Netgear x8 vs x10 – Which one is a better investment for you?
If you want to experience superfast wifi speeds in your home, you need a great router. It’s that simple. The Netgear x8 vs. x10 comparison will give you a better understanding of what to look for in a great router that will give you the speed and range that you need.
If you want to have great wifi connections in your home, you will need a great router. That’s the simplest way of putting it. With so many great routers in the market, you need to look for that specific one that will provide a smooth and uninterrupted wifi connection no matter where you are in your home. This Netgear x8 vs. x10 review will give you information on two of the best routers you can have in your home.
Table of Contents
What are the differences between Netgear x8 and x10?
Router model |
X8 |
X10 (Winner) |
Antennas |
4 external antennas |
4 active-pending external antennas |
Processing speeds |
2.4 GHz – 1000 Mbps
5 GHz – 2165 Mbps |
2.4 GHz – 800 Mbps
5 GHz – 1733 Mbps |
Type of processor |
1.4 GHz dual-core processor |
1.7 GHz quad-core processor |
Netgear x8 vs. x10 – How do they differ?
Design
The Netgear X8 is a big router that measures 316×264 mm and only 61 mm tall, but it needs 190 mm for its 4 antennas that you can rotate to get a stronger signal, while the X10 measures 2.9×8.8×6.6 mm. The antennas in X8 have each glowing lights and aren’t removable but have integrated amplifiers to extend the system’s range for its 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bandwidthsunlike the 4 adjustable antennas in the X10 that have LED indicators at the front edge of the router. The amplifiers in each antenna help to maximize the power output and sensitivity which results in greater speed and range. The X8 router also has 4 more internal antennas.
Processor speeds
X10 router uses a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor with the 802.1ad and 802.1ac wireless radios. The 802.1ad is the latest wifi standard that is 3x faster than the 802.1ac with speeds of up to 4.6 Gbps while the latter scores speeds of 1.3 Gbps. This router can hit speeds of 800 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1733 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. The X8 router uses a 1.4 GHz dual-core Broadcom BCM47094 processor with flash memory and RAM of 128 MB and 512 MB respectively. When combines with a trio of Broadcom BCM4366 wifi chips, the two 5 GHz bands can score speeds of up to 2165 Mbps and 1000 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band.
Transfer speeds
The X8 router can give you combined speeds of up to 5.3 Gbps thanks to its powerful 1.4 GHz dual-core processor that delivers a very high-performance networking engine to give you speedy connections. On the other hand, the X10 router uses the 802.1ac/ad wifi so you get instant downloads and ultra-smooth surfing, 4K streaming, and VR gaming. With a powerful 1.7 GHz quad-core processor that also has a quad stream network, you will enjoy combined wireless speeds of up to 7.2 Gbps.
Antennas
The X8 router like many other routers has 4 external antennas that help to amplify and maximize on your router’s wifi range. However, the X10 router has 4 patent-pending active antennas that have amplifiers located at the top of each antenna instead of being in the motherboard that help to amplify the wifi signal.
Netgear x8 vs. x10 – A comparison review
Netgear x8
- Get fastest speeds available up to 5.3Gbps. Up to 1,000 Mbps @ 2.4GHz 1024 QAM. Up to 2,166 Mbps @ 5 GHz...
- Tri-band WiFi/Quad Stream/MU-MIMO delivers more WiFi to your devices. Smart Connect intelligently selects...
The Netgear nighthawk x8 r8500 is a tri-band quad stream wifi router that can give you a total bandwidth speed of up to 5.3 Gbps. It can simultaneously support one 2.4 GHz frequency and two 5 GHz frequencies to enhance your data transfer rates and this makes it easier to transfer large files, stream multimedia content, game online, and many more with very little or no lag at all. This is one of the biggest routers you will find. It’s an angular black router with a curved top surface that has lots of vents to keep it cool and you can either opt to place it on a wide bookshelf or mount it on your wall, but it doesn’t have templates for where to drill the holes. Like other routers, the x8 comes with 4 antennas that you can rotate to different directions to find a strong signal. The antennas have integrated amplifiers that help to extend the system’s range for the frequency connections. It also has 4 internal antennas that work with the 5 GHz frequency.
The router has 13 LED white lights that blend in well with the background, but there’s a switch at the back if you want to turn them off leaving only the power lights. It also has switches for the power, reset button, and WPS for connecting quickly to new devices. Some of the highlights in this router include 6 gigabit Ethernet ports which are great if you have lots of wired connections and you can use two aggregated ports for top-speed data transfers, network storage, streaming 4K videos, or online gaming. You will also find a USB 3.0 port and a USB 2.0 port at the side of the router covered by a plastic flap for your USB hard drives and printers.
The x8 is not only a router but it can also serve as a wireless range extender, access point, and a media server. All you need to do is plug in the router’s AC adapter and connect your broadband modem in your WAN port and when all the LED light is on, the router will optimize the connection. At the bottom of the router, you will find network names and passcodes to use when connecting through wired devices of wifi. You can customize your router from the device’s web browser or mobile app on your Android or iOS devices. You can turn off the 3 radio frequencies and use your router as a wired device, change network passwords, names, and encryption type, set up a guest network where your friends can use your internet connection, but not access your storage or settings. The dynamic quality of service will help your router prioritize which devices or apps have huge data traffic and apportion more bandwidth. The ReadySHARE vault-app allows you to store files online and back up your PC to a USB drive and can turn your router into a file server. The router an also use an open-source DD-WRT firmware for much faster speed and more features.
