TP-Link Archer C5400X – Full Review and Benchmarks
Our Verdict
It may be big and expensive, but TP-Link's Archer C5400X combines first-rate speed, range and built-in security to dominion over all other gaming routers.
For
- Fantabulous operation
- Triband design
- Customization potential
- Security software
Against
- Big
- Can't aim antennas
- Expensive
Tom's Guide Verdict
It may be big and expensive, but TP-Link'southward Archer C5400X combines first-rate speed, range and built-in security to rule over all other gaming routers.
Pros
- +
First-class performance
- +
Triband pattern
- +
Customization potential
- +
Security software
Cons
- -
Big
- -
Can't aim antennas
- -
Expensive
TP-Link Archer C5400X Key Specs
Wi-Fi Spec: 802.11AC/Tri Ring
Number of Antennas/Removable: viii/No
Ports: one WAN/8 LAN gigabit per second, 2 USB 3.0
Processor/Memory/Storage: i.8GHz quad-core/1GB/128MB
Wi-Fi scrap: Broadcom BCM 4366
Peak 802.11ac performance: 859.5Mbps (at 15 feet)
Range: 100 feet
Size: eleven.2 x 11.2 x 7.6 inches
If performance for gaming is what you lot crave, wait no further than the TP-Link Archer C5400X. It's non just i of the best Wi-Fi routers effectually, the C5400X is as well 1 of the best gaming routers we've reviewed, combining exceptional speed with skillful range and the peace of listen that having its ain security software tin bring. It'southward large, expensive and you can't point the antennas, but this monster of a router is what truthful gamers want.
Editor's Note: We periodically update our reviews to brand sure that pricing and information is upwardly to date. Our rating and recommendation for the TP-Link Archer C5400X review is unchanged from when it originally published in Dec of 2018.
TP-Link Archer C5400X review: Blueprint
Square, squat and flat black, TP-Link'due south AC5400 MU-MIMO Tri-Band Gaming Router (aka Archer C5400X) looks like no other router on the market. The 9.5 x 9.5 x 2.ii inch base is among the biggest domicile networking devices around, simply there'due south more: snap on its eight cerise and black antennas and the Archer C5400X grows to eleven.2 x xi.2 10 7.half-dozen inches – three times bigger than Netgear's jet-black Nighthawk XR500 Pro Gaming Router.
On the downside, the antennas can't exist swiveled or aimed and the whole thing runs the risk of looking similar a cross betwixt a piece of sculpture and a coatrack. Nevertheless, its aggressive look will mean that gamers will want to bear witness off the Archer C5400X rather than hide it.
The router must sit flat and non on its side like in a bookshelf, but yous tin can mount it on a wall. The router is hot in more ways than ane, hit a peak temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
Inside, the Archer C5400X is powered by a Broadcom BCM4366 Wi-Fi fleck that includes MU-MIMO for connecting with several simultaneous devices and beamforming for adjusting the transmissions to make the most of the receiver's hardware. Its one.8GHz quad-core processor has three secondary co-processing cores, 1GB of RAM and 128MB of storage space for software and settings.
It all adds up to a screamer, capable of delivering 1Gbps over its two.4GHz band, as well as ii.167Gbps over each of its two 5GHz channels. The router carries an AC5400 rating for throughput.
The Archer C5400X takes every opportunity to evangelize top functioning for gamers afraid of aliens, apace evolving civilizations or inner-city car thieves. In addition to prioritizing a calculator's bandwidth access, the Archer C5400X tin amass two Ethernet connections for peak throughput. Its amplified signals can reach farther than other routers to fill larger homes, and the router'southward Airtime Fairness software lets every device get a take chances at a pinnacle speed connection.
Although it'southward aimed at gamers, the Archer C5400X can be an excellent dwelling router with parental controls
On the other hand, it lacks the geo-filtering that Netgear's Nighthawk XR500 Pro Gaming Router has and the double-width 160MHz data channels of both the XR500 and Linksys' WRT32X. The Archer C5400X does include a congenital-in VPN server to connect anonymously or cover your online tracks.
