Netgear R6700
- Dual Band
- 1.3Gbps 5GHz (AC) Data Rates
- 1GHz CPU
- Beamforming +
- 4x 1Gbps LAN & 1Gbps WAN
- Guest Networks
- 3 Detachable Antennas
- Airtime Fairness
- ReadyShare Suite
- 450Mbps 2.4GHz (N) Data Rates
- USB: Only 1 Port (3.0)
Netgear R7000
- Dual Band
- 1.3Gbps 5GHz (AC) Data Rates
- 1GHz CPU
- Beamforming +
- 4x 1Gbps LAN & 1Gbps WAN
- Guest Networks
- 3 Detachable Antennas
- Airtime Fairness
- ReadyShare Suite
- 600Mbps 2.4GHz (N) Data Rates
- USB: 2 Ports (1x 3.0 / 1x 2.0)
Netgear R6700 vs R7000…it’s an internal battle between two Netgear routers. Both are in the Nighthawk camp. The original R7000 Nighthawk and the new pretender, the Nighthawk R6700 which we reviewed earlier this year…
Netgear Nighthawk R7000 AC1900 Router
R7000 – The Netgear ‘Old Faithful’. Been around for a couple of years now and still going very strong. The R7000 is an AC1900 router
>>>Full Netgear Nighthawk R7000 Review<<<
Netgear Nighthawk R6700 AC1750 Router
The R6700 is an AC1750 router that came out earlier in 2015. It’s very similar to the R7000 but lacks a couple of features as well as some .11n speed.
>>>Full Netgear Nighthawk R6700 Review<<< Ok, so the R7000 has sold way more units than the R6700. There are a couple of reasons for this.
One reason is that the R7000 was the first Nighthawk router released and had a ‘head start’ over the others. In fact it was almost a year before Netgear launched another Nighthawk after the R7000. Wow – they are sure making up for lost time now, aren’t they?!With the R7000 being the first Nighthawk, it was also the fastest Netgear router around as well.
The other reason is that the R7000 is stocked in more outlets as well. If it’s out there more, then people are going to trust it more. That and the fact that if the R6700 just isn’t as easy to find, then no-one is either going to know about it, or trust it even if they don’t see it! This is probably less of an issue, as it’s a Netgear brand router at the end of the day, but it’s something to consider.
Netgear R6700 vs R7000 – Major shared Features
So what have these guys got in common then?
Dual Band – SimultaneousYep, both use simultaneous Dual Band. This means that both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands can be used at the same time if desired.
Each network (SSID) will show up separately on your devices. If you have a device that uses both 5 & 2.4GHz you can pick which one to log into.
1GHz Dual Core ProcessorBoth these Nighthawk routers have a 1GHz dual core CPU.
Having a good CPU on a router has never been any more important than today. Advanced routers now have so much to process from so many devices at such fast speeds, that not having a dual core processor is basically…technical suicide!
There’s also 256MB RAM and 128MB Flash memory.
Beamforming+ Increase reliability over greater ranges by using Beamforming. This is accomplished by focusing beamwidth in the direction of communicating clients.
Gigabit Ethernet4x LAN ports and 1x WAN port to connect to your modem. All 1Gbps speed
Guest Network AccessHave a secure separate network for your guests/visitors. This ensures that your personal clients and files are kept safe and secure.
3 Detachable AntennasFully adjustable, the three external antennas can be manually angled to suit the dimensions of your home.
Airtime FairnessUsed to make sure that slower clients don’t slow down the Wi-Fi network, Airtime Fairness cuts down the time that slower, older clients take to transmit over the air. As only one device can communicate at any one time, it’s important to streamline time, especially for the faster AC devices.
ReadyShare SuiteBoth feature the ReadyShare printing, sharing and backup facilities.
R6700 vs R7000 – Differences?
There’s a couple of differences between the R7000 & R6700, albeit relatively minor…
The Speeds – But Only On Wireless NOn 802.11n, the data rates are 450Mbps on the R6700 & 600Mbps on the R7000.
USB portsThe R6700 fails on this front. Well, it depends on what you want really. The R6700 only has one USB port. Thank goodness it’s a USB 3.0!
Whereas the R7000 has a secondary USB 2.0 port.
The single USB 3.0 port may be enough for most people. We have to say, it is so handy to have the second port so that we can permanently plug in a USB drive and a printer at the same time.
R7000 vs R6700 – So Which One?
As already mentioned, there is very little difference between these Nighthawk’s. The lack slight lack in speed and USB port on the R6700 means it comes in a little cheaper.
What is pretty predictable, is that the R7000 will continue to be supported by Netgear for the foreseeable future. Will the R6700 receive the same support? We don’t know, but the R7000 would receive a more substantial bet from us that it would, if we were pushed into a corner.
Netgear Nighthawk R7000 AC1900 Router
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