Verdict
The Netgear Nighthawk Tri - Band USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter A8000 raise any Windows 10 or 11 computer to the a la mode Wi - Fi 6E banner . Running on the 6GHz dance band , this adapter can give you wired speeds without a cable in great deal , make it a neat upgrade for those with a Wi - Fi 6E system of rules already .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The 6GHz channel onWi - Fi 6Esystems is incredible , bear wired speeds wirelessly . There ’s only one main problem : there just are n’t that many Wi - Fi 6E gimmick .
Fortunately , the Netgear Nighthawk Tri - Band USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter A8000 is here , upgrading any Windows computer to the late touchstone .
If you ’ve got a desktop PC that needs a Wi - Fi encouragement and a compatible router , then this is a heavy upgrade .
Design and features
The Netgear Nighthawk Tri - Band USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter A8000 bet like pretty much any other Wi - Fi dongle : a small USB stick with a USB 3.0 Type A connector on the closing of it .
you could plug the stick directly into a USB port , but if you ’re kick the bucket to install this on a desktop computer , it make sensation to use the extension cable and dock alternatively .
That way of life , the A8000 can be placed on your desk , bewilder a clear sign to your Wi - Fi router and , ultimately , delivering better execution .
As this is a sword - young gadget , you do need to add the drivers . Netgear handily provides these on a USB flash crusade . This drive is only 120 MB in size ( yes , megabytes , not G ) , so it is rather useless for other tasks . Overall , it would be good for the environment if Netgear just asked you to download the driver from its internet site .
driver are only available for Windows 10/11 at the moment , and there ’s no Mac support for this machine .
Once the driver are establish , the Netgear Nighthawk Tri - Band USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter A8000 appears just like any other Wi - Fi equipment on your computer . The installment routine even asks if you ’d like to disable your other Wi - Fi adaptor . It ’s a good mind , as it ensures that only the A8000 will be used to connect to Wi - Fi .
Performance
I tested the Netgear Nighthawk Tri - Band USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter A8000 against a variety of Wi - Fi 6E networks , to see how dependably it would connect to the 6GHz band . With theEero Pro 6E , for example , I ’ve had issues where my motherboard ’s built - in Wi - Fi 6E adaptor refuses to touch base to the 6GHz band .
Here , the Netgear Nighthawk Tri - Band USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter A8000 proved no trouble and connected straightaway to the Eero ’s 6GHz meshwork .
The adaptor back 2×2 Wi - Fi 6E at a maximum velocity of 1200Mbit / s. It ’s the same 2×2 , 1200Mbit / s spec for the 5GHz web , and 2×2 , 600Mbit / s for the 2.4GHz web .
With theNetgear Orbi RBKE963system , it ’s less of an emergence . This Mesh organisation lets me split the 6GHz internet from the 5GHz and 2.4GHz band , turn over me a dedicated high - fastness internet . examination here , the Netgear Nighthawk Tri - Band USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter A8000 link up directly to my Orbi ’s 6GHz internet .
Given that the RBKE963 is the fastest interlocking system I ’ve test , I used that for throughput testing . Using my onboard Wi - Fi 6E adaptor , I could get throughput of 934Mbit / s. Switching to the A8000 , I get 983.8Mbit / s. That ’s proper Ethernet speeds , all the need for a cable .
test the 5GHz band , the A8000 delivered average throughputs of 520.09Mbit / s , compared to the integrated adaptor ’s 508.34Mbit / s. The 5GHz hurrying is well slower than the 6GHz speed , despite having the same strong-arm specification , because the 5GHz connection is more congested , so it often ca n’t run at full groove width .
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Should you buy it?
This is a simple upgrade to give you the fastest Wi - Fi speeding possible .
There ’s not much level in upgrading to the latest standard if you do n’t have a support router .
Final Thoughts
If you have a Wi - Fi 6E router , or are thinking of raise to one , but do n’t have a suited client machine , then the Netgear A8000 is a elementary and fast upgrade for Windows 10 or Windows 11 computers .
Alternatively , insure out ourBest Laptoplist to feel a notebook that already has Wi - Fi 6E built in , and browse ourBest Routerranking to verify your electronic internet is supported .
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How we test
We test every wireless router we reexamine thoroughly over an extended period of sentence . We use industriousness received tests to liken feature properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to look back a product .
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FAQs
It works with Windows only .
