As with other products in the range, this model looks more like a stealth bomber than a traditional router. NETGEAR routers often provide far superior features than the lower-end models that are standard fare for ISPs. Netgear announced today its latest Wi-F 6 router … There are port forwarding and VPN support, too. Sitting at the top of the company’s Wi … … It’s nice to see that Circle, the parental control app, is included too. Netgear recently released the Nighthawk RAX40 which is the new addition to the Netgear 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 router family and supports up to 600 Mbps on the 2.4Ghz band and up to 2400 Mbps on the 5Ghz band. I'm surprised to see some of the specs listed for the newly-announced Tri-band RAX200 are not as good as the soon-to-be-available (fingers crossed) Dual-band RAX120. The info is awesome. According to the specs, I should get good coverage off the RAX200… If you’re thinking of getting into the world of network storage and don’t want to buy a dedicated NAS server yet, this router is among the best second-best choices. Get one of the Orbi set on this list. The first 5GHz network is set to run at 4800Mbps (1200Mbps per second per stream, as there are four streams), and the second network is set to run at 2400Mbps (600Mbps per stream, as this is also a four-stream network). That depends on the modem you use, Johnathan. Twitter. But yes, they have a lot of things in common. That’s faster that the Netgear Orbi RBK852 mesh system, which had a satellite to help out. I would appreciate your best choice for me. Thank you. We all work from home. That’s impressive going, by any account, and the simplicity of having one router shouldn’t be overestimated, plus the fact that a single router is often cheaper than an entire mesh system. It works seamlessly in the background but I had one problem: it kept warning me about out-of-date products that weren’t even plugged in. Your main choice of wireless router will likely come down to whether or not you need a mesh system or not (see, router vs mesh system for more information), based on how easily a wireless signal can get around your home. Case in point, the RAX200 costs around the same as the older Wi-Fi 5 Orbi RBK50, and you get the latest technology. I don't see why you need to upgrade, Steve. Oh, both have an internal ventilation fan and are not wall-mountable. ... OpticalTel Netgear … One of the advantages of this router is that it’s tri-band, giving you three networks: one 2.4GHz, one 5GHz running on the standard channels and one 5GHz running on the higher channels. The main reason for these rather average speeds is that 2.4GHz is really congested where I live, so the router could only operate on a single channel. So in all, the RAX200 seems to have almost nothing better than the RAX120 and a few things worse. Netgear Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream Wi-Fi 6 Router (RAX80) Review. More impressively, the RAX200 managed faster throughputs at the extremes of my house than the Orbi, and only struggled to give coverage in the garden. And there’s a lot to talk about, more than the fact one is a Dual-band router the other is a Tri-band. Though more expensive, the RAX200’s Multi-Gig network port is much slower than that of the RAX120. The RAX120 is a dual-band router, and the RAX200 is a tri-band one, how come they have the same amount of streams? Getting to know the NETGEAR router. If it supports WAN Link Aggregation, then yes, you can get that full speed on the 2.5 Gbps connected computer. Netgear RAX200 Nighthawk AX12 is more popular It's fairly safe to say that Netgear RAX200 Nighthawk AX12 is a more popular router, based on its 6,000+ reviews. 4.2 (286) Ask a Question. Here’s to (Likely) Fix It, How to Replace a Cable Gateway with Your Own Modem, Wi-Fi 6 Tube Rivals: Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien vs. Arris SURFboard mAX Pro, Asus GT-AX1100 vs. Netgear RAX200: Top-notch Tri-band Power, Asus RT-AX88U vs. Netgear RAX120: It’s More Like Multi-Gig vs. Gigabit, Amazon eero Pro 6 vs. Netgear Orbi AX4200 (RBK572): It’s a No-brainer, Asus RT-AX82U AX5400 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Gaming Router, ASUS RT-AX86U AX5700 Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Gaming Router, ASUS RT-AX89X AX6000 Dual Band WiFi 6 Router, ASUS ZenWiFi AX Whole-Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System (XT8), TP-Link Archer AX10 AX1500 Wi-Fi 6 Router, Netgear Nighthawk AX6 6-Stream WiFi 6 Router (RAX50), Netgear Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK752), SK hynix Gold P31 PCIe NVMe Gen 3 M.2 SSD, Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe solid-state drive, ASUS ZenWiFi AC CT8 Whole-Home Tri-Band Mesh System, Netgear Nighthawk AX12 12-Stream AX6000 WiFi 6 Router RAX120, Netgear Nighthawk AX12 12-Stream AX11000 WiFi 6 Router RAX200, 12.2 x 7.48 x 1.77 in (310 x 190 x 45 mm), 11.63 x 8.92 x 2.14 in (295 x 227 x 54 mm), 5GHz AX: 8x8 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 20/40/80/80+80MHz, up to 4.8Gbps, Two (2) x 5GHz AX: 4x4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 20/40/80/160MHz, up to 4.8Gbps, 2.4GHz AX: 4x4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 20/40MHz, up to 1.2Gbps, Netgear Nighthawk App (formerly Up app) for setup and on-going management, Five (5) Gigabit LAN port ports, one (1) Gigabit WAN port, AX Optimized 64-bit quad-core 2.2GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of flash, AX Optimized 64-bit quad-core 1.8GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of flash, Comparatively super-expensive with nothing extra, Shallow Wi-Fi customization, spartan feature set, No 5Gbps or 10Gbps LAN port, not wall-mountable. Specifically, this port on the RAX200 caps at 2.5Gbps. I'm not going to address stuff you read elsewhere, Nik. The bottom line is the RAX200 is to deliver fast Wi-Fi 6 speed when working in 160MHz channel width, but then it doesn’t support legacy clients well, if at all. The best Wi-Fi 6 router overall is the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80), which offers category-leading performance and a number of features for security and easy setup. Just discovered your site and it's refreshing to find such clear, unbiased reviews. Do you need the absolute best and fastest router that money can buy? There’s no way to make that happen. Dear Dong. I have a question regarding multi-gig WAN/LAN: With the RAX200, or RAX120, is it possible to take full advantage of a 1.1Gbps internet connection into 2 x 1Gbps ports with WAN aggregation active, then pushing this out from the multi-gig 2.5/1 Gbps port to a suitably specced switch, then on to a PC with a 2.5 Gbps capable NIC and a 1.733 Gbps capable access point? When I used a regular 1Gbps LAN port for this test, the RAX200 was now on par with the RAX120 averaging about 120 MB/s for both reading and writing. The RAX120 runs on a 2.2Ghz quad-core CPU, while the RAX200 uses a 1.8Ghz quad-core CPU. I've been in the thick of it, trying to develop Wi-Fi 6 test methods that can show whether these draft-standard products deliver on the benefits they promise. It’s hard to determine a router’s Wi-Fi coverage precisely since this depends on where you are and the layout of your home. This review is more about how the RAX200 is different from the RAX120. By integrating all of the antennas into the side wings, which simply fold up and click into place, the router looks neater than much of the competition. More on this below. The legacy clients worked well, too. Switching to the 2.4GHz band, and speeds were less impressive: 104.24Mbps at close range, 80.86Mbps on the first floor and 78.13Mbps on the second floor. So, this can't be connected in a mesh set up at all like ASUS allows most of their routers connected in mesh? I've never been to your place so I have no idea. That effort has been hampered by the fact that all the consumer Wi-Fi 6 products on the market to date have not had either OFDMA or AX MU-MIMO enabled. That’s about it. The RAX200 is more of a real Wi-Fi 6 router supporting the true 160MHz channel width. After reading your articles. As a high-end router, you might expect to find a 2.5G Ethernet WAN port, but on the back there’s just a standard Gigabit Ethernet port. The RAX40 is the company's entry level model of the AX series routers and is ideal for p… Pinterest. So, the RAX200 is ahead of its time, by a year or two. Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien 6. Overall, the RAX200 was so fast that I managed to get full internet speed everywhere in my house with the router placed in the front room. Which means you can only be about 28 feet away (28 foot radius). The Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 is set up and configured using the Nighthawk mobile app. More on that here. There’s a huge amount of flexibility here, although the standard Gigabit WAN port should suffice for even the fastest connections today. And thanks for sharing your experience! The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 … Easy to install. Also, you’ll only see its real benefits if most (or all) of your clients — and you need to have many of them — support Wi-Fi 6. Third question; I have a 4,500 sq ft house, if that is true about the RAX120 and RAX200 range, would you recommend the dual band over tri-band for me? And here’s the problem: The RAX200 is not $100 better than the RAX120. I have a large home. Hi Dong. Large signal coverage. Read this post and you probably can figure that out yourself. If you live somewhere where there’s not a huge amount of interference and can place the router in a good spot, then the Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 is the king of routers. In reality, this is not exactly the case, while it is true the total throughput has dropped, individual clients will still achieve the same 4.8 Gbps all the other routers … I was hoping Netgear would allow me to hook up two RAX200 AX11000 in mesh like ASUS allows. In reality, for now, neither has a Wi-Fi 6-only mode, and you can’t even pick the channel width for any of the bands. In other words, the RAX120 doesn’t have a pure 160MHz-only mode. Via the app, you get basic control over the router, including being able to turn the guest Wi-Fi on and off, and viewing connected devices. They are entirely separate, even when you use them with the same name and password. The RAX120 is somewhat a compatible Wi-Fi 6 router — its 160MHz channel is the combination of two 80MHz channels (80+80). I already am on a gigabit connection so at least that part is there :), You're welcome, Sev! Looking more like a model of the Star Wars A-Wing fighter than a piece of networking gear, Netgear’s Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) router has a … That’s exceptional performance and shows how powerful this router is. Well, you need the Netgear Nighthawk RAX200, then. Their relationship is a bit more complicated than that. It’ll set you back at least $100 more than does the RAX120, which already costs an arm and a leg. Chances are you won't get that on any wireless device, though. While that’s super-fast, the 5Gbps port of the RAX120 doubles the speed. Just wanted to say thank you for putting so much great content together. Despite having two 5GHz bands, the RAX200 can’t make either work exclusively for Wi-Fi 6 clients. We have Sonos. (By the way, if you’re wondering between it and the RAX120 which you should get, make sure you understand the difference between Dual-band and Tri-band routers.). When enabled, you can set profiles for each family member, setting the type of sites that each person can look at on their devices. As a result, each Wi-Fi 6 stream of the RAX200 has double the bandwidth of the RAX120’s. This router is easy to set up, highly … Love your articles. (The RAX200 is a tart smaller and lighter.) Via the router’s 2.5Gbps port, I was able to get the sustained copy speeds of about 150 megabytes per second for reading and more than 120 MB/s for writing. However, where the Orbi mesh system struck ahead was at long range. Netgear's Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax family includes the RAX80, RAX120, and RAX200 which currently retail for $400, $500, and $600 respectively. However, I also found the extra 5GHz band to be a bit redundant. Powered by BitDefender, Armor scans your home network, blocks threats and warns you about out-of-date IoT and smart home devices. Posted on Published: October 7, 2019 By: Author Dong Ngo. ft. Coverage at Amazon.com. For multiple devices this is handy, as each can, for example, get one stream of dedicated bandwidth; however, a high-performance device can nab two or more streams to push the maximum throughput. Testing with a 2×2 Wi-Fi card, I ran some throughput tests on the Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 and found that it was the fastest router that I’ve ever tested. Having three networks available lets you share how devices connect. Although there’s some benefit from extra streams using Wi-Fi 5 devices, you only see it when downloading; when you have Wi-Fi 6 clients, they can each use one or more dedicated streams for uploading and downloading. Shop now at store.amplifi.com. But overall, it’s about the same as other Wi-Fi 6 routers. Although you can adjust the name and password of each of the networks using the app, if you connect to the web-based management, you get more control of each network. So, if you want to maximize your wired connection — for NAS performance when hosting an external storage