Netgear orbi vs Nighthawk x6 ac3200 – How much wifi coverage do you want?
Mesh systems are designed to provide wireless coverage over a large area while the traditional wifi system uses a single router for wifi signal coverage. The Netgear orbi vs nighthawk x6 ac3200 comparison will give you more details on both systems and help you understand which one is better suited for your home or office.
I have been using the normal wifi router for as long as I can remember, but now with mesh networks, it will give me faster wifi speeds and longer range. However, it’s not that simple to switch to a mesh-based wifi network, but with the help of this Netgear orbi vs Nighthawk x6 ac3200 comparison review, I can make a more informed decision.
Table of Contents
What are the differences between Netgear orbi and nighthawk x6 ac3200?
Model |
Netgear orbi (Winner) |
Nighthawk X6 ac3200 |
Wired connectivity |
4 gigabit Ethernet ports |
5-gigabit ethernet ports including 4 LAN ports and 1 WAN port |
Design |
Long white oval cylinders with an egg-like base |
Black upside down insect with 6 antennas for legs and the middle thorax |
Throughput speed |
2.4 GHz – 1200 Mbps
5 GHz – 2400 Mbps 5 GHz – 2400 Mbps |
2.4 GHz – 600 Mbps
5 GHz – 1300 Mbps 5 GHz – 1300 Mbps |
Netgear orbi vs. Nighthawk x6 ac3200. How do they differ?
Wired connectivity
At the time you might want to use an Ethernet cable instead of a wireless signal to hardwire a device into your network. The orbi router uses a mesh network that consists of a router and satellite. The biggest advantage with this setup is you can use the 4 Ethernet ports to connect your router and satellite even when they’re many feet apart. The Nighthawk X6 has 5 gigabit Ethernet ports which include the 4 LAN and 1 WAN. The WAN port is for connecting your modem while the 4 ports are free for you to use as you want. A though the X6 has more ports than the orbi router, it can’t remotely connect through a satellite since it’s a standalone unit. This means you’ll have to physically hook up your connections to your network instead of enjoying flexible installation like in the mesh system.
Range
The fact that these are two different wifi system, mesh and traditional, you will also find differences in their range of connectivity. The orbi uses one router and a satellite which can cover an area of about 5000 sq. feet since you can add up to 3 satellites to the network. Although the nighthawk range isn’t specified, it’s said to be designed for very large homes, but it starts having problems after 2000 feet. However, you have an option of using wifi extenders but they will form a separate wifi network with a different name from the router so you’ll have different signals and your devices using different networks. When you consider how easy it is to activate the orbi network, you end up feeling frustrated. Although you can’t compare the two when it comes to coverage, a mesh network will always be a safer bet.
Design
This is one of the most noticeable differences between the orbi and nighthawk X6. While the orbi has a router and a satellite, the nighthawk has only a router. The orbi system has a very attractive design that can fit very well with your furniture and décor. Despite being a bit large, they’re lightweight at only 1.3 kgs each so you’ll need to place it somewhere they can’t be easily knocked over. While the orbi is white, the nighthawk is black. The nighthawk looks more of an upside-down insect with the 6 antennas as its legs and a big thorax in the middle. It’s more stable so it’s not easy to knock it off the table but it takes more space than the orbi router.
Netgear orbi vs. Nighthawk x6 ac3200 – A comparison review
Netgear orbi
- Coverage up to 5,000 sq. ft. and for up to 100 devices. Extend coverage up to 2,500 sq. ft. with each...
- Ultrafast AX6000 gigabit speed with WiFi 6 technology for uninterrupted streaming, HD video gaming, and...
Netgear orbi wifi 6 is a mesh wifi system that can provide you with fast and reliable connectivity throughout your home. This router uses a tri-band system that uses the 2.4 GHz band and two separate 5 GHz bands that will provide you with a maximum speed of 6 Gbps which is very fast. The main router connects to your modem for your internet connection and a high-speed Ethernet port that has speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps. This Orbi wifi system comes as to large nodes that use the mesh system as a way of communicating with each other through a dedicated 5 GHz bandwidth that can cover a 5000 sq. feet of wireless coverage. They’re two identical units with the shape of a standing vase, one is the router and the other is the satellite. They’re a bit bulky, white with silver trim and a status LED at the bottom of the egg-shaped base.
The router has a WAN port (2.5 GB bps) and 4 gigabit LAN ports that you will also find in the satellite node. However, the router and satellite don’t have USB ports for connecting to your printer or other external devices. They have 8 internal antennas, a 1 GB of RAM, a 2.2 GHz quad-core processor and 512 MB flash memory. This tri-band router supports 4×4 MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming and beamforming that can give you speeds of 1200 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 2400 Mbps on the two 5 GHz bands. The Ethernet ports are very helpful in connecting to your wired devices and since the satellite has the same ports, you can place it in another room to extend the range and reliability of your wifi network.
You can use the mobile app to set up this wifi system that comes with the circle parental controls or the web console. The mobile app has a home screen that displays connected satellites, internet speed, guest wifi, traffic meter, wifi settings, and network map. It’s very quick and easy to install. After downloading the mobile app, create an account then install the router. Create a network name and password, a quick firmware update, and connect the satellite node that is preconfigured to use the same wifi settings as the router. This orbi router works as an OpenVPN server. The satellite acts as a range extender that connects to the main router through a specific wifi band. This allows it to re-transmits signals from the router without losing speed since it doesn’t use the same bands as your connected devices. With a modem, you can use this router as a default router or use it with an existing router where it can work in its access point mode.
