It’s not a leap to suggest that a significant proportion of people don’t pay much consideration to their router when they’re using it. After all, it is essentially simply a box that broadcasts a Wi-Fi signal in certain ways. While not for everyone, TP-Link recommends the Archer AX11000 Next-Gen Tri-Band Gaming Router for those who are knowledgeable about wireless technology and/or dedicated gamers who want to ensure they’re receiving the finest connection possible when playing games online. From here on out, we’ll refer to it as the TP-Link AX11000 without qualification.
Despite the fact that the AX11000 is a follow-up model to the Archer C5400X, which utilized 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5), it has a similar appearance to the newer, Wi-Fi 6-equipped router we’ll be looking at here in this review. The AX11000 is intended to provide a top-of-the-stack router that is geared specifically at the gaming industry, and it comes with a price tag to match that goal.
Despite this, the TP-Link AX11000 is still cheaper than flagship routers from companies like Netgear and Asus, with prices ranging between $405 and $430. And, because of its strong design, it certainly seems like it belongs in this company. Let’s take a closer look to see if this model is a good value for the money.
Design
It should come as no surprise that the AX11000 is housed in a big chassis due to the amount of power it provides. This is a horizontally oriented router made of an almost matte-black plastic that, due to its square form, takes up a significant amount of desktop space on the desktop. On top of that, it features a big brick of a power supply that takes up even more room, as well as a total of eight antennae, all of which are painted in the same color as the chassis.
Unlike other rivals and even inferior routers, all of the antennas are locked in place and cannot be fine-tuned by moving them about. Along with a huge number of holes on the top, there is an LED in the center position on the top of the router that is, luckily, controllable by turning it off.
The TP-Link AX11000, with its black textured cabinet and red highlighted antennae, screams gaming router to me, and it’s easy to see why. With dimensions of 7.2 by 11.3 by 11.3 inches (HWD), it is significantly larger than the Asus RT-AC5300 gaming router (2.6 by 9.6 by 9.6 inches) and will demand a significant amount of dedicated desktop space.
It is equipped with eight non-adjustable high-performance detachable antennas and an LED indication that illuminates solid white when everything is operating well, solid red when the router loses Internet access, and solid orange when Wi-Fi is deactivated. Overall, it has a pleasing appearance, but if there is one drawback to this wireless router, it is that it will take up a substantial amount of space wherever it is placed.
A plethora of I/O ports may be found on the back panel. There are eight gigabit LAN ports, a 2.5Gb WAN port, a reset button, a power jack, and a power switch located on this side of the case. The Type A USB 3.0 port and the Type C USB 3.0 port are located on the right side of the router. A 1.8GHz quad-core processor, 1 gigabit (GB) of RAM, and 512 megabytes (MB) of flash memory are housed within the device’s chassis.
The AX11000 is a tri-band router with 12 streams that can achieve (theoretical) data rates of up to 1,148 megabits per second (Mbps) on the 2.4 GHz band and up to 4,804 Mbps on each of the two 5 GHz bands. TP-Link AX11000 has a total of 12 streams and is capable of reaching data rates of up to 1,148 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and up to 4,804 Mbps on each of the two 5 GHz In addition, it uses the most up-to-date 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 technology, which includes OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access), 1024 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), Target Wake Time, WPA3 encryption, 4X4 MU-MIMO data streaming, beamforming, DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection), and support for 160MHz channel bandwidth.
Security & Features
The AX11000 is equipped with the kinds of capabilities that you would expect from a high-end gaming router from a company like TP-Link. This features bandwidth testing and Quality of Service settings, each of which has five presets and a sixth parameter that allows the user to tailor the priority of traffic for complete granular control over the network.
Security-wise, the TP-Link AX11000 is adequate, but not exceptional when seen through the lens of a consumer router. It all starts with compatibility for the most recent wireless encryption technologies. The AX11000 is capable of supporting WPA3 while being backward-compatible with earlier standards in the process.
This is demonstrated in the picture above, and we appreciate the fact that it is included in the box without the need for a separate membership, and that it employs a security database that receives updates from Trend Micro, as shown in the screenshot above. Malicious Content Filter and an Intrusion Protection System are both included, and each may be adjusted independently of the other. Additionally, Parental Controls are available, which is to be expected with a router of this kind.
Performance
Our performance evaluation of the TP-Link AX11000 began with a throughput test performed using our Netperf performance software. Our ‘Near’ test is performed at a distance of 8 feet, while our ‘Far’ test is performed on a separate level around 30 feet away. During our testing, we discovered that the AX11000 had a reasonable performance on the 5 GHz frequency and only slightly better performance on the 2.4 GHz frequency.