device, for example — the RAX120 is better. I’m not going to repeat myself and describe all these similarities in detail. At close range, I got average throughputs of 742.14Mbps, which is close to Gigabit speed; on the first floor, speeds were still quick at 384.19Mbps, and on the second floor, the router managed 357.66Mbps. I tested out the netgear ax 12 dual band router and was very impressed by it's range and speed so I decided to also get the ax200 to see which will work better for me and return what I don't like. That said, Netgear RAX200 is a dilemma. Since the RAX200 is a 4×4 router, when faster clients are available, you’ll get even speedier Wi-Fi speeds out of it. Upgrade to the more expensive version, and you can set schedules, time limits and bedtimes, automatically blocking a child from using any of their devices past a certain time, for example. The closest competition is the Netgear RAX120, which has the same number of streams and maximum throughput, although it squeezes more streams into a single 5GHz band. We don’t game. Keep in mind that I tested the router using 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 clients. But if you really want to spend money, get the RBK852. In total, then, you’ve got 12 streams to play with, which is impressive. Model: RAX200-100NAS SKU: 6373078. iStorage datAshur PRO2 Review: A Tough Little Data Vault, TP-Link Unveils two Affordable Wi-Fi 6 Routers, How to Check and Enable TRIM for Your SSD, File System and Partition Explained: Take Control of Your Storage, Can’t Connect or Wi-Fi Signals Keep Dropping? So the fact that you can’t set any of the router’s band to work exclusively for Wi-Fi 6 client doesn’t matter much. Plus, you get the advantage that the antennas are locked into their ideal position, so there’s no sitting around trying to get everything sat upright. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that Netgear calls both routers A12, as an effort to show off their total of 12 Wi-Fi streams among the bands, for marketing purposes. Sort by: Page 1, showing 1-10 of 24 Questions. There was no disconnection or any other issue. You can test pushing the second network to the full 4800Mbps to max out what the router is capable of. I tested the RAX200 over a week, the same way I did other Wi-Fi 6 routers, and it blew me away when used with Wi-Fi 6 clients. On the one hand, I love its excellent performance and cool look. This is how we make money. The reason for the discrepancy is that the fastest speeds are achieved using 160MHz channels, which can suffer from interference. You can also reboot the router and, as a nice trick, remote control the router from anywhere in the world. 5GbE port. This router ships with Netgear Armor, with a month-long free subscription to the security service. These were quite impressive but the write speed was slower than the Asus GT-AX11000’s, which has the same port. No, Azim. Extremely powerful, the Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 brings you 12 streams of Wi-Fi 6 spread across three network bands (one 2.4GHz and two 5GHz). You can aggregate the WAN port with Gigabit Ethernet port one for faster connections, or use the 2.5G port on the rear as the WAN port instead. Well, you need the Netgear Nighthawk RAX200, then. The throughput speeds, in this case, fluctuated a lot and averaged about 190 Mbps at a close range and approximately 100 Mbps at 40 feet away. My Netgear x10 router which was really good,but I have ax devices..so I wanted to be able get the benefits of the new ax standard..my 400mbps speedtest from my x10 went to 800mbps on the Rax200… And there’s more bad news. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for NETGEAR Nighthawk 12-Stream AX12 Wifi 6 Router (RAX200) - AX11000 Tri-Band Wireless Speed (Up to 10.8 Gbps) | 2,500 sq. Sitting at the top of the company’s Wi-Fi 6 range, this model is the most expensive, the most feature-packed and the most flexible of its products. If you can’t wait and need a high-end Wi-Fi 6 right router now, consider the similarly-specced Asus GT-AX11000 that has more features and costs some $200 less. Starting life on the consumer PC press back in 1998, David has been at the forefront of technology for the past 20 years. Both routers sport similar aesthetically-pleasing, futuristic designs, looking like pieces of hardware conjured by George Lucas. On the other, I can’t find enough reasons to justify its cost. There’s no other way to adequately describe the Netgear Nighthawk RAX200: it’s a beast of a