Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

34 JANUARY2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE383

WITHWI-FIUSAGEever increasing and

broadband speeds on theup, the challengeee

forroutermanufacturershas been to create

products that deliver more throughput anddd

better cope with more devices. After pushiiing

the 802.11ac standard (Wi-Fi 5) to itslimitsss,

it’s time foranew standard: 802.11ax, or

Wi-Fi 6. The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 is

the first 802.11ax router we’veseen,

designed to be future-proof.

GO FASTER

Before we get into therouteritself, here’saaa

quick primer on Wi-Fi 6. The new standarddd

isn’t just about deliveringfaster speeds; it’s

also designed to make the mostofthe

capacity available,sothatmultiple devices can

playnicely together.However,whileWi-Fi 6

will work with Wi-Fi5and older devices, you

will only getthe true improvements when

usingWi-Fi 6devices. Devicesare now

starting to appear, with theSamsung Galaxy

S10(Shopper379) supporting it; expect

Wi-Fi 6tobecomestandardinlaptops and

phones over thecomingyear.

So,how is Wi-Fi 6better than Wi-Fi 5?

Besidesincreasingspeedsbysendingmore

data in onego–Wi-Fi5can send eightbits

simultaneously, Wi-Fi6can send 10 –there’s

also an increaseinchannel width.Wi-Fi 6

offers160MHz on the5GHzband, although

the 2.4GHz band sticksatthe current40MHz.

Next,Wi-Fi 6usesorthogonal frequency-

divisionmultiple access (OFDMA),which

lets the router sub-divide achannel to serve

multipleclients at once.Thinkofitlike

having atruckloaded up with multiple

packages goingtodifferent people.

Wi-Fi6also boosts MU-MIMO forboth

upstream and downstream connections,

uuunnnllliiikkkeeeWWWiii-FFFiii 555 , wwwhhhiiiccchhhcccooouuullldddooonnnlllyyysssuuuppppppooorrrtttiiittt

downstream. This technology lets the router

divide itsbandwidthintospatial streams,

giving clients adedicated connection to

therouter.The number of streams

dependsonthe router, with the

Nighthawk AX8 havingeight:four

2.4GHz andfour5GHz. Importantly,

Wi-Fi6routers can also use

OFDMAand MU-MIMOtogether.

NETGEAR

NighthawkAX8

★★★★★

£283•From http://www.amazonnn.co.uk

VERDICT

Averyfastrouterthat’sreadyforthefutuuure,

butyou’llneedtopayapremiumforittoddday

WI-FI6ROUTER

apply to both 2.4GHz

802.11ac, the5GHz

ut the2.4GHz band ran

the older 802.11ntechnology.

BUSINESSAS USUAL

Whilethe Nighthawk AX8may use Wi-Fi6,

configuration andset up is business as usual.

First, you fold thewings to getthe antennasin

theright place, turning the AX8 intosomething

thatlooks like astealth bomber.Thenyou

connect it to yourmodem viathe Gigabit

Ethernet WANport(there are five Gigabit

ports fornetwork devices, too) andpower it

on, configuring therouterusingyourphone

andthe Nighthawk app. This has the same

interface as theexcellent Netgear Orbisystem.

By default, the Nighthawk AX8separates

the2.4GHz and 5GHznetworks, butyou can

combine them under onename,which makes

sense: this letsthe routerdirect connecting

devicestothe best network based on

features, range and performance.

There’s also aweb interface available,

which is atouch easierfor someofthe more

advanced features, such as turning on BT

YouViewIGMPproxying(required if you

want to watch YouView internet channels

such as BT Sport), and forconfiguring port

forwarding. Currently,however,thereare no

parental controlsoradvanced securitytools.

Fortesting,weused both an older Wi-Fi 5

laptopand aDell Latitude5490 upgraded with

aaannnIIInnnttteeelllAAAXXX 222000000 WWWi-Fi6adaptor.Startingout

with theWi-Fi 5laptop,we

sawupload speeds of

693Mbit/sand download

speedsof656Mbit/s at

close range; moving to the

firstfloor,putting awall and

floor between us and the

rrrouter, uploadspeeds

dddropped to 224Mbit/s and

dddownloadspeedsfell to

3333 1Mbit/s. On thesecond

floooor,wesaw upload speeds

of 325Mbit/sand download

speeeedsof383Mbit/s. This makes

gggg tttt

tested,,,,alth

THE JOYOFSIX

Next,wwwweswitched to theLatitude5 4444 90,tosee

whatWWWWi-Fi 6could do.The same cloooose range

test prrrroduced upload speedsof75 0000 Mbit/s

anddoooownload speedsof708Mbit/s. On the

firstfloor,wesaw upload speeds of 358Mbit/s

anddownload speedsof343Mbit/s, and on

the secondfloor we gotupload speedsof

377Mbit/s anddownload speeds of

402Mbit/s. Allinall, that’saconsiderable

improvement over the Wi-Fi5speeds.

Arguably,however,the true test forthis

router willcomewith more congested

networks allrunning Wi-Fi 6network

adaptors. Thatmakes the questionofwhether

should you buy this router more difficult.

Largely,itwill come down to whatkind of

system you have already. If you’re running a

mesh system, such as the Netgear Orbi,

there’s less incentivetoupgrade now; having

multiplesatellites meanstoanextentyou’re

already spreading the strain on your network.

If youhaveasingle router,thenthere’sno

doubtthat the NighthawkAX8 will improve

your network speeds.Although it might take

your home afew yearstoget all Wi-Fi 6

devices, buyinginnow means that you’re

future-proofed if you’rehappy to paythe

premiumfor thisrouter. If you’renot,

astandard802.11ac router, such as the

excellent D-LinkDIR-1960 (Shopper381), will

stilldothe job foragood fewyears to come.

DavidLudlow

See page 84 forperformancedetails

MODEMGigabitEthernet•WI-FISTANDARDWi-Fi

6/802.11ax•STATEDSPEED4,800Mbit/s(5GHz), 1,200Mbit/s

(2.4GHz)•USBPORTS (^2) • WALLMOUNTABLEYes•
WARRANTYTwoyears RTB•DETAILSwww.netgear.com•
PARTCODERAX80

SPECIFICATIONS

5GHz2m

5GHz5m

5GHz10m

0200 400 600

729Mbit/s

351Mbit/s

390Mbit/s