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REVIEWS<br />
& RATINGS<br />
In April 2014, the Linksys WRT1900AC was the fastest 802.11ac<br />
router I’d ever tested (go.pcworld.com/linksyswrt). And I made a<br />
point of including that date in the “At a Glance” part of the review<br />
for two reasons: That informa tion is displayed almost as prominently<br />
as the headline in our reviews, and the router market was moving<br />
crazy-fast back then. It still is.<br />
The latest version of that router—the WRT1900ACS,<br />
reviewed here (linksys.com/WRT1900ACS)—is an<br />
incremental improvement, having gained a speedier<br />
AT A GLANCE<br />
CPU (running at 1.6GHz, versus 1.2GHz in the<br />
Routers that can operate three<br />
original) and another 256MB of DDR3 memory<br />
independent networks remain<br />
(512MB in total, compared to 256MB in the<br />
the best choice for people with<br />
original). One change I’m not as enthusiastic about<br />
very crowded wireless<br />
is the trading of an inline power supply for a large, environments, but the<br />
outlet-hogging wall wart. The new model also loses WRT1900ACS is a solid choice<br />
the unique cooling fan, but it never seemed to spin for most enthusiasts.<br />
up anyway, so that’s not a big deal.<br />
PROS<br />
As you can tell by the model number, this is an AC1900<br />
• Fast wireless performance<br />
router, delivering theoretical throughput of<br />
• Very fast storage performance<br />
600Mbps on the 2.4GHz frequency band (serving<br />
802.11n clients) and theoretical throughput of<br />
• Great industrial design<br />
1300Mbps on the 5GHz band (serving 802.11ac clients). CONS<br />
It remains a 3x3 device with four antennas, a so-far<br />
• Supports only three spatial<br />
unique arrangement in which the router determines streams<br />
which three antennas will deliver the optimal range<br />
• Dual-band (versus so-called<br />
and performance and then dynamically switches<br />
tri-band)<br />
among them. Like the original, the WRT1900ACS is<br />
• Definitely looks like a router<br />
outfitted with one eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port and<br />
(that will be a Pro for some)<br />
one USB 3.0 port. These let you share both storage<br />
and a printer over your network.<br />
$230<br />
All the changes are under the hood. Linksys wisely<br />
didn’t monkey with the design aesthetic.<br />
Linksys WRT1900ACS<br />
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