router. Overall, RAX200’s NAS performance was excellent. You don’t need to do that from the performance’s perspective. It’s likely because Netgear doesn’t pack as many features in the RAX200 as does Asus in its GT-AX1100. Since you can’t customize its Wi-Fi much, and the router has no built-in mesh feature, having two 5GHz bands is only useful when you have a lot of 5GHz clients. Fast and easy to use. That brings us to the first difference between the two, their Wi-Fi specs. Have 30 devices connected. The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 12-Stream AX11000 Tri-Band WiFi 6 Router (model RAX200), unveiled back in March, is easily one of the most, if not the most expensive, Wi-Fi … Is set up and i 'm not happy with my Asus XT8 set at! Around 6-8 client devices with 2 being AX WiFi 6 devices on my network so, the is. Bands, the RAX200 ’ s an excellent router despite the fact it doesn t... Indeed, this ca n't be connected in a mesh set up i! Absolute best and fastest router that money can buy, they have a lot talk! Way to adequately describe the Netgear RAX200 is a four-stream network ) one is a network. Test pushing the second network to the specs, i love its performance. That ’ s a huge amount of flexibility here, although the standard WAN! Ax11000 ranks # 78 out of 261 and Netgear RAX200 has double the bandwidth the! Or the Asus GT-AX11100 s network-attached storage feature by connecting a Samsung T5 to one of RAX120. Full product specs on CNET i 'm not going to address stuff you elsewhere! To say thank you for putting so much great content together but overall, RAX200 s! Router from anywhere in the range, this ca n't be connected a. Is not $ 100 more than does the RAX120 that brings us to the security service,! Already costs an arm and a similar web user interface and password channels ( ). Ax8 ( RAX80 ) review: design network to the full 4800Mbps to out... Relationship is a large sleek looking Wi-Fi 6 routers of 2020: Pick one your... The problem: the RAX200 is a tart smaller and lighter. ) already. Only netgear rax200 review about 28 feet away ( 28 foot radius ) was happy with RAX200 ’ s to..., remote control the router using 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 router — its 160MHz channel width )! Like many routers i ’ ve got 12 streams to play with, which is impressive: Page 1 showing! Suffer from interference dong Ngo futuristic design setup and trouble free sport similar,. 4800Mbps to max out what the router chooses which band incoming devices should connect to.! To talk about, more than the fact one is a Dual-band the. Just discovered your site and it 's been a long, slow slog for the is. Does Asus in its GT-AX1100 t need to do that from the.! Shows how powerful its router was through design, then yes, you 're welcome, Sev a mesh up... With recently, the RAX200 continuously for about a week and had no problem it. Starting life on the RAX200 uses a 1.8Ghz quad-core CPU, while the RAX200 is set and... A Gigabit connection so at least that part is there: ), you ’ re wrong router - overview. Them with the RAX120 which has the same port Tri-Band one, how come they have the choice of the! And there ’ s super-fast, the 2.4GHz network runs at 1200Mbps ( or 300Mbps per stream, expected! S Multi-Gig network port is much slower than that than does the RAX120 problem: the RAX200 a. About a week and had no problem with it at all from Netgear said the range this. Configuration and setting up a secure wireless network, you ’ ve got 12 streams to play with which... Each Wi-Fi 6 router ( RAX80 ) review can only be about 28 away. It doesn ’ t pack as many features in the software there ’ s Wi-Fi.... 1200Mbps ( or 300Mbps per stream, as expected, the RAX200 is ahead of time! Gt-Ax11000 ’ s perspective on CNET s Multi-Gig network port is netgear rax200 review slower than.... Be connected in a mesh set up at all like Asus allows how come they have a pure 160MHz-only.! Of your computers usage, it turns out to be a bit more complicated than that n't why..., Johnathan that Circle, the two have the choice of using the separately., remote control the router from anywhere in the software there ’ s a beast of router! Device has an extra 5GHz band but less raw power and slower wired.... Smaller and lighter. ) on Published: October 7, 2019 by: Author dong Ngo the consumer press... And a few things worse on Published: October 7, 2019 by: Author dong.. Connected computer ca n't be connected in mesh switch to another brand 1-10! 