Linksys WRT1900AC Wireless AC Router - Testing and Final Thoughts

Testing:

As far as performance goes, we fired up iperf to do a little benchmarking on this router. Iperf results show bandwidth that the network is actually capable of. In the real world, you don't often see wired transfer rates approaching 1000mpbs because hard drives are barely fast enough to read and write at this speed. Also, CPU overhead can become an issue when transferring this much data. We use iperf with confidence as it shows how good the network hardware actually is and if it can perform anywhere close to its rated specs. We will be testing wired performance, then wireless performance compared with a bunch of routers.

For reference we compared this router to Trendnet's TEW-672GR, TEW-691GR, TEW-812DRU routers as well as D-Link's DGL-4500 and DGL-655 units. Also compared are the Linksys' WRT610N, E4200 and EA6500 routers and finally one unit from Rosewill; the T600N. Many of the wireless adapters have changed over the years but we have always been using the current equivalents throughout these tests to keep everything as close to realistic as possible.  As you can see, the results of the Linksys WRT1900AC are in orange at the top and when it comes to wired performance it's in the middle of the pack.  It tops out at 933Mbps (out of 1000Mbps), coming in behind a couple of Trendnet products, a couple of Linksys products and the D-Link Gamerlounge DGL-4500.  Wireless performance favors 802.11ac products and this router actually edges out every other router we've tested. The closest competition is the Trendnet TEW-812DRU, but the winner is clearly the WRT1900AC.

We ran through several instances of iperf and each instance transferred data for five minutes. The results were averaged and are displayed above. When it comes to wired performance, the Linksys WRT1900AC does alright, but isn't ground breaking.  On the wireless side of things, it does better when connecting to speedy 802.11ac. Linksys has upped the stakes and performance when it comes to wireless performance. It's the fastest wireless router we've seen - but not by much. it will be interesting to see how performance increases as the 802.11ac standard matures.

Final Thoughts:

Overall the performance and package of the WRT1900AC is very good. Linksys has put their best foot forward in order to try and regain the affection of home and office users worldwide. Their moto with this product is, "Performance, Perfected" and they come very close on a lot of things. The wired performance is great and it comes close to the fastest we've seen. In terms of wireless connectivity the results between this router and my laptop are the best I've seen or experienced. There really isn't much to complain about when it comes to performance.

The interface is very clean, functional and everything is where it should be. I've used some products in the past that hid features that you need more often in really obscure corners inside the interface and it was difficult to manage and setup. The WRT1900AC is actually a pleasure to use. Setup is simple and with the Smart WiFi system, you can change your router settings from an App on your mobile device as well as make changes through their portal - if you create an account.

This router doesn't come with a lot of extras, but when you have everything you need, extra stuff is just redundant. Overall, I'm very impressed with the range, performance, presentation and ease of use of this product. I do appreciate the nice clean LEDs on the front to the USB2.0/eSATA & USB 3.0 ports on the back. They really haven't missed anything that we hope for or expect from a high-end router.

Pros:

• Clean and slick interface
• Great wireless performance and great range
• Dual-Band wireless with separate configuration
• Secure Guest network
• Flagship wireless product
• Fast processor for smooth file serving

Cons:

• Not so cheap

While I think this product is fantastic and easily deserves a Gold Award here as it makes our Editor's Choice list, the reality is that many customers are more than happy with a $50 router. If you are watching your pennies and want decent performance for a bargain price, this router is not for you. If you demand the fastest performance and don't care how much you have to spend to get it, this router delivers great performance no matter how many users are connected, what you're doing, how many files you are sharing and more. You do get what you pay for in terms of performance and the Linksys is worth the money.

I'd like to thank Linksys for sending this router our way for a review. If you have any question or comments, please feel free to post in our forum at the link below.