While it'due south aimed at gamers, the Archer C5400X can exist an excellent home router, with parental controls to steer kids clear of the dark side of the spider web. The router's heavy-duty security software includes a Malicious Content Filter to cake known bad sites, an Intrusion Prevention Organisation to thwart network attacks and an Infected Device Quarantine so anything that slips through doesn't contaminate other computers. This actress layer of protection can't supplant traditional malware programs and is simply bachelor on security routers similar Norton's Cadre and F-Secure's Sense.
The Archer C5400X is a screamer, capable of delivering 1Gbps over its two.4GHz band equally well every bit two.167Gbps over each of its 2 5GHz channels.
The center of the router's top has a lit TP-Link logo that glows white when everything is working correctly. It turns to red when at that place's no cyberspace connection.
In the dorsum, the C5400X has an input WAN connectedness and viii gigabit-per-2d downstream ports, twice what most routers provide. There'southward also an on-off switch and a recessed reset button.
On i side are ii USB three.0 ports for printers and data devices. The other side has individual push buttons for turning the lights off, pausing the internet and cutting the Wi-Fi transmissions, effectively changing the Archer C5400X into a wired router.
TP-Link Archer C5400X review: Performance
The Archer C5400X's Broadcom BCM 4366 Wi-Fi scrap has a 1.8GHz quad-core processor with three auxiliary co-processors along with 512MB of storage space and 1GB of RAM. Its triband design has a single two.4GHz transmitter (upward to 1Gbps) and ii 5GHz ones (up to ii.167Gbps each) that tin handle a theoretical 5.3Gbps of information flow under ideal conditions.
Testing in our Utah facility using Ixia's ixChariot software to simulate a busy network, showed the Archer C5400X to be one of the highest-performing dwelling house-networking devices bachelor. It blew away the gaming-router contest with a tiptop speed of 859.5Mbps at 15 anxiety, 16 percent and 53 percent, respectively, ahead of Netgear'due south Nighthawk XR500 Pro Gaming Router (715.4Mbps) and Linksys' WRT32X router (544.5Mbps) at the same altitude.
In fact, the Archer C5400X's only real competitor on raw speed was its little brother, the Archer C2300 router. It moved 939.6Mbps at 5 anxiety, and 682.3Mbps at 15 anxiety, yet costs less than half of what the gaming routers get for.
Testing showed the Archer C5400X to be one of the highest-performing dwelling house-networking devices available.
At 5 feet, the Archer C5400X delivered 733.9Mbps versus the Netgear XR500'due south 704.7Mbps and the Linksys WRT32X'south 527.6Mbps. In fact, the but location where the Archer C5400X lagged was at 100 feet, where information technology provided 447.1Mbps versus the XR500's 524.3Mbps, a margin of fifteen pct. The Linksys WRT32X was well behind the ii at 247.0Mbps.
At our examination's terminal distance of 150 anxiety, the Archer C5400X showed its stuff with throughput of 383.3Mbps, xi percentage ahead of the XR500's 342.2Mbps and the C2300's 342.5Mbps. Over again, the Linksys WRT32X trailed the pack, this time at 302.4Mbps.
The Archer C5400X should work well in an quondam firm with lots of obstructions, with the router punching 853.7Mbps of throughput through a metallic wall, compared with the 667.3Mbps that the Netgear XR500 was capable of and the 559.0Mbps for the Linksys WRT32X. It similarly led the way with the ability to motion 832.3Mbps through a soundboard wall but trailed the Archer C2300's 921.7Mbps on this chore.
It did well at transmitting a Wi-Fi signal through a ceiling to the second flooring of the lab with 786.2Mbps of bandwidth available upstairs. That'southward 15 percent more throughput than XR500's 670.5Mbps.
The Archer C5400X came close to filling my 3,500-square-foot domicile with Wi-Fi but left ii small dead spots in corners of the basement. With my iPad Pro in mitt, the router had a range of 100 feet, merely short of the Netgear Nighthawk XR500 Pro Gaming Router'due south 115-pes range.
It ran without a hiccup for a week and seemed to help when I watched truly talented League of Legends gamers get at it on Twitch. Later, I played a few rounds of Fighter Patrol 42 and Real Racing iii. The response was quick with stutter-gratis video.
