Netgear NightHawk X4 (R7500) in the test

The Nighthawk X4 from Netgear is one of the first AC WLAN routers that can transmit simultaneously in the 5 GHz band with four spatially separated MIMO antennas. Current 802.11ac devices can currently broadcast at up to 433 Mbps on an antenna. The fastest AC / WLAN routers with their three MIMO antennas reached a maximum of 1300 Mbit / s (gross). If the fourth antenna is added, the Nighthawk X4 should be transmitted with a gross data rate of up to 1733 Mbps.


Netgear NightHawk X4 vs. NightHawk 7000


To check this value, we ordered a second Netgear-NightHawk-X4 router and configured as a WLAN bridge. There are currently no AC WLAN clients with four MIMO antennas. Unfortunately, we were disappointed: despite the current firmware, we have not managed to produce a gross or link rate of 1,733 Mbps between both devices. The X4 router, configured as a bridge, showed a maximum link rate of 1300 Mbit / s even over a free, relatively short connection distance of just under 3 meters.


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Lesetipp: WLAN standard 802.11ac - all information about the fast AC WLAN


Netgear NightHawk X4: Fast interfaces


Our maximum 5 GHz net throughput rates of up to 760 Mbit / s, which were determined using the jperf tool, corresponded to those of a good three-antenna router. Too bad, because actually we had expected with Nettoraten near the 900 Mbit / s. Even under more unfavorable conditions, where an AC867 client from the neighboring building to the X4 router sparked, the net rate was not that of a 3-antenna router.


Netgear NightHawk X4: Conclusion


The NighHawk 7000, the direct predecessor of the Netgear NightHawk X4, even achieved a higher transmission rate over the same route with its three MIMO antennas. At 2.4 GHz, the X4 transmits and receives, despite its four antennas, only over a maximum of three streams, as does most AC1900 routers. Correspondingly, the transfer rates measured at 2.4 GHz were also in the same range.


Very nice: The Netgear NightHawk X4 also supports the higher frequency ranges of the 5 GHz band with DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection). Many manufacturers are saving the certification and can therefore only use the lowest quarter of the 5 GHz band. The power consumption of the router is around 8.5 watts in operation, the WLAN bands can be switched on and off independently of each other via a scheduler.


The X4 has two USB 3.0 and one eSATA port for connecting external memory or a printer. Mediadata on the memory can be played on the integrated media server in the home network. The access to the memory from the LAN is extremely fast: We were able to access external hard disks on the USB 3.0 ports with up to 93 MByte / s and write with up to 65 MByte / s write access. At the eSATA interface, we even found transfer rates of 109 MByte / s (read) and 75 MByte / s (write).


The streaming of full-HD movies via the X4 integrated media server worked smoothly. In the Netgear Genie app you can even set up which Player app the videos should be played. For parents, the router offers a real content filter at no extra charge. The setting of the filter does not go through the router menu, but via the Genie app on the mobile phone.


The Netgear NightHawk X4 offers best functionality and fast storage. However, the wireless performance is hardly higher than the previous model, which costs about 50 Euro less for similar functionality.


Netgear Nighthawk X4 (R7500): details


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