Can someone please explain the difference between RBKE953S (sold at costco) vs RBKE963 sold elsewhere. Comparing the specs they looks exactly the same. Thanks

Amazon $1,499.00 Costco $1,299.99 If a person wants one of these, it would be worth paying for a Costco membership to get "more for less"

If it was only suffix (S) I would not have cared so much but there are other differences like 953 (Costco) vs 963 (elsewhere), AXE10000 (Costco) vs AXE11000 (elsewhere). Do you believe these differences are immaterial too?

According to the data sheet for the RBKE953S vs RBKE963 - the 2.4Ghz band is showing a slightly lower MAX speed. The 953 is 900Mbps max while the 963 has a 1200Mbps max. Screenshots of the particulars from each of the screenshots are attached

Netgear is known for making something "just slightly different" for selling exclusive at costco. For example, the R8000P and the R7960P. They were effectively the same device with "slightly different" features that were limited in firmware. https://deviwiki.com/wiki/Netgear_R7960P This looks to be about the same the 950 series looks like its 2.4ghz radio is 256-qam and not 1024-qam of the 960 series. that makes the 950 a 900mbps 2.4, 2400mbps 5ghz, 2400mbps 5ghz, and a 4800mbps 6ghz=10500mpbs. The 960 series has 1200mbps 2.4ghz, 2400mbps 5ghz, 2400mbps 5ghz, 4800mbps 6ghz=10800mbps. I'd be interested to see if it was actually a hardware difference or just a firmware difference limiting it. Would it actually change performance? not a lot as 2.4ghz is already a slow network. You might see a little more speed in the 2.4ghz range but most higher bandwidth devices should be on the 5ghz anyway.

If you are already a Costco member, the difference in price is enough to get several WiFi 6E adapters and upgrade some PCs to take advantage of the 6GHz channel.

RBKE953S vs RBKE963 | NETGEAR Communities

14 Replies

plemans
Guru
Apr 24, 2022
the S version includes a year of armor and 2 years of pro-support.

Thats the only difference
- Mikey94025
  Hero
  Apr 24, 2022
  plemans wrote:
  the S version includes a year of armor and 2 years of pro-support.
  Thats the only difference
  That's very interesting! Can a Costco member share what the (available only to members) price is for the RBKE953S?
  - CrimpOn
    Guru
    Apr 24, 2022
    Amazon $1,499.00
    
    Costco $1,299.99
    
    If a person wants one of these, it would be worth paying for a Costco membership to get "more for less"
- orbira
  Apprentice
  Apr 24, 2022
  If it was only suffix (S) I would not have cared so much but there are other differences like 953 (Costco) vs 963 (elsewhere), AXE10000 (Costco) vs AXE11000 (elsewhere). Do you believe these differences are immaterial too?
  - plemans
    Guru
    Apr 24, 2022
    My bad. Missed the 5 on that version. I'll have to look a little closer when I'm home and have a PC to look more

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RBKE953S vs RBKE963