TP-Link AC5400 Tri Band Gaming Router Review

Exceptional Power & Feature Packed 

Gaming routers come in a variety of price ranges, and each brand tends to focus on different features. That can make it difficult to find the right router for your needs. That’s especially true when you take into account all of the technical jargon used to market them.

In theory, any gaming router will improve your experience to some degree. However, some are going to do that better than others. You need to have a gaming router that provides high connection speeds, secure connections, and plenty of bandwidth. Preferably, a few options to control where your bandwidth is going should be included, too.

We’ve found a gaming router that exemplifies those qualities. The TP-Link AC5400X has all of the necessary features, and it packs in a few bonuses, too. This isn’t a budget router. You’ll have to spend nearly $300 to get your hands on it. However, it’s one of the most powerful gaming routers on the market, and it is easily worth the price.

In the following sections, we’re going to go over the most exciting features that the AC5400X has to offer.

Extraordinary Processing Features

TP-Link focused a lot of their energy on the processor in the AC5400X. It packs a 1.8Ghz quad core processor, and it has three co-processors for added power. To give it a little boost, the AC5400X also features 1GB of RAM.

That may sound like a lot of technical terms, but it essentially means that the TP-Link was made to contend with the power of gaming rigs. It can handle a lot of information in a small amount of time, and it has plenty of processing power to handle an entire family of gamers.

QoS For Dedicated Bandwidth

When your entire family is trying to use every single device they have, it slows down your network. That usually isn’t a big deal if you’re just surfing the web, but it affects online gaming dramatically.

To solve that issue, TP-Link has included a QoS feature that allows you to manually prioritize your gaming. It won’t affect your network unless you set it up, but it can force the majority of your bandwidth to work towards optimizing your gaming experience. That ensures that you’ll never experience any lag because your family is busy streaming Netflix.

Tri-Band

The AC5400X can connect with more devices at once than most gaming routers. It utilizes a tri-band system to create three separate bandwidths. The main connection can run at 5400Mbps, and the two secondary connections can run at 2167Mbps. That allows you to have more devices connected to your network without slowing down the network as a whole.

MU-MIMO And Airtime Fairness

Instead of letting every device compete for bandwidth, the AC5400X uses multitasking software to distribute bandwidth fairly. As long as you don’t activate the Gaming Mode feature, everyone on your network will get the same amount of bandwidth.

RangeBoost Technology

Most gaming routers just send a signal across their range, and they don’t target specific devices. If you go into a spot that one of those routers doesn’t cover, you won’t have a connection.

The AC5400X uses RangeBoost technology to direct its signals directly to your devices. That helps to keep you connected to your network, and you shouldn’t experience any problems with low signal strength.

Excellent Wired Capabilities

The AC5400X does something that most routers don’t. It automatically doubles the speed of a wired connection when the other ethernet ports aren’t in use. If you only have your gaming rig connected to an ethernet port, it’ll utilize Link Aggregation technology to use the power of two ethernet ports for the connection. That effectively turns a 1GB port into a 2GB port, and it increases the quality of your gaming experience by a remarkable degree.

Built-In HomeCare Security

Cyber security is a big deal in today’s society. Your network is always at risk of being hacked or tainted. If you’ve used computers for any real length of time, you probably know the importance of a good anti-virus program. However, that only affects the device that it’s installed on.

The AC5400X has built-in HomeCare software, and that protects every device that is connected to it. It’s still a good idea to install individual anti-virus programs on your devices, but HomeCare will act as the first line of defense for your network.

Alexa Compatible

Amazon’s popular Alexa software allows certain smart devices to be controlled via voice commands, and there are several different products designed as hubs for the Alexa software. However, they require a WiFi connection that is compatible with them.

The TP-Link AC5400X is tested to be Alexa compatible. So, you shouldn’t have any issues connecting your favorite Alexa devices to it.

NitroQAM

TP-Link didn’t settle for standard 1024-QAM when they built the AC5400X. They went one step further, and they added the latest version of NitroQAM.

NitroQAM works to increase your networks most vital functions. It allows more data to travel through the router, and it optimizes data packets to keep everything running smoothly.

Conclusion

There are a lot of different gaming routers on the market, but they’re not all built the same. A lot of them lack the quality and features necessary to truly impact your gaming experience. That’s not the case with the AC5400X by TP-Link.

The AC5400X is a powerful router. It’s more powerful than a lot of computers. It allows you to prioritize your gaming, but it doesn’t force you to. That’s a welcome addition, because most gaming routers automatically put gaming before everything else. That can cause issues when you’re not trying to game. When you combine that with several other features that optimize your network and its security features, the AC5400X is worth every penny that it costs.

It isn’t the least expensive router, but it is one of the best, and you won’t regret adding it to your gaming arsenal.