In addition to the Surfboard ax11000 wifi-6 router, Arris also released the Surfboard ax7800 Max Plus series wifi-6 router to compete with other competing products have been around in the market. Can it compete with Velop mx10 and Deco X60?
Surfboard Max Plus ax7800
When several vendors released several wifi router models that worked in the ax3000 network segment and even the ax1800 in addition to several models in the ax6000 network segment, Arris released Surfboard Max Pro ax11000 and Surfboard Max Plus ax7800. Meanwhile, the product that Arris will soon be released is the Surfboard ax6600 mesh wifi router.
Ax7800
Surfboard max plus is a simultaneous tri-band ax7800 mesh wifi system with total aggregated bandwidth of up to 7,800Mbps (4,800 + 2,400 + 600). Surfboard does not design the product to work on the ax6000 network segment which is commonly used by most vendors, but ax7800 which is slightly above the average bandwidth of ax6000. Two radio bands 2×2 MU-MIMO each are used for client connections while one dedicated band @5GHz radio band is used as the backhaul link between nodes.
Dedicated link is used to make dedicated communication link between mesh router and other mesh satellites that form mesh wifi system. Other vendors use different approaches in backhaul link between nodes. Orbi typically uses dedicated backhaul link like Surfboard, Linksys choose dynamic backhaul, etc.
Highlights
- 8-streams Simultaneous tri-band ax7800 mesh wifi system with dedicated backhaul
- Wifi speeds up to 4.8Gbps @5GHz 1 as dedicated backhaul, 2.4Gbps @5GHz and 600Mbps @2.4Ghz are used for clients connection
- Covers up to 6,000 sq ft (2-unit) suitable for medium to large homes
- 4x Gigabit Ethernet Ports with link aggregation capability (LAC)
- High speed dedicated 4×4 MIMO 4.8Gbps @5Ghz as dedicated backhaul link
- Comes with SURFboard Central app for central network management and customization including setup wizard, wifi manager, device management, parental control and also wifi speedtest
- Works with Alexa
Cons
- It requires 12V 3.5A input, but the adaptor supplied is for 110V AC not 220V AC
With this tri-band mesh ax7800 wifi system, Surfboard ax7800 Max Plus is targeted to compete with other competing products including Linksys Velop mx10 ax5800, Orbi Rbk852 ax6000, and also Deco X60 ax3000 which is popular option for lower speed.
Surfboard max plus ax7800 is tagged around $417.00 in Amazon (Jun 2021).
SHOP Surfboard ax7800 mesh wifi NOW!
Surfboard ax7800 vs Velop vs Deco
How this Surfboard ax7800 will compete with two of its competitors, Linksys Velop mx5 ax5800 (which is tagged with higher price) and TP-link Deco X60 which is tagged with more economical option, lower network segment without reducing the performance offered. See also Orbi rbk750 vs Velop mx10.
The following two tables are presented as references for comparing the specs and features of these three products to make it easier for you to choose which of these three products suits your business needs.
Wifi technology
In total bandwidth, Surfboard ax7800 is higher than Velop mx5 especially when compared to the Deco X60 which is only half the bandwidth offered by Velop or Surfboard. This is intended to be a consideration for the lower network class that may suit your needs.
With dedicated backhaul link 4,800Mbps @ 5GHz 4×4 MIMO, the other two bands are used for connected clients (2,400Mbps @5GHz + 600Mbps @2.4GHz). Compare with Linksys Velop mx5 which approaches tri-band dynamic backhaul, interesting. The use of backhaul links and connected clients is according to bandwidth needs and demands, so that when bandwidth requirements increase in each band because of increased client connections, bandwidth requirements are also dynamically shared.
Deco X60 uses shared bandwidth for backhaul and clients @ 5GHz band, for lower bandwidth demand you may consider this popular ax3000 mesh wifi system.
