GTrusted

Going Old School with the NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router

After experiencing the NETGEAR Orbi, and considering the new generation routers like the Eero, Luma, or Asus OnHub which focused on ease of use rather than raw performance, we felt nostalgic for the days when we just purchased routers based on raw power (ease of use be damned) and decided to try the NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router is Tri Band and supports AC5300 through 1000 @ 2.4GHz 1024 QAM + 2166 @ 5 GHz 11ac 1024 QAM  + 2166 @ 5 GHz 11ac 1024 QAM.  The NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router also has 6 Gigabit Ethernet ports (two for link aggregation) , one USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gb/s), and one USB 2.0 port.  Processor speeds are very important in routers and the the NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router supports a dual core 1.4GHz processor.

We purchased the NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router at a local Best Buy.

NETGEAR really focused on a nice premium packaging approach with the NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router comes with an Ethernet cable, AC power adapter, and documentation.

It's great that the antennas are already attached to the router.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router comes with some styling and curves, and quite unlike the ugly WI-FI routers of old.

In keeping with esthetics, even the USB ports are hidden away behind their own cover.

Like the NETGEAR Orbi, setting up the NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router is super easy using the NETGEAR genie application which here we set up on our MacBook Pro.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk x8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router combines traditional raw power with NETGEAR new ease of use doctrine, allowing casual and power users alike to quickly set up their routers and enjoy video streaming, gaming, and other heavy networking demands that the router can handle.