Network congestion testing revealed that the TP-Link AX11000 performed better across Ethernet and 5 GHz connections, with 2.4 GHz performance being the weakest link in our test results. We achieved a good FRAPS score of 128.5 frames per second when connected over Ethernet and without any background movies on our Overwatch gaming test.
| Testing Configuration | QoS | FRAPS avg | Max | 8k dropped frames | Pingplotter spikes | Latency |
| Ethernet | no | 128.5 | 112 | n/a | 0 | 241 |
| Ethernet + 10 8k videos | no | 88.1 | 38 | 24.70% | 2 | 261 |
| Ethernet + 10 8k videos | yes | 118.6 | 103 | 25.10% | 3 | 138 |
| 5 GHz | no | 120 | 109 | n/a | 0 | 235 |
| 5 GHz + 10 8k videos | no | 15.4 | 0 | 37.50% | 2 | 148 |
| 5 GHz + 10 8k videos | yes | 129.3 | 107 | 36.20% | 7 | 137 |
| 2.4 GHz | no | 124 | 108 | n/a | 0 | 161 |
| 2.4 GHz + 10 8k videos | no | 62.1 | 29 | 29.70% | 13 | 168 |
When we added the 10 8K films to overload our 300 Mbps connection, the frame rate dropped significantly to 88.1 frames per second. When we turned on the Game Accelerator and set the Quality of Service for gaming to high, the game increased to 118.6 frames per second. While the frame rate in the game increased, we were disappointed by the high lost frame rate of 25.1 percent, which we felt was excessive for a high-end gaming router of this kind.
In our tests, we found that the router’s performance was better on 5 GHz and weaker on 2.4 GHz, where we saw a significant number of spikes on PingPlotter, indicating that it was not dealing with network congestion well. However, the framerate of 129.3 frames per second that we achieved on Overwatch with video streaming congestion while using the 5 GHz frequency is noteworthy since it is a higher score than the one we received when using the Ethernet connection. Also keep in mind that, despite the better frame rate, the PingPlotter spikes climbed to 7 and the number of missing video frames increased to 36.2 percent, both of which are greater than with a cable connection.
Specifications
| WIRELESS | |
|---|---|
| Standards | Wi-Fi 6 IEEE 802.11ax/ac/n/a 5 GHz IEEE 802.11ax/n/b/g 2.4 GHz |
| WiFi Speeds | AX11000 5 GHz: 4804 Mbps (802.11ax) 5 GHz: 4804 Mbps (802.11ax) 2.4 GHz: 1148 Mbps (802.11ax) |
| WiFi Range | 4 Bedroom Houses
8× Detachable High-Performance Antennas Beamforming High-Power FEM |
| WiFi Capacity | Very High Tri-Band 4×4 MU-MIMO OFDMA Airtime Fairness DFS 12 Streams |
| Working Modes | Router Mode Access Point Mode |
| HARDWARE | |
|---|---|
| Processor | 1.8 GHz 64 Bit Quad-Core CPU |
| Ethernet Ports | 1× 2.5 Gbps WAN Port 8× Gigabit LAN Ports Link Aggregation (802.3ad) available with 2× LAN ports |
| USB Support | 1× USB-C 3.0 Port 1× USB-A 3.0 Port Supported Partition Formats: Supported Functions: |
| Buttons | Wi-Fi On/Off Button Power On/Off Button LED On/Off Button WPS Button Reset Button |
| Power | 12 V ⎓ 5 A |
| SECURITY | |
|---|---|
| WiFi Encryption | WPA WPA2 WPA3 WPA/WPA2-Enterprise (802.1x) |
| Network Security | SPI Firewall Access Control IP & MAC Binding Application Layer Gateway HomeCare™ Antivirus Malicious Site Checker |
| Guest Network | 1× 5 GHz Guest Network 1× 2.4 GHz Guest Network |
| VPN Server | OpenVPN PPTP |
| SOFTWARE | |
|---|---|
| Protocols | IPv4 IPv6 |
| Game Center | Game Accelerator Detects and optimizes gaming streams to keep latency as low as possible Game Statistics Game Protector |
| Service Kits | HomeCare™ |
| Parental Controls | HomeCare™ Parental Controls
Custom Profiles |
| WAN Types | Dynamic IP Static IP PPPoE PPTP L2TP |
