There’s a new super router on the market. It’s the Linksys EA9500 AC5400 Tri Band MU-MIMO wireless router, to be precise.
Linksys have brought it out to compete with the other players on the market, like the Netgear Nighthawk X8 and the Asus RT-AC5300U.
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It’s been launched for those who want a router at the higher end of the spec & feature spectrum. And who aren’t scared to spend more money than the average home router shopper.
But have Linksys crammed in enough of the goodies to tempt you away from their counterparts?
Top 5 Linksys EA9500 AC5400 Features
There are many features included, here are five of the best…
5.3Gbps Over Tri Band
The EA9500 offers up to 5.3Gbps over 3 wifi bands.
There’s 2 bands (each 2.1Gbps) on 5GHz and the last one (1Gbps) on 2.4GHz. For those that don’t know, 5.3Gbps will never be achieved by any one client. Firstly, the speeds are theoretical, as is always the case with wifi. Secondly, the 5.3Gbps is spread out over the 3 bands. So, the fastest speed possible is 2.1Gbps on one of the 5GHz bands. In the real world, expect speeds in the mid-hundreds of Mbps – in perfect conditions.
Tri band is however, awesome for homes with many clients. This is because the total amount of wifi bandwidth is split up among the wireless clients. No one client can steal all the bandwidth for themselves.
Seamless Roaming
This is a cool feature that allows wireless devices to move around the home without losing connectivity. This isn’t a problem if you only use a router as a wireless AP. But if you use a wireless extender, to increase the coverage area or signal in the outer reaches of your home, then this is a cool feature.
Only compatible with Linksys extenders (think the RE7000, for example). Wireless clients can be connected on Skype or on a voice call, and yet not lose connection if they walk from one part of the house to another (as in use the wifi from the router, then use the extender wifi, or vice versa).
MU-MIMO (4x4 AC)
The EA9500 comes with MU-MIMO and 4x4 antennas. MU-MIMO lets the router transmit MIMO (basically think of MIMO as more efficient throughput – essentially increasing speeds) to up to 4 clients simultaneously (on any one 5GHz band).
Just remember that the client also needs to support MU-MIMO in order to reap the benefits of this particular feature.
1.4GHz Dual Core Processor
There’s a chunky 1.4GHz CPU on board to help keep all these wonderful features movin’ along.
8x 1Gbps LAN Ports
It’s funny. Most wireless routers, up until recently, had the standard 4 Ethernet ports. It was as if wired Ethernet wasn’t important anymore. Well, it’s come back with a vengeance. With all these Smart TVs and NAS storage boxes becoming so popular, people want the solid speed & reliability of hooking up with Ethernet.
The EA9500 has eight LAN ports in total, so you shouldn’t have any problems running out of ports!
Linksys EA9500 Ports
EA9500 Technical Specs
- 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
- Tri Band = 2x 2.166Gbps (5GHz) / 1x 1Gbps (2.4GHz)
- 1.4GHz CPU
- 1x USB 3.0 1x USB 2.0 Ports
- 8x 1Gbps LAN Ports / 1x 1Gbps WAN Port
- 8 Adjustable Antennas
- Beamforming
Rounding Up The Linksys EA9500
The EA9500 is a pretty powerful piece of kit. Most users won’t need all these features. A standard AC router is probably enough for most of you out there. But if you’re more demanding of your network, and especially if you have 10+ wifi clients, you are then more likely to see the benefits of the technology.
Other features, that we haven’t already touched on, include USB 3.0 (only one port though – that’s a shame. There is another USB 2.0 port though). A shame also that there is no link aggregation feature. Again, probably not something that will deter most out there, but the Nighthawk X8 & Asus RT-AC5300U both supported it, so why not here? At least it has 8 LAN ports, so that’s something.
Note that it’s possible to turn the EA9500 into a bridge/standard AP, without replacing firmware – could be a bonus for some.
Have you got a EA9500? Are you thinking about getting one? Let us know about it in the comments section underneath…