The Netgear Nighthawk X10 is the latest and greatest from Netgear when it comes to routers. It’s ideal for 4K streaming and VR gaming. In my opinion, the Nighthawk X8 was perfect so I really didn’t feel the desire to upgrade. Netgear offered to send me the X10 to review as part of their brand ambassador program so I figured why not. Although the product was sent to me, this review is unbiased and honest based off my findings.
Here are the key features (as listed on Netgear’s X10 product page)
- 802.11ac Quad-Stream Wave2 WiFi plus 802.11ad WiFi
- Plex Media Server—Stream your media on all your devices
- Powerful 1.7GHz Quad-Core processor
- MU-MIMO ‡—Simultaneous streaming of data for multiple devices
- Amazon Drive cloud back up
- ReadyCLOUD® USB Access—Personal & secure cloud access to USB storage anytime, anywhere
- ReadySHARE® Vault—PC software for automatic backup to USB hard drive connected to the router
- DLNA® Server—Find & play your media on TVs & game consoles
- VPN support—Secure remote access to your home network & Internet
- Enhanced Parental Controls—Manage web filtering & accessibility by profiles or devices
- NETGEAR® genie® home network manager includes remote access to manage your network away from home
- NETGEAR Up app — Easily set up, update, and configure your router
- Open source software available††
- IPv6 Support (Internet Protocol Version 6)
- On/Off LED light switch
Setup
The installation process was extremely simple. You take it out of the box and hook it up. Netgear expedites the set up process with a new app called “Netgear Up.” The router already has pre-set network names and passwords for each band.
Performance
I originally ran the router speed tests on a 50mbps internet service. I’ve recently upgraded my connection to 300mbps but the images below reflect what happened when I upgraded from the X8 to the X10 on 50mbps.
Value
The Netgear X10 is priced at $499. That’s about $100 more than what the X8 started as but you have to take into account that it’s one of the only routers on the market built for VR and 4k. It’s the only router that has a Plex server built in as well.
Design
The X10 looks like something straight out of a futuristic sci fi movie. I recently had DirecTV installed on my new home and the installation guy couldn’t even tell that it was a router at first. Similar to the X8, it features flashing lights and a fan in the center to keep it cool at all times. Even though they’re shaped differently, the X8 and the X10 are pretty much the same size.
The X8 and the X10 are both amazing routers. I prefer the X8 because the firmware has had time to be perfected to really optimize it’s capabilities. In the long run, the X10 would be the best option because it’s built for technology that has yet to be released. There’s a 60G bandwidth available on the X10 and I have yet to find a device that can pick it up.