Linksys Max-stream Ac1900 Mu-mimo Dual-band Wireless Smart Wifi Router (Ea7500) Review
The D-Link AC3200 is a bang-up router, but check out the Linksys below. When buying a new router, in that location are a few different metrics y'all want to continue an eye on when making your final decision. The basic stuff like how fast is it or what kind of range are important enough on their own, only what separates a regular WiFi hub from the standouts similar Linksys' new EA7500 MU-MIMO router, are the added features y'all get as a function of the complete package. That sense of polish, history and prestige is something that only a few brands in the wireless router infinite have, and Linksys continues to show it deserves its height spot among others similar D-Link, Cisco, and Netgear. For more than great routers, cheque out our best router reivews.
Overview
Summary: The Linksys EA7500 is a router congenital for people who game hard, stream often, and download similar it's going out of mode.
Price: $199.99
Available:TBD
What We Liked
- MU-MIMO is a much-needed stress reliever for overburdened wireless networks
- Linksys' Smart WiFi continues to lead the market in router configuration tools
- Minimalist design is ambiguous enough to fit in any room of the house
What We Didn't
- The superlative speeds aren't as peachy equally other routers at this cost indicate
Linksys EA7500 Specs
| WiFi Type | 802.11ac |
| Processor | i.4 Ghz dual-cadre |
| Operation Modes | Wireless Router, Access Betoken, Bridge |
| 128-bit Wireless Encryption |  |
| 2.4Ghz | |
| 5Ghz | |
| Ethernet Ports | 4 Gigabit |
| MiMo | |
| QoS | |
| USB Inputs | two |
| Price | $199 |
| Buy |
Design
The blueprint of the EA7500 won't be turning heads on the street, merely it's however stylistically aware of the type of customer that it's intended on targeting. Unlike recent outings from D-Link, the EA7500 is at its most beautiful when it'south the last thing yous notice in the room.
Minimalist, functional, and not much else, it's fabricated to have a backseat to the rest of your interior design skills, sinking into the background of whatsoever room in your house.
Features
I said it in our 1900 ACS review, but information technology withal bears repeating: I love the Linksys Smart WiFi organisation. It makes information technology easy to manage all your router'south settings from a simple online login, or fifty-fifty from a well-styled app on your phone.
Related: Also see our Linksys EA6350 review
Configuring your wireless router has never been as uncomplicated as Smart WiFi makes it. The interface is lightyears across what the contest has to offer, and existence able to gain access using a simple e-mail/password combo takes the hassle out of hard-resetting everything if you happen to forget your countersign.
Everything is clearly laid out, easily attainable, and lightning quick. Smart WiFi has quickly become the gold standard in router interfaces, and the loftier marker to which all other competitors should aspire.
Read: Best Wireless Router 2018
Of course, this wouldn't be a review of a MU-MIMO router without mentioning its streaming, gaming, and downloading capabilities.
Speed & Distance Tests
Many of the routers that are existence released today are equipped with features to handle the network of tomorrow, and 4K streaming is at the top of that list. MU-MIMO applied science (Multiple User, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) makes information technology easier for routers to push an fifty-fifty amount of data to multiple devices at a time, without having to cede one stream'south bandwidth for another.
Related: Check out our Linksys EA8300 AC2200 MU MIMO Max Stream wireless router review
The EA7500 uses MU-MIMO in the form of its "Media Prioritization" feature, which lets you carefully control which computers accept access to the most download speed at any given time. This means that y'all tin can expect everyone to get the exact amount of bandwidth they need for their activity, while the rest is evenly distributed to the business firm as a whole.
In our MU-MIMO evaluation, we ran speed tests on a 1GB wireless fiber optic connexion: i from a custom-built Windows x desktop, and the other on a Dell XPS thirteen laptop. The EA7500 performed decently, topping out around 80Mbps from a distance of 25ft.
These aren't the best results out at that place in the 1900AC category (that title goes to Linksys' other entry, the WRT1900), merely it's certainly not the worst in its price tier either. We await this limitation happens because of the way the EA7500 splits up its MU-MIMO streams, in gild to ensure that everyone has an equal browsing and downloading experience.
One time we started the tests simultaneously on both devices, we were able to get 80Mbps downwards on the desktop, and just short of 45Mbps on the laptop. This means while the router may be capable of transmitting more bandwidth (effectually 125Mbps), the only manner you can determine who gets the bigger slice of that pie is by utilizing the Media Prioritization feature.
Conversely, the available upload bandwidth was split right down the center between both machines. Because Media Prioritization simply lets you control how much bandwidth a particular device is allowed todownload, during the side-by-side upload tests, both machines achieved speeds of 140Mbps. This makes it an fifty-fifty carve up from the 280Mbps we topped out at on a single stream, which means that MU-MIMO feature is working but as intended.
Wrap Upwards
The Linksys EA7500 router may non have the greatest peak speed, merely what information technology lacks in horsepower information technology more makes up for in solid software and a clean, unobtrusive pattern. At $199.99 information technology strikes a overnice eye basis betwixt a straight consumer device and one that's built for serious tech geeks, all while including many of the features that will be necessary as our streaming, downloading, and gaming demands increase.
Related Articles:
- Linksys EA7500 AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router Review
- Linksys WRT1900ACS Router Review
- Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Router Review Roundup
- Netgear Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Wireless Router Review
Source: https://www.gadgetreview.com/linksys-ea7500-ac1900-mu-mimo-gigabit-router-review