Review: Linksys Max-Stream AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router
Linksys has once again brought a router that is capable of making you want to toss your current router in the trash. This time it’s the Linksys Max-Stream AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router:
From a looks perspective, it doesn’t look outrageously designed. Thus it will not attract too much attention. I do note that it has lots of ventilation holes which will make sure that this router stays cool under pressure.
Around back you get a USB 3 and USB 2 port for printers and USB storage, plus four Gigabit Ethernet Jacks and a Gigabit jack for your Internet connection. Again, nothing that really attracts any attention. The story behind this router is what’s inside. It has a 1.4 gigahertz dual core processor and it supports MU-MIMO. Let me explain what that is. Chances are that your current router doesn’t support MU-MIMO which stands for Multi-User, Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output. That means that while you think it’s talking to multiple devices at the same time, it’s not. What’s really happening is that the router is having a conversation with each device on your wireless network individually, and switching between each device on your wireless network as quick as it can. This isn’t a big deal if you’re just grabbing e-mail. But if multiple devices are streaming Netflix at 4K, or even in HD, then you are going to get performance that isn’t up to par. That where MU-MIMO comes in as that supports having multiple conversations with multiple devices at the same time at the same speed if every device supports MU-MIMO. Thus the router is no longer the bottleneck on your network. It sounds cool in theory, but does it work? I’ll tell you in a second.
Setup was next to painless via Linksys Smart WiFi which allows you to set it up manually if you know what you’re doing, or have a wizard guide you. Once it was set up, I was able to start testing it. I covered two areas:
Range: I was able to get coverage in most areas of my condo which is typical for most routers that I test as they have to deal with concrete walls and other routers to provide wireless service. Connections tended to be very stable. Though I did note that the signal strength on the 2.4 GHz band was particularly on the weak which is again typical in my environment. Your mileage may vary depending on the environment that you’re in.
Performance: I did a couple of tests on this front. First I tested backing up the same amount of data from my MacBook Pro W/ Retina Display which supports triple stream WiFi to my QNAP TS-431 NAS over 802.11AC to both this router and a Linksys WRT1900ACS. The WRT1900ACS wins in this scenario, but not by much. Backing up 1.4 gigabytes of data showed less than a minute of difference between the two in the favor of the WRT1900ACS taking 14 minutes and the Max-Stream AC1900 taking just under 15 minutes. But when I did the same test while streaming video to a Roku 3, the Max-Stream AC1900 proved to be more adept. Under those conditions, the Max-Stream AC1900 still took just under 15 minutes while the WRT1900ACS was the router that was just under a minute slower in the same conditions. That surprised me as the Roku 3 doesn’t support MU-MIMO as far as I know. But the results imply that if you have a busy network and at least one device that supports MU-MIMO, the Max-Stream AC1900 can help that device get the best from the network. Another thing to consider is that in the very near future, any device such as a smart TV or streaming device that does 802.11AC WiFi will likely support MU-MIMO by default. This is something to consider if you want to future proof yourself as this router will allow you to be ahead of the curve.
Downsides? First, the AC adapter is a large outlet hogging brick that blocks any other outlet that’s near it in something like a UPS or a power bar. That’s a #fail. Second, If you’re looking for DD-WRT firmware support or the ability to create a virtual private network using the router, forget it. This isn’t the router for you. If you need those capabilities, and quite honestly not many of you reading this do, Linksys will happily sell you a WRT1900AC or ACS router. However, for those who want a solid router that can handle multiple high bandwidth devices that support MU-MIMO at the same time, then the Linksys Max-Stream AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router is the router for you. It just started shipping a few days ago and you can expect to pay $200 USD for one.
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