Up to end of 2022, Tenda introduced two series of mesh wifi 6 products, Tenda nova ax1800 and nova ax3000 following its success with nova mw6 and nova mw12 based on legacy wifi 5 technology. How do these two wifi 6 series compete with tplink deco?.
In this article
Tenda Nova wifi 6
Tenda offers two models of mesh wifi 6 product released to the market up to end of 2022, Tenda nova ax1800 and nova ax3000. Both mesh wifi 6 series are designed with the same body appearance with tower form factor and each model comes with 3x gigabit Ethernet ports each node / unit.
And today you can find Tenda updates its lineup products with higher bandwidth, Tenda MX15 and Tenda MX21 Pro 6e. Cick here to see Tenda MX21 Pro 6e mesh wifi 6e series.
Nova mx12, ex12 and mx6, ex6
Tenda nova ax1800 series is labeled with tenda nova mx6 or nova ex6, both nova mx6 and ex6 are exactly the same technically. While Tenda nova ax3000 series is labeled with either tenda nova mx12 or tenda nova ex12.
So why does Tenda label the same products with different name even though both are exactly the same technically? It seems to me that each product with different label is used for different market, for example in Amazon tenda offers nova mx12 instead of nova ex12. You may also find that tenda uses different label for East Asia market with nova em12 ax3000 as showcased in aliexpress.com.
This is common, tplink deco also label different labels with the same product. For example, deco xe75 and deco xe5300 are the same products with different label.
Tenda Nova ax1800
Previously tenda was popular with its affordable mesh wifi 5 product, the nova mw12, and today you have options to select the legacy product based on wifi5 (wireless ac) or the one with latest wifi 6 technology (wireless ax).
Tenda Nova mw12 vs mx6
If you look at the prices of these two mw12 and mx6 products in the market, the price difference is not much, only a few bucks. Nova mx6 uses wifi-6 technology while nova mw12 still uses wifi-5 technology. The question is, which one is more profitable between the nova mw12 and mx6?
Newer technology or wider bandwidth
Sometimes we are fascinated by newer technology while the product is not supported by existing devices so that it provides less optimal performance. If currently almost all of the connected devices at home are based on wifi5, then using the nova mw12 with a total bandwidth up to 2100Mbps is more profitable than using the nova mx6 which uses latest wifi-6 technology.
Even though Nova MX6 uses the latest wifi6 technology with a total bandwidth of ax1800, if the connected devices at home are still based on wifi5, the total optimal bandwidth almost the same as ac1200 wifi5 router. So when compared to nova mx12, the total bandwidth that can be provided by nova mx6 is only about 60% compared to mw12.
However, if you are going to use wifi6-based connected devices in the future, it’s a good idea to switch to nova mx6 or nova ex6 so that the device connections become more optimal with wifi-6 network environment. Table 1 below shows you spec comparison table between previous Tenda nova mw12 and recent product Nova mx6.
Table 1 Nova mx6 vs mw12
| Nova Model | Nova MX6 | Nova MW12 |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous dual band ax1800 wifi 6 | Simultaneous tri-band ac2100 |
| Signal rates | 574Mbps @2.4GHz; 1201Mbps @5GHz | 2.4GHz @ 300Mbps 5GHz-1 @ 867Mbps 5GHz-2 @ 867Mbps |
| Ethernet Ports | 3x Gigabit ports | 3x Gigabit ports |
| Processor | 1.5GHz Quad core Broadcom Qualcomm processor | Unknown |
| Dimension | 100 x 100 x 190mm (3.94 x 3.94 x 7.48 in) | 100 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm (3.94 in x 3.94 in x 3.94 in) |
| Price | $179.99 | $171.99 |
Tenda nova ax3000
In ax3000 network segment, tenda offers nova mx12 or ex12 mesh wifi 6 systems, different label for different markets. When it comes to require wider bandwidth to increase more connected devices in homes, you need to switch from nova mx6 to nova mx12 ax3000. You get almost double bandwidth than mx6.
What is the main difference between tenda nova mx6 and mx12 besides apparent technical difference in network segment? Take a look at the following spec comparison table below between mx6 ax1800 and mx12 ax3000.
Nova ax3000 products are powered by the same quad core processor but a slightly faster processor clock rate than the ax1800 ones. Other specs are almost the same including the same internal antenna design with slightly 3dBi gain and also come with the same 3pcs gigabit Ethernet ports.
The good thing is that both nova ax1800 and ax3000 series create mesh wifi automatically, just plug and play and you have solid mesh wifi 6 network.
| Nova wifi 6 models | Tenda nova mx6 | Tenda nova mx12 |
| Wifi segment | Dual band ax1800 (575 + 1201) | Dual band ax3000 (574 + 2402) |
| Antennas 4x 3dBi Internal antennas | Yes | Yes |
| 3x Gigabit Ethernet Ports | Yes | Yes |
| Processor | 1.5GHz Quad-Core Broadcom high-performance processor | 1.7GHz Quad-Core Broadcom high-performance processor |
| Auto backhaul, just plug and play | Yes | Yes |
Nova mx6 vs Deco
One of the mesh wifi6 products in the ax1800 network segment that is quite popular is deco x20 and there are many other similar products from other vendors in this network segment. I will focus on tp-link deco x20 series to compare.
