This question is more of an inquiry than anything else.... Originally I was going to hold off and order the Nighthawk XR700 from netgear, but ended up buying the XR500 instead since the price was modestly cheaper for a new unit.. I looked over both units and notice that other than the XR700 having 6 ethernet ports (Which 2 turned into a 10g line) They seem to both have the same functioning... is there really much difference between the two routers ? They Both use the Dumas OS, They're both gaming routers, and they both claim to do the same job.... Should have I gone with the XR700 instead ? Might end up going that route after all, My XR500 wont go to waste as I have a family member that's in need of a new router...
Well, the answer to 1 is no, as I don't have any aggrigated devices (Hope I spelled that correctly) As for Plex Media Server No as I have plex on a WD External HD which works fine... Routers should be just that ... Routers.. But as for active antennas.. I'm not sure what that is... As I mentioned in another post that I came from a Linksys EA9500 Maxstream router which was able to stream 4k on 3 sepperate 55" Televisions and still have room for web browsing all on a 75mb connection plan without the slightest jitter or bit of lag.... The XR500 Just can't do it.. .Don't get me wrong... There's nothing wrong with the XR500 as it has a tremendous amount of information about your connection under it's hood which is what I love most about it and sold me on it, But I'm looking for happy medium of both routers... The EA9500 Doesn't have any QOS like the XR500, Nor does it have Bandwidth Monitor, Nor does it have Data Quanity monitoring... It does have a crude version of Prioritizing but it's limited to 3 devices max and really doesn't do anything when you turn it on... Once again, I'm not trying to say the XR500 is a bad router, because it's not... It's actually quite impressive.... But I'm just wondering if the XR700 would be more like my EA9500... The gaming aspect of the XR500 Works flawlessly when playing online games... it does slow all the other connections down so I don't get any lag what so ever. and the device prioritization does the same.... As the main reason I got this router was to be able to control the amount of data going through each device on the network so it doesn't interfear with with my online gaming as some people in this household don't give the slightest crap of other peoples connections when it comes to their own... So... Yes... The XR500 is doing it's job...
comparing the XR500 to a linksys EA9500 is apples to oranges.
Reason why is the EA9500 is a triband device.
the XR500 and XR700 are dual band devices designed for gaming.
In the EA9500, you have 2x 5ghz bands that you can seperate out so you could have 2x tv's on each 5ghz band. 4k uses a significant amount of data and having them on 2 different 5ghz bands is ideal. (hardwired is best)
Maybe you're in a great area and you just need to optimize what wireless radio your on.
The XR500 isn't triband and is quite a bit cheaper for that reason. Its still a bit expensive because of the 10g port.
What you could do? if the EA9500 still works?
Run the XR500 as primary router so you keep all the features you want.
Connect the EA9500 to it and run it in AP (access point) mode. access point mode disables the routing features and leaves them to the primary router. It leaves whe wifi usable and the ethernet ports.
That way you still have the features of the dumaOS with monitoring and you have multiple 5ghz bands to use for seperating out devices.. You'd just want to make sure the wireless channels were seperated out a bit to spread them around.
60GHz 802.11ad WiFi—Ultra-fast WiFi technology for instant downloads and backup< This wireless mode didn't really take hold or take off. It's really been replaced by AX which is starting to take hold.
AD7200 Quad Stream Wave2 WiFi—Up to 4600 (60GHz)+1733 (5GHz)+800 (2.4GHz) Mbps<Aside the 60Ghz which isn't seen on the XR500, you still get support for up to 1733Mpbs on the XR500.
I think you'll be happy with the XR500.
If you want wireless AX modes, then you can turn OFF the wifi radios on the XR router and install something like a Orbi AX MESH in AP Mode or any wifi router that support AX modes, connect it in AP Mode and you'll have upgraded wifi.
10G line is only on the LAN side for those devices that have and support 10Gb connection which for home users isn't alot. Most devices are max 1000Mpbs currently.
I have the XR450 which has the same OS and Hardware as the XR500 sans the 2.4Ghz radio rates are slower on the 450 is all. Been very happy with the XR450. IT also has EX7700s connected for extended wifi coverage. Works wonders.
This question is more of an inquiry than anything else.... Originally I was going to hold off and order the Nighthawk XR700 from netgear, but ended up buying the XR500 instead since the price was modestly cheaper for a new unit.. I looked over both units and notice that other than the XR700 having 6 ethernet ports (Which 2 turned into a 10g line) They seem to both have the same functioning... is there really much difference between the two routers ? They Both use the Dumas OS, They're both gaming routers, and they both claim to do the same job.... Should have I gone with the XR700 instead ? Might end up going that route after all, My XR500 wont go to waste as I have a family member that's in need of a new router...
Thanks for the response, and I also have to appologize forgetting that the EA9500 was a triband... That was something I completely overlooked. What would possess me to think the Guest Network was a sepperate band is beyond me... Your solution might be the answer I was looking for... This would help me by not having to spend more money on hardware and possibly help me achieve the same goal as I was trying to.. As mentioned, I'm extremly impressed with the XR500's GUI and really don't want to loose that as it's proven alrealy to be very benificial.. Just one extra question regarding this, would I be wise to disable the WIFI on the XR500 if the EA9500 is being used as an access point ? I live in an appartment, so I'm not adding an access point to extend the network for distance, but to also give me 8 extra ethernet ports to use.. Unfortunatey I wont be able to give you a respones back on the solution right away due to the fact that I'm going to be tearing this system apart in the next couple of weeks to clean everything (IE:Running wire channels to hide the wires and give this room a new coat of paint) But I will follow up at a later date to let you know how it all worked out.. Once again, I thank you for your advice... It's muchly appreciated..
Thanks for the response... When you say "You'll be happy with the XR500" , believe me rest assured I already am ! If my previous comments came accross as sounding dissatisfied with it, I promose you, it wasn't mean to come across as such. I'm just a person that likes to have everything running like clockwork .. The only thing that could possibly benificial when it comes to the 10G port is if I (Which I'm considering it in the near future, and still up in the air about it) is adding a synology NAS drive, but again... That's up in the air... I don't do huge data transfers to require a model of that calibre. As when it it comes to the Orbi AX Mesh your were reffering to, It's a nice idea, but I just don't wish to fork out even more money if it's not nessacary. I still have a perfectly good working Linksys EA9500 Tri-band router, with access point mode built in.. Although you have given me another option if it comes down to it..