| Quality of Service | Game Accelerator QoS QoS by Device HomeCare™ QoS QoS by Application |
| Cloud Service | Auto Firmware Upgrade OTA Firmware Upgrade TP-Link ID DDNS |
| NAT Forwarding | Port Forwarding Port Triggering DMZ UPnP |
| IPTV | IGMP Proxy IGMP Snooping Bridge Tag VLAN |
| DHCP | Address Reservation DHCP Client List Server |
| DDNS | TP-Link NO-IP DynDNS |
| Management | Tether App Webpage |
| PHYSICAL | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions (W×D×H) | 11.3 × 11.3 × 7.2 in (288 × 288 × 184 mm) |
| Package Contents | Wi-Fi Router Archer AX11000 Power Adapter RJ45 Ethernet Cable Quick Installation Guide |
| OTHER | |
|---|---|
| System Requirements | Internet Explorer 11+, Firefox 12.0+, Chrome 20.0+, Safari 4.0+, or other JavaScript-enabled browser
Cable or DSL Modem (if needed) Subscription with an internet service provider (for internet access) |
| Certifications | FCC, RoHS |
| Environment | Operating Temperature: 0℃~40℃ (32℉ ~104℉) Storage Temperature: -40℃~70℃ (-40℉ ~158℉) Operating Humidity: 10%~90% non-condensing Storage Humidity: 5%~90% non-condensing |
| TEST DATA | |
|---|---|
| WiFi Transmission Power | FCC: <30dBm(2.4GHz & 5.15GHz~5.25GHz & 5.725GHz~5.825GHz) <24dBm(5.25GHz-5.35GHz & 5.47GHz-5.725 GHz) |
| WiFi Reception Sensitivity | 5 GHz_1: 11a 6Mbps：-96dBm, 11a 54Mbps:-78dBm 11ac VHT20_MCS0:-95dBm, 11ac VHT20_MCS11:-65dBm 11ac VHT40_MCS0:-93dBm, 11ac VHT40_MCS11:-62dBm 11ac VHT80_MCS0:-90dBm, 11ac VHT80_MCS11:-59dBm 11ac VHT160_MCS0:-87dBm, 11ac VHT160_MCS11:-54dBm 11ax HE20_MCS0:-94dBm, 11ax HE20_MCS11:-62Bm 11ax HE40_MCS0:-91dBm, 11ax HE40_MCS11:-59dBm 11ax HE80_MCS0:-88dBm, 11ax HE80_MCS11:-57dBm 11ax HE160_MCS0:-84dBm, 11ax HE160_MCS11:-54dBm 5 GHz_2: 11a 6Mbps：-96dBm, 11a 54Mbps:-78dBm 11ac VHT20_MCS0:-95dBm, 11ac VHT20_MCS11:-65dBm 11ac VHT40_MCS0:-93dBm, 11ac VHT40_MCS11:-62dBm 11ac VHT80_MCS0:-90dBm, 11ac VHT80_MCS11:-59dBm 11ac VHT160_MCS0:-87dBm, 11ac VHT160_MCS11:-54dBm 11ax HE20_MCS0:-94dBm, 11ax HE20_MCS11:-62Bm 11ax HE40_MCS0:-91dBm, 11ax HE40_MCS11:-59dBm 11ax HE80_MCS0:-88dBm, 11ax HE80_MCS11:-57dBm 11ax HE160_MCS0:-84dBm, 11ax HE160_MCS11:-54dBm 2.4 GHz： 11g 6Mbps：-97dBm, 11a 54Mbps:-79dBm 11n HT20_MCS0:-97dBm, 11n HT20_MCS7:-78dBm 11n HT40_MCS0:-95dBm, 11n HT40_MCS7:-75dBm 11ac VHT20_MCS0:-96dBm, 11ac VHT20_MCS11:-67dBm 11ac VHT40_MCS0:-94dBm, 11ac VHT40_MCS11:-64dBm 11ax HE20_MCS0:-96dBm, 11ax HE20_MCS11:-64dBm 11ax HE40_MCS0:-93dBm, 11ax HE40_MCS11:-61dBm |
PROS
- Easy to install
- Lots of gamer-friendly settings
- Numerous ports
- Multi-gig WAN. Link aggregation
- Lifetime malware protection
- Solid parental controls
CONS
- Expensive
- Bulky
Verdict
When you consider that it costs just under $400, the TP-Link AX11000 Next-Gen Tri-Band Gaming Router does not qualify as a cheap router. However, it is extremely fast and packed with features that will help you take your online gaming to the next level.
Additionally, it includes eight gigabit LAN ports with link aggregation, USB C connection, and an additional 2.5 Gb WAN port for those who are fortunate enough to have access to a multi-gig switch or modem. Lifetime membership to the TP-Link HomeCare service is also included, which provides anti-virus protection, parental controls with content filtering, and device prioritizing.
The service is administered through a sleek gamer-themed dashboard that allows you to monitor latency and system resources. All of this contributes to the TP-Link AX11000 being named our Editors’ Choice among high-end Wi-Fi 6 routers.
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