Suggestions on which Orbi system to get

[ben79nz]

Hi there. I am looking for suggestions on what Orbi system to get. I think in terms of coverage for my house the 23 or 50 kit will be fine.
My question is mainly about the speed. 

I have a 100Mbps contested fibre connection (which may be upgraded to 200 in time).

We have 3 TV's, 3 Chromcasts, 2 mobiles, 2 laptops, 2 Alexa, 1 STB (requires cabled ethernet). 

Would the AC2200 RBK23 speed be ok for this setup. Since we have great internet speeds would the lower spec Orbi create a bottleneck and not take advantage of it? 

Thanks

Ben 

[ekhalil]

Two main things to think of:

1. Coverage:

Both the RBK23 and RBK50 have good coverage for -almost- the same area. In fact RBK23 can cover up to 6000 sq ft which the RBK50 is good for 5000 sq ft. Not a big difference, but if you have 3 floors then you might prefer the RBK23 to have good coverage in all floors, otherwise they should be equivalent. The 50 series' physical size is bigger and the base stations have bigger and more powerful antennas so the one base station covers wider area.

2. Throughput:

The 50 series has a backhaul with better throughput (1.7 Gbps in the 50 series while it's 867 Mbps in the 20 series). For 100 Mbps or even 200 Mbps internet the RBK23 should be good enough and will not be a bottleneck.

Other things that you might consider are: number of LAN ports are less in the 20 series. The physical size (as mentioned above) is bigger in the 50 series.

For more information please see:

https://kb.netgear.com/000038220/Which-Orbi-WiFi-System-is-best-for-me

[shadowsports]

Hi Ben,

The RBK23 can provide the bandwidth you need both now, and in the future if your speed is upgraded.  Since I have the first gen Orbi, I'll make the following recommendation.  Buy Orbi from a retailer with a 30 day return policy.  Take it home and put it through its paces.  Make sure it meets your needs.  Amazon has a pretty good deal on this kit currently and has a generous return policy.

@ekhalil 's side by side comparison is excellent.