Nighthawk x10 vs. x6 – Which wireless router has the best speeds?
You will never think about your router until you start getting frustrated with your wifi, but you don’t have to buy the most expensive router to get reliable wireless connectivity in your home. The Nighthawk x10 vs x6 comparison review will shed more light on reliable routers you can buy.
For a couple of months, I have been having trouble with my home wifi. I have to reboot it every day which is quite frustrating. Since it’s an old router, I thought it’s best to get a new one, but with so many good routers in the market, I had to do some research first.
Table of Contents
What are the differences between Nighthawk x10 and x6?
Model |
X10 (Winner) |
X6 |
Antennas |
4 |
6 |
Speeds |
2.4 GHz – 800 Mbps
5 GHz – 1733 Mbps 60 GHz – 4600 Mbps |
2.4 GHz – 600 Mbps
5 GHz – 1300 Mbps 5 GHz – 1300 Mbps |
MU-MIMO |
Yes |
No |
Nighthawk x10 vs. x6. How do they differ?
Design
The nighthawk x10 is a huge router with 4 adjustable antennas with LED lights at the front edges that indicate the active connections. On the other hand, the x6 router is large and weird-looking. It looks like an insect that is upside down with 6 foldable antennas for its legs.
Advanced features
The nighthawk x10 router is packed with lots of useful features like the Amazon cloud storage service that the router uses to automatically backup your data and the Plex media server allows you to manage the video, audio, and photos in your hard drive. It has 2 USB 3.0 ports and a 10G SPF + LAN port that is used to connect your router to 10-gigabit compatible devices. It also supports the 160 MHz wifi that doubles the width of the 80 MHz channel on the 5 GHz band to deliver faster throughput speeds.
Nighthawk x10 vs. x6 – A comparison review
Nighthawk x10
- Fast WIFI Performance: Get up to 2500 sq ft wireless coverage with AD7200 speed (Tri-band up to 800 +...
- Recommended Up to 45 Devised: Reliably stream videos, play games, surf the internet, and connect smart...
Nighthawk x10 ad7200 is an 802.11ad, MU-MIMO-equipped smart wifi router that can deliver super-fast speeds on the 5 GHz band and even faster speeds on the 60 GHz band devices. This is a huge router with 4 adjustable antennas with LED lights at the front edge of the router that indicates power, guest networks, internet, USB ports, LAN ports, the radio bands, and the 10G SPF + LAN port. There is also a WPS switch and the on and off wifi button. At the back of the router are 6 gigabit LAN ports, a WAN port, an SPF + LAN port, reset, power, and LED on and off buttons. On the left side are 2 USB 3.0 ports. This router supports Ethernet port aggregation that allows you to combine 2 LAN ports with compatible aggregated devices to improve file transfer speeds. You can use the 10G SPF + LAN port to connect your router to 10 gigabit Ethernet devices like enterprise servers. This router uses MU-MIMO to send data to multiple compatible devices at the same time and beamforming that allocates wifi signals to specific devices instead of doing it on a broad spectrum. Other key features you will find in this router include Plex media server support that allows you to manage the audio, photos, and video files in your USB hard drive connected to the router and automatic backup to Amazon cloud-based storage service.
When setting up this router, you can either use the Genie mobile app or the web-based console. You just need to connect your router to your computer and modem, then type www.routerlogin.com on your browser to access the setup wizard. The home page will display the wireless and basic settings that consist of the IP and MAC addresses of all the connected devices, storage share options, Amazon drive backup settings, guest network settings, enable ReadyShare printer and configure the Plex media server. The parent controls will allow you to block specific sites, restrict access to the internet, and files on your network, but you first need to download the app. The advanced setting will give you details on the guest network, wireless, and internet settings. You can configure the advanced security settings that will help you create access schedules and restrict access to certain websites.
