Netgear nighthawk xr500 review in Spanish (full analysis)

Netgear Nighthawk XR500 is one of the most advanced routers we can find on the market. Inside it hides a very powerful dual-core processor, this allows you to manage several connections at high speed so that you can get the best possible user experience. If you want to discover all its details keep reading.

We thank Netgear for trusting us with the product for its review:

Netgear Nighthawk XR500 technical features

Unboxing and design

Netgear Nighthawk XR500 comes in a cardboard box based on the company's corporate colors and exceptional quality printing. As usual, a high-quality image of the device stands out on the front.

And on the back , all its technical specifications are detailed in several languages, including Cervantes'.

We open the box and see the Netgear Nighthawk XR500 perfectly accommodated and protected so that it does not suffer any type of damage during transport. Next to the Router we find all the accessories and documentation. Netgear offers us the following bundle:

Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500 Router Ethernet Cable Power Adapter 4 External Antennas Installation Guide

Netgear Nighthawk XR500 is a state- of-the-art router designed for the most demanding users such as gamers, as they always want a high connection speed and the lowest possible latency, something essential for online gaming. The device reaches dimensions of 24.3 x 32.1 x 5.5 cm with a weight of 803 grams, it is more than clear that we are talking about a first-line router.

Inside the router we find a 1.7 GHz dual-core processor, it offers the capacity to handle a large volume of traffic and various devices. Thanks to the inclusion of a powerful processor, the router will have no problem managing its own operating system and all the hardware that the manufacturer has installed inside. This Netgear Nighthawk XR500 will have no trouble maintaining constant and reliable speed on your connected devices.

Netgear Nighthawk XR500 is compatible with the WiFi 802.11ac standard that will allow us to navigate at full speed, it is compatible with the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, in addition to being able to combine them to achieve the maximum transfer rate, the manufacturer promises nothing less than 2.6 Gbps, a figure that will make it easier for us to stream 4K content of the highest quality. Netgear has included 15 additional channels in the 5 GHz band to offer a gaming experience with less interference.

Netgear has not forgotten the security of its users, so the Netgear Nighthawk XR500 includes the most advanced security measures on the market. Support for VPN, WPA / WPA2 technologies, and the VPN gaming client protects the identity of the user's network and prevents DDoS attacks.

Netgear has included Dynamic QoS technology, it is responsible for prioritizing traffic in applications such as YouTube or Netflix to ensure the best speed. The router also allows prioritizing game-related packets and devices, in addition to assigning a specific bandwidth for each device. This provides fine control over the maximum upload and download speed on each device to minimize the sudden increase in delays.

In order to guarantee the best coverage, a total of four external antennas have been placed, this will help to achieve better WiFi coverage, a higher transfer speed and less interference. Netgear Nighthawk XR500 doesn't forget Multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) technology, which enables simultaneous transmissions to multiple devices in a much more efficient way. Thanks to this, everyone at home can enjoy an excellent multimedia experience free of lag and without buffering times.

Netgear Nighthawk XR500 does not forget the users who prefer wired connections, for them it offers a total of four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports that maximize the speed of wired transfer, this is ideal for games, since these require a breakneck speed and high-quality transmissions without the interference that can occur in WiFi networks.

Installation and firmware

Netgear Nighthawk XR500 includes the brand's advanced Circle parental control, this is a program that allows you to manage the content and schedules for each member of the family. We can also restrict Internet access to a device with the push of a button. Something very important today to protect the smallest of the house from inappropriate content.

To configure the Netgear Nighthawk XR500 we can resort to the NetGearUP application that makes everything extremely easy and intuitive, this is one of the details that we like most about this manufacturer. Although we have done it directly from our PC for comfort and to carry out a more exhaustive control.

The application interface is very basic and intuitive, but it allows us to configure any feature of the router. In the Home section we find tabs for basic and advanced settings, it also shows information about the status of the Internet connection, the WiFi network, connected devices and parental controls.

While in advanced settings we can access functions such as the security of our wireless network. We can also make the system send us an email when someone tries to access a blocked site. Finally, it offers advanced WiFi settings that include MU-MIMO technology management, VPN services and parental controls to limit access to the smallest of the house (it even allows us to program it in the daily and hourly section that is activated). said profile).

Testing equipment

To make the performance measurements we will use the following components:

1 Client 2T2R.Pendrive USB3.0 Sandisk Extreme (approximately 200mbps read / write), formatted as NTFS.Team 1, with Intel i219v network card.Team 2, with Killer E2500 network card.JPerf version 2.0.

Wireless Performance

In this case we are lucky to have a 2T2R client and we will be able to exploit this router to the best of its ability. It is an Atheros network card that we use in one of our high-performance notebooks.

The tests carried out are with the router + wifi extender. So we have better performance than other similar models over long distances.

The yields obtained have been the following:

Router - Computer in the same room (face to face): 67 MB / s. Router - Equipment in Room at 15 meters with several walls: 39 MB / s.

Final words and conclusion about Netgear Nighthawk XR500

The Nighthawk XR500 is a gentleman router for home and office use. Although its strongest point is in prioritizing bandwidth while we play, leaving other services in the background. Undoubtedly, a router to take into account in case you want to renew the one of our operator.

Among its technical characteristics we come across an AC2600 4 x 4 chip (MIMO compatible) 802.11 AC / AN, a Qualcomm IPQ8065 dual-core 1.7 GHz processor, two USB 3.0 connections, four 10/100/1000 LAN connections and a port WAN. Although one of its great innovations is the incorporation of a super optimized linux panel (Linux DumaOS) that we have loved in our tests.

We recommend you read the best routers on the market

We have seen that both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands offer sublime performance. Giving the maximum in portable computers with 2 x 2 clients such as desktops that incorporate a 4 x 4 client (This is not very common). Without a doubt, one of the best netgear routers we have tested to date.

It is currently available in online stores for a price of 279.99 euros. A great router at both hardware and software levels. Where in this last section we see a further nut squeeze by the Netgear guys. Good job!

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ DARE DESIGN	- COULD INCORPORATE 6 LAN CONNECTIONS
+ GOOD CHIP AC2600
+ 4 HIGH POWER ANTENNAS
+ IMPROVED FIRMWARE
+ GOOD PERFORMANCE ON WIFI