Hard to believe it’s not even a year since the original Nighthawk was released to rapturous applause. It was one of the new era of AC1900 routers to hit the market, and it was, and still is, a damn fine router. But, now a successor has been released, named the Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 R8000. Yes, that is it’s full title!
It’s the first AC3200 consumer router to be made available, beating the Asus RT-AC3200 to the shop floor.
So what exactly have Netgear brought to the table? Well, let’s take a look and see…
Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Features
Aside from groundbreaking speeds, there are a number of features to consider. Here’s a rundown of the most important ones…
6 Awesome Features of the Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 (R8000)
AC – Up To 3.2Gbps
When combining both wireless bands, you can now enjoy data rates up to 3.2Gbps. 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz and an astonishing 2.6Gbps on 5GHz. This is a massive jump up from the first Nighthawk incarnation, which had combined Wi-Fi data rates of up to 1.9Gbps. These lightning speeds are possible with the use of Tri-Band wireless, sitting on top of 5 gutsy processors.
The gamers now have the hardware they need to ‘kick-ass’ and the streamers now have the best router to provide uninterrupted quality viewing.
Tri-Band Wireless
The days of Dual Band are coming to an end – The Nighthawk X6 has three radios instead of two. One radio still exists for the 2.4GHz band, but there are now two radios on the 5GHz band, with each radio capable of broadcasting the same SSID. This is how the 3.2Gbps data rates are calculated – 600Mbps for the 2.4GHz radio, and 1.3Gbps for each of the 5GHz radios, adding up to the grand total of 3.2Gbps! The beauty of having 3 radios means that more Wi-Fi clients can connect, download and stream at the same time without compromising each other.
Netgear Smart Connect, automatically adds wireless devices to the correct band, streamlining your Wi-Fi network. Smart technology indeed!
Dual Core CPU And More
The X6 comes with a dual core processor, but sometimes dual core isn’t enough, especially when it comes to Gigabit networking. Netgear have included three offload processors to take the weight off the main CPU, to ensure all your network clients, wired and wireless, get the service they require. This is especially true for wired to wireless connections, and vice-versa.
Beamforming+ & Antennas
Coverage is better than ever before. Using a combination of Beamforming+ (which focuses Wi-Fi intelligently to wireless clients as and when they need it), and 6 external antennas, your devices can roam further away from your router. Not only can they roam further, but connections stay reliable and with greater throughput at longer distances.
The antennas are fully adjustable for manual Wi-Fi direction, but they can also be folded away into the body of the X6 if preferred.
USB 3.0 – ReadyShare Style!
Just like it’s predecessor, the Nighthawk X6 has both USB 3.0 & 2.0 ports. USB 3.0 is perfect for streaming your media across the network. Use the USB 2.0 port for a printer if you have one. On board ReadyShare USB lets you access all your media (photos, music, videos) with ease.
Netgear GENIE For Setup And Maintenance
The free Netgear Genie app allows full control and setup of Netgear compatible routers. Install on your phone, tablet or PC to customize the Nighthawk how you want without hassle.
Other Features
ReadyShare Vault – set up backups of your precious media and files to schedule automatically. Any media contained on a drive plugged into the USB port can be backup up to a PC with the free ReadyShare Vault software.
Parental Controls – Make sure the kids are protected from dubious Internet content.
Remote VPN access – Access your home network safely from anywhere, with strong VPN encryption
DLNA & iTunes Server Ready – Easily share content with your games consoles and smart TV’s
Nighthawk X6 Technical Specs
- 5GHz (2.6Gbps 2 Bands) / 2.4GHz (600Mbps)
- Tri-Band
- 1GHz Dual Core CPU / 3 Offload CPU’s
- 6x Antennas
- 1x USB 3.0 / 1x USB 2.0
- Beamforming+
- QoS
- DLNA
- Parental Controls
Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Conclusion
Good
- Tri Band – Connect More Devices Without Compromising Throughput
- Awesome AC (5GHz) Range
- 6 Adjustable Antennas
- We Love The Looks!
Not so Good
- Maybe Some Features Could Have More Options To Tweak – A Firmware Upgrade Coming From Netgear Soon! (as of July 2014)
We are massive fans of the older R7000 Nighthawk, and we were a little worried that the R8000 would not step up to the plate. Well, we were wrong!
Let’s keep it simple – the Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000 is a monster of a router. Fast, sturdy, able to take heavy loads from multiple users, has 6 antennas….oh, and once again, we think it looks AWESOME!!! Just look at the image below, don’t you agree?!
Alternatives To The Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Router
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Do you agree/disagree? Why not comment below and let us know what you think…
Does it have a build in modem or it’s just a router.
Best regards,
Simplice
Does it have a build in modem or it’s just a router only.
Hi Herve. It does not come with a built-in modem.
There are routers,
There are modems,
and
there are Modem/Routers
This is a router. Your service provider, i.e., TWC provides a modem (you must specify modem only), you connect the Netgear router to the modem. The router allows your network to be wireless.
This is it, in a nutshell
You can connect a router to a modem/router, but it is a little more complicated and time consuming.
Does R8000 have VPN Server and NAT?
It supports using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) as well as including both Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Network Address Transl
It supports using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) as well as including both Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Network Address Translation (NAT) firewalls.
Had this router for a while now. Happy with it – solid performer 🙂
asus ac3200 or netgear ac3200 which to buy
Asus RT-AC3200 or Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000?