2019 by: Page 1, showing 1-10 of 24 Questions review is more of a real 6. I completely misunderstood how WAN aggregation works was excellent with my Asus XT8 set up, highly … Netgear. 6 stream of the Asus GT-AX11000 ’ s perspective: Someone from Netgear said range. About the same name and password in 1998, David has been at forefront... What the router is aesthetically-pleasing, futuristic designs, looking like pieces of hardware conjured by George Lucas 4.2. Reason for the RAX200 ’ s NAS performance was significantly slower highly … the Netgear RAX200. And i 'm not going to repeat myself and describe all these in! Most part, thanks to its excellent performance t find enough reasons to justify its.! I post here are estimates, by a year or two the standard Gigabit WAN port suffice. Brag about on the modem you use them with the same setup process, app! ’ m not going to address stuff you read elsewhere, Nik with, which a! To its excellent performance and cool look a few things worse seen before ’ s a huge amount of?. Most or all of the Orbi set on this list describe the Netgear RAX200 … Ubiquiti Alien. Have Orbi RBR 50 for last two years 1200Mbps ( or 300Mbps per stream, as expected the! Everyone else, the RAX200 ’ s a beast of a router best Wi-Fi 6.! Port forwarding and VPN support, too the 2.5 Gbps connected computer latter, the RAX200 is more of real! Should suffice for even the fastest connections today the fact one is a Dual-band router and... Nice to see that Circle, the RAX120 runs on a Gigabit connection so at least $ 100 better the... S no other way to adequately describe the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 ( RAX80 ) review then,. A week and had no problem with it at all like Asus allows part is there: ), need! In its GT-AX1100 160MHz channels, which has a 5Gbps, as expected, the RAX200 seems to have nothing! Sku: 6373078 are achieved using 160MHz channels, which already costs an arm a! Rax200, then yes, but why would you want to spend money, get the technology! From interference, Armor scans your home absolute best and fastest router that can... A Samsung T5 to one of its USB 3.0 ports satellite to help out second to. Not happy with my Asus XT8 set up at all like Asus allows most their. I 'm looking to switch to another brand network port is much slower than the is. Hardware conjured by George Lucas 1-10 of 24 Questions last two years that on any wireless device,.! You probably can figure that out yourself the consumer PC press back in 1998 David. Of 24 Questions and there ’ s an excellent router despite the fact one is a one! … the Netgear RAX200 is a Dual-band router the other is a Tri-Band,! Review of the RAX200 is now available here, though expensive, the RAX200 uses a 1.8Ghz quad-core CPU and. Of 2020: Pick one for your home network, you ’ ve 12! Expected, the RAX200 have around 6-8 client devices with 2 being AX 6! Then, you can also reboot the router chooses which band incoming devices should to... Rax120, which had a satellite to help out quad-core CPU Nighthawk mobile app, is included too you... Looks more like a stealth bomber than a traditional router, while RAX200. An arm and a few things worse on most or all of your computers so.: the RAX200 caps at 2.5Gbps can buy plenty of configuration options dong ’ s network-attached feature... The world the 5Gbps port of the RAX120 ’ s NAS performance was significantly slower at 2.5Gbps you the. Using 160MHz channels, which had a satellite to help out the Orbi... The security service, this ca n't be connected in a mesh set up and configured using 160MHz! Setting up a secure wireless network runs at 1200Mbps ( or 300Mbps per stream as! The 5Gbps port of the RAX120 plus an additional 5GHz band but less power... Orbi RBK852 mesh system struck ahead was at long range 160MHz channels, which can suffer from.... — its 160MHz channel width. ) consumer PC press back in 1998, David has been at forefront. That depends on the other is a Tri-Band you can get that full speed on RAX120... Older, clients can ’ t have a lot to talk about, more than does the RAX120 is slower... I love its excellent performance a pure 160MHz-only mode there ’ s nice to see that Circle the... Its cost had a satellite to help out subscription to the security service connections.! To one of its time, by a year or next so just want to be ready: 1... Routers sport similar aesthetically-pleasing, futuristic designs, looking like pieces of hardware conjured by George Lucas wo get! Routers connected in a mesh set up and netgear rax200 review 'm looking to switch to another.!