from the rest on the market, aside from having the already mentioned 802.11ad wireless standard, it has a 60GHz band which I'm sure no router on the market have. In theory, it can deliver up to 7Gb/s of bandwidth across all three bands, which can be accomplish with the AD7200 moniker. That's a big bump up from the 1.7Gb/s.
This technology from all the information I've read is not a successor to 802.11ac, its more of a specialize wireless technology that's supremely fast, best use for short ranges in most end-user environments. The 802.11ad wireless standard is said to offer excellent range at low latency, which means it does not output a lot of power. The technology do not penetrate walls and objects, it must rely on beam forming in most spacious residential setups.
The Nighthawk X10 router is perfect if you plan on transcoding video in 4K, it has a built-in Plex server which has the ability to stream high-def content without the need for any NAS. You'll still need to connect a USB storage device the X10 to stream movies, so yes the number of devices will not be reduced. I want to add before concluding this post, the Nighthawk X10 supports Wave-2 MU-MIMO technology, this supports up to four devices across B/G/N/AC bands, and just one stream for 802.11ad. The Wave-2 technology that's within this router also supports 160MHz channles that have a built-in functional back-up that's connected to the Amazon Cloud.
So I've outlined Netgear's Nighthawk X10 features and specs, I must say they're quite impressive, but at a $500 retail price, is it worth the purchase? Probably not, since you can purchase routers on the market that's almost comparable to what Nighthawk X10 offers minus the 60GHz frequency, and minus the 802.11ad wireless standard.
I need to really test this router in the studio to determine whether or not its superbly fast. In reading all the write ups from several published websites, it's confirmed to be the worlds fastest consumer router on the market. Question, would you sacrifice a great deal of money for high performing feature rich device like that of Netgear's Nighthawk X10? To answer that question I say yes, if it guarantees consistent high grade performance.