This topic has been marked solved and closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
I previously owned an Asus RT-AC66U and it needed external fans to cool it as it could not passively cool itself sufficiently. Does the Nighthawk XR500 need external fans as well to cool it or is it recommend to help maintain performance or extend the life of the router? I'm just curious if it can passively cool itself without any throttling or degradation.
Hi EXE, I agree with Raptor's conclusion. Routers generally are designed to be 'always on' and so use little power. The XR500 has vents on the front, back and underside so as long there is nothing restricting the airflow in those locations then you should be fine to leave it as is.
I actually checked mine yesterday after being plugged in for a week. It's coolish warm in the center and you don't really feel any heat coming out of the vents.
Compared to the Nighthawk R7000 the XR500 stays a lot cooler. So I don't think there is a need for external cooling.
Hi EXE, I agree with Raptor's conclusion. Routers generally are designed to be 'always on' and so use little power. The XR500 has vents on the front, back and underside so as long there is nothing restricting the airflow in those locations then you should be fine to leave it as is.
I keep my XR500 behind glass doors in my entertainment center, whcih previously I could not with my AC66U.
I have had it in there for a few weeks and check it regurlarly, so far no issues at all 🙂 (and it is in there with my smart home stuff, battery backup, switch, modem, etc).
I would definitely say heat is a non-issue for the XR500.
That's good to know! I definitely wasn't able to keep the Asus behind glass doors either but it sounds like the Nighthawk will be just fine in the open. Thank you for all the input and info! I will update this if anything changes!
