Linksys WRT1900ACS 802.11ac Wireless Router review

As a 3×3 router, testing the Linksys WRT1900ACS was a simple case of using a 3×3 client adapter, which are built in to many consumer laptops. However, it’s worth mentioning that the vast majority only have 2×2 adapters, capable of 866 Mbit/sec, even some of the most high-end mobile workstations.

This is one reason we use Macs for network testing. Apple is usually quick to adopt new wireless technology (and likewise, was quick to ditch an ethernet port from the design of its Retina MacBook Pro in 2012), and we use a 2013 model which has a 3×3 client adaptor, capable of the full 1300 Mbit/sec of 802.11ac.

We use the WiFi Perf software, which measures both client-to-server (c2s) and server-to-client (s2c) performance, and we tested both 802.11n and 802.11ac at 1m, 5m and 10m with direct line of sight to the router.

802.11n 2.4GHz client-to-server

802.11n 2.4GHz server-to-client

802.11ac 5GHz client-to-server

802.11ac 5GHz server-to-client

We also tested the USB ports with a file transfer to and from a computer connected via LAN.

The USB 3 port manages read speeds of roughly 100 MB/sec and write speeds of 84.8 MB/sec.

While the USB 2 ports manages read speeds of 31.5 MB/sec and write speeds of 32 MB/sec. Great speeds, maximising the capacity of USB.

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