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Forum Discussion
RBKE953S vs RBKE963
Can someone please explain the difference between RBKE953S (sold at costco) vs RBKE963 sold elsewhere. Comparing the specs they looks exactly the same. Thanks
the S version includes a year of armor and 2 years of pro-support.
Thats the only difference
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?
- 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
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.
- worth the price difference? Doubtful. Unless you truly wanted the max 2.4gh speed you could possibly hit. (again, 2.4ghz isn't going to be that fast regardless)
- 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.
I currently have RBK753S and even that has Radio 1 with 1024-QAM for 2,4 GHz. I am not so much concerned about the total speed, but going back from 1024-QAM support to 256-QAM seems losing capabilities. My major concern would be how many devices you could connect. With most smart home devices running at 2.4 GHZ could that be a concern? Some places suggest 256 QAM can support up to 50 connected devices and if that is true, that would be a concern.
Whether the reduced performance 2.4Ghz band is acceptable is a decision you need to make, based on your devices and your finances.
Now that you know what the difference is between the two models (which is what you asked), you need to determine whether the Costco version will fit the need. As I said in one of my earlier posts - the cost difference would give me the opportunity to pay a bit lower for the RBKE953 - and use the difference in the cost to upgrade a couple of my PCs to take advantage of the 6Ghz band with it's additional speed. But that is MY need.
I did not see anywhere when checking 256 QAM vs 1024 QAM that it is a reduction in number of devices supported - only that it is a reduction of speed and if I read it correctly, that it only supports up to 802.11n on the 2.4GHz channel - meaning no AX. But, not sure I have ever really seen a 2.4GHz device that supports AX. That also could have been a misinterpretation on my part as well.