Ethernet Ports
If you need more wired connections, for example desktops, game console or Internet TV connections, Velop offers 5x ports per unit, while Surfboard provides four ports, and Deco only offers two ports per unit. In general, in a home wifi network, Ethernet connection is not used much except wifi.
Velop mx5 also offers two USB 2.0 port for share storage or printer connection.
Table 1 Surfboard ax7800 vs Velop mx5
| Model | Surfboard ax7800 (2-pack) | Velop Mx10 (2-pack) |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band ax7800 mesh wifi system with 8 streams | Simultaneous tri-band ax5800 mesh wifi system |
| Wifi speeds | 4,800Mbps 4×4 MIMO @5GHz 1 2,400Mbps 2×2 Mu-MIMO @5GHz 2 600Mbps 2×2 MU-MIMO @2.4GHz | 2,402Mbps 2×2 MU- MIMO @5GHz 1 1733Mbps 2×2 MU-MIMO @5GHz 2 1,147Mbps 2×2 MU-MIMO @2.4GHz |
| Antennas | MU-MIMO antenna arrays | Internal antenna arrays |
| Ethernet Ports | 4x Gigabit Ethernet Router with Link Aggregation Capability (LAC) | 1x Gigabit WAN Ethernet port 4x Gigabit Ethernet Ports |
| USB ports | N/A | 2x USB 2.0 ports |
| Coverage | 6,000 sq ft (3,000 sq ft / unit) | 6,000 sq ft (3,000 sq ft /unit) |
| Backhaul | dedicated 4×4 backhaul @5GHz 4,800Mbps and optional Ethernet backhaul | Tri-band dynamic backhaul |
| Processor | Powerful 1.8GHz Quad core 64 bit ARM processor for smooth operation | 2,2GHz Quad core processor with 512MB Flash and 1GB RAM |
| Other features | Works with Alexa Auto firmware update WPA2 | Works with Alexa WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode |
| Price | $417.00 | $449.99 |
Table 2 Surfboard ax7800 vs Deco X60
| Model | Surfboard ax7800 (2-pack) | TP-link Deco x60 (3-pack) |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band ax7800 mesh wifi system with 8 streams | Simultaneous dual band ax3000 mesh wifi with 4×4 MU-MIMO with 6-streams |
| Wifi speeds | 4,800Mbps 4×4 MIMO @5GHz 1 2,400Mbps 2×2 Mu-MIMO @5GHz 2 600Mbps 2×2 MU-MIMO @2.4GHz | 2,402 Mbps 4×4 MU-MIMO @5GHz 574 Mbps 2×2 MU-MIMO @2.4GHz |
| Antennas | MU-MIMO antenna arrays | 4x internal antennas |
| Ethernet Ports | 4x Gigabit Ethernet Router with Link Aggregation Capability (LAC) | 2x Gigabit WAN / LAN port |
| USB ports | N/A | N/A |
| Coverage | 6,000 sq ft (3,000 sq ft / unit) | 6,000 sq ft (2,000 sq ft / unit) |
| Backhaul | dedicated 4×4 backhaul @5GHz 4,800Mbps and optional Ethernet backhaul | wifi and Optional wired Ethernet backhaul |
| Processor | Powerful 1.8GHz Quad core 64 bit ARM processor for smooth operation | Quad core processor |
| Other features | Works with Alexa Auto firmware update WPA2 | WPA3 encryption and TP-Link HomeCare |
| Price | $417.00 | $285.00 |
Prices listed may not be the same as current price in the market. Click the product links below to see current price and shop the products in Amazon (#ads).
- Click here to SHOP Velop Mx10 on Amazon
- Or you may like to Click here to SHOP Deco X60 on Amazon
Related products
For affordable products based on wifi-6 – you may like to consider Huawei ax3000 vs Netgear wifi-6 router. Or you may also like affordable Meshforce M3s midnight black.
For medium to large business environment, you may consider Netgear wax610y outdoor in addition of wax610 indoor version offered by Netgear.
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