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r7800 vs r7900

ranand
Aspirant

r7800 vs r7900

Setup: r7800 firmware 1.02 r7900p 1.03
1400 sq ft two floors

All speeds in mbs repeated 5 times

R7800 5ft 190 r7900p 643
20 ft 200 r7900p 225
Upstairs R7800 110 r7900p 95
Downstairs r7800 150 r7900p 215

From the snb and this forum the results run contrary to the expectations. What are any lessons learnt with 7800 to try to correct this?


Message 1 of 12

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ranand
Aspirant

Re: r7800 vs r7900

Ok. Tried a used r7800 which I obtained separately. That worked at 630 mbps at 5 feet. And 415 at 20ft. Mu Mimo was enabled and ht 160 did not make a difference.

Signs of a crippled r7800. Wan port kept dropping out. Also the setup would not allow for an AP mode easily. Compared to r7900p though so far it’s been similar. The price of a used one would make this a choice for the 7800

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Model: R7800|Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Wifi Router
Message 10 of 12

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plemans
Guru

Re: r7800 vs r7900

the last 15 versions of the R7800 firmware have been 1.0.2.xx so just saying your on 1.02 doesn't help a whole lot. 

Your testing doesn't tell us much either.  Many different factors influence wireless speeds which is why its good to use as an indicator of a problem but to nail down exactly why you aren't maxing out your speeds, is a challenge. 

the R7900 is triband, which wireless channels are you connecting on?

Is there much wireless interference in your area (a wireless scan)?

Also device makes a big difference. I've had the same device test remarkably different on the same router.

What are you testing with? Have you tried your testing with several different devices to compare the speeds as well? 

the R7800 also supports 160hz wide channels which is how it enables its faster speeds. Does the device you're testing with support this? Not many devices do (its getting better) or if they do, aren't using it. 

Is QoS turned on? This impacts speeds

I could keep going on with things that impact wireless speeds from time of day testing to housing materials.  For instance, whenever I install a new router in my place, I probably move it 3-4x just to optimize its placement for better speeds. So its tough to tell you why specifically your R7800 isn't faster than the R7900 that you're testing against without a ton more details or playing around on your part. And even with that, we still potentially couldn't tell you.  

Message 2 of 12
ranand
Aspirant

Re: r7800 vs r7900

Good points. 7800 1.0.2.62 7900p 1.0.3.8 All on the same day. Testing for those numbers were with an iPhone XS all on the 5 ghz channel. The 7900p was on the first 5ghz channel. Then using a t480 Lenovo laptop the numbers matched at two spots 6ft and at 20ft. Did not check up and downstairs. Qqs not enabled on both. Not sure how to test differently to your question about the polling method, but the same spots were used with the iPhone to measure the transmission rate. I cannot get insight to work to attach the devices to measure signal strength so use transmission as alternate.

If the channels interference is so severe then I guess the triband 7900p helps?
Message 3 of 12
plemans
Guru

Re: r7800 vs r7900

You can download free programs online for either pc/mac or from an app store for channel scanning. 

Triband does have its benefits. I've got around 20+ 5ghz devices so its nice to seperate them out a little bit. 

Again, wireless speed testing is nice for an indicator of a problem (is there?) or are you just testing to see which device works best for you? 

I test a lot of routers and can get different results each time I test, with different firmwares, different time of days, different wifi channels, etc.

 

I'd recommend playing around with both routers testing different locations, different wifi channels, or even just getting all your devices connected and seeing which device performs the best.  I've got a RAX200 that I've had the best single speed from a router but I still go back to my orbi because its consistantly faster over the whole house and provides better coverage. it might be peak speed slower but its much better at distance. 

Message 4 of 12
ranand
Aspirant

Re: r7800 vs r7900

No problems with the streaming. Actually the only painful part of this was trying to log on to the router!

Your last statement about transmission in addition to coverage is what I am trying to measure. With the gigabit speed I noted the old n class router was maxed out at 70 mbps.

Switching to ac now there are so many recommended levels that’s why I am testing to settle on one. Overall the 7900p coverage is very wide and has been adequate. I thought I must be missing something with the review numbers being as high as 900 mbps for 7800 that I could tap into.
Message 5 of 12
plemans
Guru

Re: r7800 vs r7900

A lot of those high numbers are with 160hz operation under optimimal testing. You need to make sure your router is setup to use 160hz (check to see if enabled and channels selected appropriately) as well as you're testing device supports 160hz channels. 

Message 6 of 12
ranand
Aspirant

Re: r7800 vs r7900

No nighthawk app does not show the options for 160mhz. Is that through the web interface?

Also with the iPhone. Are they capable of the 160 MHz channel allocation use?
Message 7 of 12
plemans
Guru

Re: r7800 vs r7900

Page 67 of the manual has how to enable/disable 160mhz.  I'm not sure if it can be done from the app. I've only done it through the browser gui. 

 

I'm not an apple guy (zero apple products) so I couldn't tell you if iphones do support it or not. I know that it needs to support DFS to work. 

Message 8 of 12
ranand
Aspirant

Re: r7800 vs r7900

Enabled ht160 and dropped to 160 mbps 5ft and 116 20ft with 7800
Message 9 of 12
ranand
Aspirant

Re: r7800 vs r7900

Ok. Tried a used r7800 which I obtained separately. That worked at 630 mbps at 5 feet. And 415 at 20ft. Mu Mimo was enabled and ht 160 did not make a difference.

Signs of a crippled r7800. Wan port kept dropping out. Also the setup would not allow for an AP mode easily. Compared to r7900p though so far it’s been similar. The price of a used one would make this a choice for the 7800
Model: R7800|Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Wifi Router
Message 10 of 12
plemans
Guru

Re: r7800 vs r7900

I'm a fan of the R7800. I don't own one but its gotten good support by the members. With that said, I'm also a fan of triband if you have a lot of 5ghz devices. Good luck with whatever option you end up using! Hope it treats you well

Message 11 of 12
ranand
Aspirant

Re: r7800 vs r7900

The triband does appear to have a wide range. With smart switching I think that would be advantageous for a large pool of devices.

In my 10 devices p the single 5 ghz is sufficient but I wonder if I was in a closer radio proximity if I would better with the tri band
Model: R7800|Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Wifi Router
Message 12 of 12
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