More than: Your Router'south Security Stinks: Here's How to Fix It
On the other hand, it's a power hog, with the Archer 5400X using 13.4watts of electricity while operating, 22 percent more than the Linksys WRT32X'due south 10.1watts. That adds up to an annual power neb of $15.25, compared with the WRT32X'southward $11.80, bold you pay the national average of thirteen.iii cents per kilowatt-hr for power.
The Archer C5400X passed our informal saturation test by playing HD and 4K videos on a Surface Pro three and iPad Pro as I listened to an cyberspace radio station on my Macbook, all while a Samsung Tab Pro Southward was moving files on and off a network-attached storage system. The audio and video were well-synced with no dropouts or skips.
TP-Link Archer C5400X review: Setup
To prepare the Archer C5400X, you can employ a connected browser or one of the Tether apps; there are apps for iOS (iPhones and iPads) and Android phones and tablets. I used an HP Elitebook Page G1 and Chrome browser and then monitored the router with TP-Link'south Tether app on my Samsung Galaxy S8 phone.
Dissimilar other routers, the process starts with typing in a new authoritative password, something that is often ignored by other routers; the interface tells yous how secure the password is: "depression, heart or loftier."
Next, pick your fourth dimension zone and the software and so asks how your broadband modem connects with your Internet access provider, with the expected choices: dynamic IP, Static IP, PPOE, L2TP and PPTP. Using the AutoDetect feature worked perfectly. At that place's a QR lawmaking there to go the Android and iOS apps.
After typing in the names and passwords for the 2.4GHz and pair of 5GHz networks, the interface shows a settings summary for confirmation. You can also pick to hide each network'due south name. A quick restart gets the router going. All told, information technology took a little less than 7 minutes to set it upward, it connected on the first try and delivered a consistent 186Mbps from my 200Mbps broadband connectedness.
TP-Link Archer C5400X review: Configuration
The TP-Link Archer C5400X provides the power to customize the network. In that location are Basic and Advanced sections too as one for redoing the setup process. In addition to changing the Wi-Fi network's proper noun, password and the router's guest network, the Bones section's dashboard screen shows how many clients are connected, lets you test the network'due south current throughput and check on connected printers or data storage.
There are Advanced sections for everything from internet, local LAN and DHCP settings, to imposing a schedule to plow off Wi-Fi transmissions at a ready fourth dimension every 24-hour interval. In improver to adjusting the transmission level (low, eye or high) and the firewall settings, there's a built- in Virtual Private Network (VPN) server and the router can relay Alexa commands. The device tin can exist ready as a router or an admission indicate, and it has Quality of Service (QOS) software that lets you designate a device or application to go top priority for network access.
Y'all tin can modify the channel width between 20- and 40MHz merely not extend this to double-width 160MHz, as Netgear's Nighthawk XR500 Pro Gaming Router and Linksys' WRT32X can. It also lacks the ability to change the Preamble manner.
1 matter the C5400X does that few others can is protect against a viral assault. The interface lets you lot activate the Malicious Content Filter, Intrusion Protection System and Infected Device Quarantine every bit a group. Y'all can turn them on or off independently every bit well.
TP-Link Archer C5400X review: Smart home integration
Unlike the Samsung SmartThings mesh kit, TP-Link's Archer C5400X lacks a consolidated page for controlling IoT home-automation devices. It can use Alexa voice command, and its IFTTT page lets you programme sensors and actuators that are set up on the network.
TP-Link stands by the C5400X with a 2-year warranty and support. That blows abroad companies like Netgear, which include a one-year warranty and only xc-days of support. Online, the company has everything you might demand to install and troubleshoot a network. My favorites include the setup videos, extensive FAQs and links to the iOS and Android Tether apps.
TP-Link Archer C5400X review: Verdict
There's a new entry in the best gaming routers in boondocks and TP-Link's Archer C5400X makes the competition eat its digital dust with first-class throughput and range along with the security of having its own antivirus software. It's more expensive than Netgear'south Nighthawk XR500 Pro Gaming Router and Linksys' WRT32X, but the C5400X is more than worth information technology based on its sheer speed lone. It deserves to be next to any serious gamer'southward figurer because its elevation operation can be the difference between winning a battle and ending up drifting through space.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/tp-link-archer-c5400x,review-5998.html
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