This nighthawk x10 is a quad-stream, dual-band 802.11ac router that operates on a 1.7 GHz dual-core processor which also supports the 802.11ad network that operates on the 60 GHz band. It incorporates a quad stream (4×4) 802.11ac access point to support all wifi connected devices. This router is capable of theoretical speeds of up to 4600 Mbps and can deliver speeds of up to 800 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1733 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. On the 2.4 GHz band at close proximity, this router can deliver speeds of 99.1 Mbps and 73.3 Mbps at 30 feet. On the 5 GHz band at close proximity, it scores speeds of 558 Mbps but slowed down at 30 feet to give a score of 392 Mbps which is still impressive. Its file transfer speeds are also excellent scoring 89.1 Mbps on the hard drive read test and 77.1 Mbps of the write test.
Pros
- Strong performance even with multiple connected devices
- Very easy to install and manage
- Has 6 Ethernet ports for more connections
- Excellent performance on the 5 GHz band
Cons
- Very expensive
- Lacks settings for the QoS feature
Nighthawk x6
- 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...
The nighthawk x6 ac3200 is a tri-band wifi router that can handle multiple wireless devices that you may have connected to your network on a single network. This router has 3 bands, the 2.4 GHz band and two 5GHz bands that help to balance the router’s performance. As you continue to connect more devices on your network that perform heavy-duty tasks like HD video streaming. This is an all-black router with sharp angular edges and a rectangular chassis with 6 foldable external antennas that make it look like a spaceship. This large, weird-looking router that weighs about 2.5 pounds and has vents at the top and back panel to keep it cool so that it doesn’t overheat. You can position the antennas in different directions, but you need to be careful not to break them as they can’t be replaced. In the middle of the router are 13 LED lights that indicate the active bands and ports, but you can turn them off. At the back of the router are 4 LAN ports, a WAN port, a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port that you can use of your external hard drives and printer, a power switch, and an LED on and off switch.
Setting up and installing this router will only take you a few minutes. Once you’ve connected your router, you just follow the instructions and turn on your browser and the router will redirect you to the Genie app setup page that you can install on your desktop or use the web-based Genie interface to manage your network. Once the app detects your router, enter the network name and code that is indicated on the router, then change them afterward to be on the safe side. You can configure the SSIDs and even the channels and enable or disable the smart connect feature, but if you enable it you place the two 5GHz bands on the same SSID. The router can auto-select which bandwidth has the best performance as you continue to add more devices to your network. The network map feature shows you all the connected devices on your network. The nighthawk x6 protects your network by blocking and limiting access to certain sites and clients by using the latest security protocols like WPA2 and VPN that includes NAT and SPI firewalls. The router has a guest network that allows your guests to browse but blocks access to your network drives.
The nighthawk x6 router has a powerful combination of features and wireless speeds of up to 3.2 Gbps with 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1300 Mbps on each 5 GHz band. It operates on a 1 GHz dual-core processor and 3 offload processors with 256 MB of RAM and 128 MB of flash storage space. On all the 3 bandwidths the router can deliver a total throughput of 702.4 Mbps at 5 feet, but when you use the 802.11ac mode at the same distance, there is a drop in speed to 302.3 Mbps. On the 802.11n mode at 5 feet, the router registered 182.1 Mbps.
Pros
- Easy and quick setup with the Genie software
- Enough ventilation to keep it cool
- Provides excellent range
- Has USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports
Cons
- It’s expensive
- Lacks an e-SATA port
Conclusion
The nighthawk x10 and x6 both provide fast throughput performance for all connected devices on your network. The x10 router has plenty of advanced features while x6 router can meet the demands of connecting more devices to your network.
So, which one is better – Nighthawk x10 or x6?
Nighthawk x10 is better than X6 because it’s a powerful router that is feature-packed and has MU-MIMO, 160 MHz, and 802.11ad wifi capabilities to deliver super-fast throughput speeds. It has 6 LAN ports, an SPF + LAN port to connect to 10-gigabit devices through fiber, Amazon drive backup, and a Plex media server.
FAQ
Is the nighthawk x10 worth it?
Nighthawk x10 is one of the few wireless routers that support the 802.11ad standard that features super-fast wireless transfers over short distances.
Does the Netgear nighthawk need a modem?
The nighthawk doesn’t have modem capabilities, so the actual connection to the internet is provided by your internet service provider.
