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Forum Discussion
RBK50 AC300 vs RBK352/3 AX1800
Hello
I need help understanding which Orbi Mesh system is best for us. We live in a 3-story house with a large garden and thick walls. The house is hard wired throughout, so I have access to ethernet ports virtually in every room that I can use as backhaul if needed. At the moment, we have a 500mgb plan with virgin media, but I won't exclude we will upgrade the plan in the future as our family grows and home working gets established.
As long as I would like to future proof it, I am not ready to invest £500-700 in the latest wifi-6 technology, however I saw that the bi-band Orbi RBK352/353 is very reasonably priced, at the same level as the tri-band RBK 50. Which system would you reccomend? Please note I am not an IT specialist so I cannot deal with complex configurations (such as WAPs).
Thank you in advance
7 Replies
the downfall to the dual band mesh systems is they don't have a dedicated wireless backhaul if you do need it.
And the dual band systems tend to be the base model devices. For example, the RBK353 is a 3 pack that is AX1800. The nighthawk mesh MK63 system has the same specs (different usb ports and a few other differences).
Neither system is going to max out your 500mbps wireless. It will wired but doubtful wireless.
If it was me and I was waiting on prices to drop for the higher quality mesh AX systems?
I'd look at the RBK43 system renewed. Its pretty cheap on amazon and when ran with a hardwired setup, is the equivelent of the RBK53 system.
Plus it gives you the option of the wireless backhaul if needed.
Or I'd look at the MK63 system if you did want a base model ax. A bit cheaper and capable of a wired backhaul as well.
I can and will have them wired, so the wireless backhaul would be surpefluous: I'm more looking for the best (cost effective) wifi signal to max my current broadband, and perhaps handle even more in case we increase it in the future.
The RBK43 is more expensive than the RBK50 right now. I already bought the RBK50 (router + 1 satellite) for £220, but I haven't taken it out of the box yet as I notice the RBK353 (which is advertised as wifi 6) is currently on a deal on amazon making it even cheaper.
Not sure what your prices are but a 2nd satellite is going to help with coverage whether you go with the rbk43, rbk353, or mk63 system.
With the wired backhaul, if the rbk353 or mk63 are cheaper, go that route.
- Identical scenario, but I just bought the rbk352 and thinking should I have gone with the Rbk50? What did it for me, I think, is that the price on Amazon at the moment and that it's a newer model.
I'm not Tech-savvy, just want tidy Wifi 🙂- Hi, I have to say the RBK352 has been brilliant; it sorted many bandwidth issues that we were having, such as multiple devices on the network at once. The speeds are constantly over 200 MBs when plugged in via a Cat cable, and less over WiFi but ample for what we need, e.g. Zoom, Netflix, and online gaming.
We experienced a couple of minor WiFi dropouts last week ( Wifi only), but I am narrowing it down to the ISP Virgin, which is out of my control. I did wire the two satellites together via a Cat 6 cable because our home's stone walls are a WiFi killer.