When it comes to performance, since the nighthawk x8 can connect to various devices on the 2.4 GHz bandwidth and two of 5 GHz bandwidth, it can achieve a theoretical throughput peak of over 5.3 Gbps. On the inside, there is a dual-core 1.4 GHz Broadcom BCM47094 processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 128 MB of flash memory. There is also a trio of Broadcom BCM4366 wifi chips that allows the two 5GHz frequencies to produce speeds of up to 2165 Mbps and 1000 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz frequency. Using MU-MIMO technology, this router can stream data to different devices at the same time. This means your wifi network can deliver faster throughput speeds to every MU-MIMO device connected.If you test this router using Ixia’s IxChariot software in a crowded wifi environment, it can deliver 736.8 Mbps as the overall data speed for the 3 bands at 15 feet with a throughput of 641.2 Mbps at 5 feet. If you live in a house with many thick walls, this router can give you a range of 150 feet.
Pros
- Delivers stronger wifi signals with a greater range
- The active antennas improve wifi performance
- It’s a fast tri-band wifi router
- It uses a powerful 1.4 GHz processor
Cons
- It’s expensive
- Larger than most routers
X10
- Get fastest speeds available up to 5.3Gbps. Up to 1,000 Mbps @ 2.4GHz 1024 QAM. Up to 2,166 Mbps @ 5 GHz...
- Tri-band WiFi/Quad Stream/MU-MIMO delivers more WiFi to your devices. Smart Connect intelligently selects...
Netgear nighthawk x10 is a wifi router that supports the new 802.11ad wifi standard to give you superfast wireless speeds and ultrafast wired connections for a high-end 10 Gbps server. For the fast connection to work, you will need to place your PC or laptop very near the router because if you move a few feet away, the speed reduces to that of a 4×4 802.11ac router. This is a huge router designed for large homes. It comes with 4 adjustable antennas that have blue LED lights that are on when the wifi frequencies are active, lots of LED indicators on the front edge of the router for power, guest networks, internet, 6 gigabit LAN ports, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 2 USB ports, 60 GHz radio bands, and 10G SPF + LAN port. Not forgetting the WPS button and wifi on/off button. On the left side of the router, you will find two 3.0 USB ports while at the back there are 6 Gigabit LAN ports, power, WAN port, reset, LED on/off buttons, and SPF + LAN port. This router allows for Ethernet port aggregation that allows you to combine 2 LAN ports which help to improve the speeds for file transfers to compatible aggregate devices like NAS devices. The 10 SPF + LAN port connects your router to 10 gigabit Ethernet devices.
This router supports MU-MIMO data streaming to compatible devices simultaneously and beamforming that directs wifi signals to specific devices instead of over a broad spectrum. It also supports 160 MHz wifi that doubles the width of the 80 MHz channel on the 5 GHz frequency and this gives you faster throughput speeds, but you can’t test it as it’s not available. It also has an automatic Amazon drive cloud backup storage service and Plex media server support where you can store your audio files, photos, and videos on a connected hard drive. You can use parental controls to restrict internet connection at certain times and block access to certain websites, but you’ll have to do that using the mobile or web app.
The nighthawk x10 is very easy to install and setup, all you need is to go to your PC and type www.routerlogin.net on your browser to access the setup wizard that will guide you through the internet and wireless network settings or download the mobile app on your phone. The advanced settings page will show you detailed information on the router, guest, and wireless networks. It will give you very impressive scores on its throughput performance tests. On the 5 GHz bandwidth at close proximity, you will get a score of 558 Mbps, but if you move further away about 30 feet, it becomes a bit slower to about 392 Mbps. On the 2.4 GHz bandwidth, the scores are also good with a score of 99.1 Mbps at close proximity and at 30 feet it drops a little to a score of about 73.3 Mbps.
Pros
- Has super-fast throughput performance
- It supports the new 802.1ad wifi standard
- Has a built-in Plex server for media streaming
- Good performance at all ranges
Cons
- It’s expensive and bulky
- The web interface is sluggish
Conclusion
With all the information above, you can see that both the Netgear X8 vs. X10 comparison has valuable information that will help you decide the best router that will meet your wifi needs. They both deliver good throughput speeds and performance, but this will all depend on what you’re looking for.
Verdict: So, which is better, the X8 or X10?
The X10 router is a more superior router to X8 because of its superior processor, super-fast wifi speeds, and other convenient and effective features like beamforming, the Plex media server, 10 SPF + LAN port, and many more that ensure the router can deliver great wifi speeds without interferences.
FAQ
How many devices can Netgear nighthawk X10 ad7200 connect?
The nighthawk ac1900 can connect to up to 64 devices which means 32 devices on each bandwidth because this router has a dual-band operating system with 2 frequencies, the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz. As for the trio-band router, it can connect up to 96 devices as it operates 3 bandwidths, the 2.4 GHz and two 5 GHz bands.
Is the nighthawk X10 worth it?
The Nighthawk X10 is among the few wireless routers that support the 802.1ad wireless standard that features super-fast wireless file transfers over a short-range which means it’s a great router to invest in.
