I had the opportunity to try out two new AC5300 routers. So AC5300 is like the AC1300 from a few years ago, but turbo-charged to deliver four times the total throughput and even better able to support multiple devices.Ĭlash of the Wi-Fi Titans: Comparing the ASUS RT-AC5300 and Netgear Nighthawk X8 They also support MU-MIMO, which further improves network efficiency (and speed). The combined throughput of those three bands comes to 5300Mbps. Instead of the usual 5GHz and 4GHz radios, they have two separate 5GHz bands and the 2.4GHz radio is a new NitroQAM version that boosts its speed to 1000Mbps. For example, these routers feature simultaneous tri-band Wi-Fi. With AC5300 routers like the ASUS RT-AC5300 and Netgear Nighthawk X8, 802.11ac technology is being pushed to its limits and features that weren’t offered in first generation Gigabit routers are being employed. Today, many homes have dozens of devices connected to their Wi-Fi network at a time, and instead of standard definition video, it’s HD or even 4K.Ĩ02.11ac introduced technology like support for up to eight spatial streams (double the previous generation) and beamforming that targeted devices with Wi-Fi instead of blind broadcasting. 802.11n Wi-Fi was more than sufficient for a time when most homes had a computer or two using Wi-Fi, along with maybe a game console and a smartphone or two. The standard also ensures wireless networks are able to meet the demands of modern households, where Wi-Fi capable devices have multiplied at an explosive rate and the volume of data they move around has also ramped up. The advantages of 802.11ac aren’t limited to raw speed. That’s when the term “Gigabit Wi-Fi” came into play. The first generation of 802.11ac routers could nearly triple this speed, delivering a combined data throughput of 1300Mbs. Those 802.11n routers-which had been the standard for roughly six years-delivered W-Fi speeds in the neighbourhood of 450Mbps. When they arrived on the scene, the first wave of Wi-Fi routers that officially supported the 802.11ac standard were impressive and offered a big boost in speed compared to the previous generation 802.11n models.