Deco x20 vs deco x25
There is a newer model with this deco x20 series, the deco x25 with a different capacity of the processor embedded on the board. The previous deco x20 is still embedded with dual core processor while the newer deco x25 model is quad core processor. Technically with quad processor, the task processing time should be double as opposed to dual core processor on deco x20. However, in the real world there are many factors that speed up the processing task, not only the processor.
Take a look at the following table 2 below to show you spec comparison between the two deco series. Except the processor embedded on each board, both series have the same spec.
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Table 2 TP-link Deco x20 vs deco x25
| Deco Model | Deco X20 | Deco X25 |
| Simultaneous dual band ax1800 (600 + 1200) | Yes | Yes |
| 2 x 1.0Gbps, port 1 WAN / LAN port | Yes | Yes |
| Processor | 1GHz dual core processor | 1GHz quad core processor |
| QoS | QoS by device | QoS by device; QoS by application |
| Price | $199.99 | N/A |
As up to Dec, 2022 the Deco x25 is still not available in some online stores, but the deco x20 is.
Nova mx6 vs deco x25
Choosing a product in the ax1800 network segment, which is the lowest in the wifi-6 network segment, most people consider it for the needs of small to medium sized homes and for work. And usually the higher spec is the determinant point in selecting the product while the cheaper price is not a consideration considering the price difference is not much. Moreover, if both products come from Chinese manufacturers, they are usually tagged at low prices.
Both Nova mx6 and Deco x20 / deco x25 are Chinese products and the price tagged are not much difference, they are targeted the big market segment to support work from home. If you require specific gear for online gaming, you may consider wireless gaming router such as new TP-Link Archer gx90 and Nighthawk xr1000.
Ethernet Ports
Both nova mx6 and deco x25 come with Ethernet ports you can connect to Ethernet-based devices such as desktop PCs, game console or internet TV. You can also use the Ethernet ports as wired backhaul connecting each of mesh nodes when wifi backhaul is not performing its best due to thick wall between the rooms. You can either connect each node with daisy chain backhaul topology or star topology.
Note that with three nodes, you cannot connect deco x25 that comes with only two Ethernet ports using star backhaul topology, but daisy chain backhaul topology. On the other hand Tenda Nova mx6 that comes with three Ethernet ports, you can use star backhaul topology.
MX6 with three Ethernet ports is more profitable as opposed to deco which only comes with two Ethernet ports.
QoS
Sometimes you want to give a certain device to get first priority, for example for streaming needs or video calls with your business colleagues, then you can do this by enabling the QoS (Quality of Services) feature on your router. Nova mx6 doesn’t give you this feature, but deco does.
With Deco you can setup this QoS feature by giving more bandwidth to allow the device or application to run with no latency. Deco gives you five predefined QoS you can select including standard, gaming, streaming, surfing, and chatting. You can also customize the QoS as needed.
Table 3 below shows you more details spec comparison between Tenda Nova mx6 and TP-link Deco x25.
Table 3 Tenda Nova vs Deco
| Model | Tenda Nova MX6 (3-pack) | TP-link Deco X25 (3-pack) |
| Simultaneous dual band ax1800 wifi 6 (574 + 1,201) | Yes | Yes |
| Antennas | 4x 3dBi Internal antennas | 2x internal antennas |
| Ethernet Ports | 3x Gigabit ports | 2x Gigabit Ethernet Ports WAN/LAN auto sensing |
| Backhaul method | Wifi and optional wired backhaul | Wifi and optional wired Ethernet backhaul |
| Coverage | 6,000 sq ft | 5,800 sq ft |
| Processor | 1.5GHz Quad core Broadcom Qualcomm processor | 1.0 Ghz Quad core processor |
| Security | WPA3 ready | WPA3 ready; Home care antivirus |
| Other features | QoS by device and application | |
| Working mode: Wireless Router / AP Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Dimension | 100 x 100 x 190 mm (3.94 x 3.94 x 7.48 in) | 4.33 x 4.33 x 4.49 in (110 x 110 x 114 mm) |
| Price (Amazon apr 2022) | $197.99 | $199.99 |
Price difference between the two product models is not too much. Nova mx6 with three Ethernet ports is more profitable, while Deco with device / application QoS is more advantage when you need to give device priority. Deco x25 is still not available in some online retail shops, but deco x20 is.
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Related products
For ultimate network, you may consider new Netgear raxe500 axe11000 and Asus axe11000 with 6GHz radio band. Or you may also consider Asus Zenwifi Pro et12 or Orbi Rbk962 mesh wifi 6e routers.