The Netgear Nighthawk X4 R7500 is an 802.11ac router rated at providing combined throughput of 2,300Mbit/s across its 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. That breaks down as 600Mbit/s on 2.4GHz and 1,730Mbit/s on the 5GHz band.

The Nighthawk X4 has plenty of speed but to take advantage of the higher throughput you’ll need extra equipment

The Netgear Nighthawk X4S AC2600 WiFi VDSL/ADSL D7800 MU-MIMO modem router is aimed at ticking all the boxes for gamers and heavy users as well as for those who are keeping an eye on tomorrow's needs.

The Netgear Nighthawk X4S is a super-fast, high-end router. Available in two versions, the R7800 is a router only while the D7800 includes a modem, which means you can get rid of all the kit ISPs deliver – unless you're on fibre broadband.

High-speed 5GHz rates; Can plug into multiple HDDs; Good 5GHz range

Some long-range 2.4GHz reliability issues; Expensive

Modern technology consumers, of which you and I are committed members, are always demanding and constantly on the look out for more power, increased functionality and a wider range of connectivity. NETGEAR believes it has a product that could help satisfy our needs.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S D7800 MU-MIMO Modem Router is a well-built modem router that was designed for the present and future. Its signal is strong, stable, and the Dynamic QoS service makes it simpler and has that "it just works" feel to prioritise activities and devices that need more bandwidth...

The R7800 pushes aside TP-LINK's Archer C2600 to take the #1 rank of 5 tested AC2600 class routers. The TP-LINK now is tied in second place with Linksys' EA8500 . The Ranker Performance Summary below shows the R7800's weakest spot is 5 GHz uplink range, where is ranks #3.

If you live in a connected home with multiple wireless clients competing for bandwidth, it might be time to consider a Multi-User Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) router , such as the Netgear Nighthawk X4S Smart Wi-Fi Router (R7800), which lists for $269.99.

Good port selection; Lots of management settings; Solid 5GHz and Multi-User Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) throughput in testing

Pricey; Middling file-transfer speeds in our tests

Netgear's Nighthawk X4S blankets even large houses with blazing-fast Wi-Fi.

2.53Gbps of wireless bandwidth; Two USB 3.0 ports; and an eSATA port; MU-MIMO directs signal directly at your devices

Confusing software interface; Divisive design

Fastest DSL connection of any modem I have used; Very stable, hasn't dropped out since having it

Expensive Haven't got QOS to work