When it comes to its mesh performance, this router will not disappoint. As a single router, it can give you a sustainable speed of 835 Mbps at close range and 780 Mbps at 40 feet. For the satellite node at close range, it can manage a speed of 639 Mbps and 550 Mbps at 30 feet. The system will give you excellent coverage and with the two units, you can get a decent signal in a large area. It can cover about 5000 feet, but this will change depending on the environment.
Pros
- Has excellent speed and wifi range
- Its mobile app is useful and well designed
- Seamless and consistent mesh wifi coverage
- The 4 gigabit Ethernet LAN ports can connect to more wired devices
- It supports Amazon Alexa and Goggle assistant foe voice commands
Cons
- It doesn’t have a USB port
- It’s expensive
- Limited advanced features and parental controls
Nighthawk x6 ac3200
- Recommended for up to 50 devices: Reliably stream videos, play games, surf the internet, and connect...
- Wired Ethernet ports: plug in computers, game consoles, streaming players, and other nearby wired devices...
This is a tri-band wifi router that can handle multiple wireless devices in a single network. With so many devices connected to your home network and game consoles performing heavy-duty tasks like streaming HD videos, you’ll want to assign your devices to the more robust 5 GHz band but that will overload it. This router will automatically configure the two 5 GHz bands on different frequencies so that you can connect more devices to each band without reducing their performance. This router has a very weird design that looks like a robotic insect that has been flipped upside down with 6 retractable external antennas that look like legs and the base as its black thorax. You can swivel the antennas to get a better signal, but you can’t rotate them. At the back of this nighthawk X6 router, you’ll find 4 gigabit LAN ports, a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port, and a WAN port. There are also several buttons for resetting the router, for turning it on and off and switching off the LED panel.
You can configure this router manually and also set it up as an access point. You can also customize the 3 router bands to have their own top speed, network name, and security settings. This router has an SP and NAT firewall to protect your devices from web-based attacks. WPS, WAP2, and WAP2 enterprise protect wireless networks by preventing strangers from accessing your files and encrypting the data you transfer across your network. You can use the Ethernet ports to connect to your wired devices and the USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports to connect your printer and external hard drive. The router also has a guest network that allows for web browsing while still blocks your guests from accessing your network drives.
To setup, the X6 is very easy as it comes with a preconfigured network where you first connect the cables as shown in the instructions and enter the given password to gain access to the internet. Then you install the Netgear Genie appon your PC or phone that will give you access to more advanced router settings that will help you make adjustments to your network settings easily. As for the parental controls, you need to create an OpenDNS account to gain access to the settings. The app’s dashboard shows the number of connected devices, network information, the firmware your router is using, traffic meter, and wifi channels being used.
When it comes to performance and testing, this X6 router uses a dual-core 1 GHz processor with 3 offload processors, 256 MB of RAM, and 128 MB flash storage. This wireless router can reach speeds of 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1300 Mbps on the two 5 GHz bands. The best thing about this router is that you can manually allocate bandwidth between the 3 frequencies so that the older devices don’t slow down the new ones. It has a smart connect feature that will do this automatically, but this will only be possible if the two 5 GHz bands have the same name. This router can give you a maximum theoretical throughput speed of 3.2 Gbps. The 3 bandwidths can give you a total throughput speed of 702.4 Mbps at 5 feet. When operating on the 802.1ac mode, it can deliver 302.3 Mbps of bandwidth, but when it’s at 140 feet, it drops significantly to 177.3 Mbps. However, when using the 802.11n mode, this router can move 182.1 Mbps at 5 feet.
Pros
- The Genie software makes it easy to set up and install
- You can use both the USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports to connect your devices
- The six retractable antennas and beamforming technology provides a better signal
- You can manually allocate devices to the 3 bandwidths
Cons
- It’s expensive
- The network map needs some improvement
Conclusion
Netgear orbi wifi 6 uses the latest network technology and so does the nighthawk X6 supporting 802.11ad wifi system. While you can use nighthawk X6 in your big house to supply dependable wifi signal and withstand heavy use, you might need wifi extenders if the router can’t cover your entire house. This can result in speed loss and a weaker signal. However, the Netgear orbi wifi 6 will supply strong wifi signals to your entire house from one network and no reduction in speed.
So, which one is better? Netgear orbi or Nighthawk x6 ac3200?
The winner is the Netgearorbiwifi 6mesh router as it’ssmall and doesn’t look like a huge robot and it has everything you need to expand your network, you only add another satellite to the network and this makes your network better by providing another node that can handle traffic from other points.
FAQ
How many devices can the nighthawk X6 handle?
This is a tri-band wifi router that can allow you to connect up to 96 devices and include a smart connect that can pair each device with the best wifi band.
What is the range of Netgear nighthawk X6?
This smart wifi router can deliver a tri-band wireless speed of up to 3200 Mbps and a wifi extender that can cover around 2000 sq. feet.
