Stand back, ladies and gentlemen! The mothership is landing! Wow, just look at this six-antenna beast. This is the router that Bruce Wayne installed in the Bat Cave. It’s the one that provides internet in supercar factories. It’s all Lamborghini curves and carbon fiber styling. I have no idea who Netgear is targeting with the looks of this thing, but I have a feeling it is aimed at my inner ten-year-old.
You think that AC1900 with its combined 1.9Gbps is pretty fancy right? How about 3.2Gbps? Can you handle that? Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?
Sorry, sorry. It’s just too hardcore. I got swept up in the moment.
Look, something like the Nighthawk X6 is pretty easy to make fun of. It’s expensive, it’s technically overkill for just about anyone, and if I saw one in your home I would probably think you were compensating for something. Despite this, secretly, I immediately wanted one the moment I saw it. I won’t actually buy one because I’m not quite insane yet, but I might put a poster of one up on my wall.
So, this is a tri-band router with the aforementioned 3.2 Gbps combines bandwidth. It has a 1Ghz dual core CPU, which is normal, but then it adds another three offloading CPUs to add extra oomph. The smart connect software also automatically selects the best type of WiFi for every connected device, which helps keep your 2.4Ghz band clear from high speed devices that really should be on other bands.
We still have beamforming, of course and the USB 3 port for high-speed network storage; there is app-based remote access and monitoring.
I can’t make this one of my top picks, despite how much I would like to. The reason is that although the X6 can handle a bazillion devices and would be great for home automation, it is taking the technology in the wrong direction. The eeros have convinced me that distributed WiFi mesh networks are a far better and more reliable solution to the problem of home automation than a single router, even if that single router is the most badass router ever made.