A wireless gigabit router with dual bands and a wireless range of up to 150 meters, the TP-Link Archer C1200 looks to be an upgrade of the Archer C5. It is intended to offer sufficient bandwidth for the seamless streaming of video games and other media.
If you enjoy watching movies or television shows on the internet, this router claims to help you stream media clearly and without problems while you are watching your favorite shows. The C1200, according to TP-Link, will provide you with quick performance without any apparent lagging, which might be the difference between success and failure in a game.
Recently, a large number of products have been introduced onto the market for cheap wireless routers. While they are neither the quickest nor the most sophisticated, they tend to provide all of the essentials that consumers want at incomparable rates, regardless of their speed or complexity.
The TP-Link Archer C1200 is one of the most recent routers to enter this market. This WiFi router is available at a reasonable cost that anybody can afford, and it has current hardware as well as support for the most recent common wireless protocols.
Design
This router is equipped with a Broadcom BCM47189 CPU running at 900 MHz, 128 MB of RAM, and 16 MB of flash storage for the firmware, making it an excellent choice for small businesses. It supports 2×2 MU-MIMO, which is perfect for an inexpensive router of this caliber.
It is a dual-band wireless router with a total maximum bandwidth of 867 Mbps on the 5GHz band and 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band, for a total maximum bandwidth of 1167 Mbps. It has a total maximum bandwidth of 867 Mbps on the 5GHz band and 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. It provides compatibility for the following networking standards: IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac. IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac
On the rear of the router, you will find the following components: a power jack, a power button, a Reset jack, a USB 2.0 port, an Internet port, four Ethernet ports that are capable of transmitting data at 1 Gbps, and a WPS button. There are also three exterior antennae that are permanently attached to the router’s body and cannot be removed.
Performance
Our testing was carried out utilizing a high-speed 1 Gigabit Internet connection, which is capable of uploading data at speeds of up to 500 Mbps across the internet. For all of our measures, we relied on a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and a variety of software applications.
With the goal of getting a better understanding of the performance provided by the TP-LINK Archer C1200, we tested the router against other AC1200 wireless routers (including the Edimax BR-6478AC V2 and the Tenda Ac9 AC1200), the ASUS RT-AC58U (an AC1300 dual-band wireless router), and the Archer C7 (an AC1300 single-band wireless router) (the router which TP-Link Archer C1200 is replacing).
In order to determine the signal strength of the wireless network transmitted on the 2.4 GHz band, we first analyzed it using a program called inSSIDer, which stands for Internet Service Provider Identification. As you can see, the signal strength provided by the TP-Link Archer C1200 is often less than that provided by the majority of its competitors.
Continuing our tests on the 2.4 GHz wireless network, we utilized the PassMark Performance test to transmit data between two computers that were both connected to the network to get further information. However, although the TP-Link Archer C1200 was a respectable performance, it was not the greatest. Additionally, it struggled in rooms where other reasonably priced routers also faltered.
We utilized a desktop PC with an Intel Core i5 4460 CPU operating at 3.20GHz, 16GB of RAM and a very fast Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD, as well as a Lenovo Ideacentre 610s small PC to evaluate the strength of the wired Ethernet connection.
We began by measuring the download and upload speeds with the help of SpeedTest software. Our TP-Link Archer C1200 has functioned admirably, as seen by the results shown below, which show that it has produced speeds that are very near to the maximum attainable on our internet connection.
Specifications
| HARDWARE FEATURES | |
| Interface | 4 10/100/1000Mbps LAN Ports 1 10/100/1000Mbps WAN Port 1 USB 2.0 Ports |
| Button | Power On/Off Button WPS/Wireless On/Off Button Reset Button |
| External Power Supply | 12VDC / 1.0A |
| Dimensions ( W x D x H ) | 9.6×6.4×1.3 in. (243×160.6×32.5mm) |
| Antenna Type | 3 external antennas |
| WIRELESS FEATURES | |
| Wireless Standards | IEEE 802.11ac/n/a 5GHz IEEE 802.11n/g/b 2.4GHz |
| Frequency | 5GHz and 2.4GHz |
| Signal Rate | 5GHz: Up to 867Mbps 2.4GHz: Up to 300Mbps |
| Reception Sensitivity | 5GHz: 11a 54Mbps: -76dBm 11ac HT20: -68dBm 11ac HT40: -65dBm 11ac HT80: -62dBm 11n HT20: -74dBm 11n HT40: -71dBm 2.4GHz: 11g 54M: -75dBm 11n HT20: -72dBm 11n HT40: -69dBm |
| Transmit Power | CE: <=20dBm （2.4G） <=23dBm （5G） |
| Wireless Functions | Enable/Disable Wireless Radio, WMM, Wireless Statistics |
| Wireless Security | 64/128-bit WEP, WPA / WPA2, WPA-PSK/ WPA2-PSK encryption |
| SOFTWARE FEATURES | |
| Quality of Service | WMM, Bandwidth Control |
| WAN Type | Dynamic IP/Static IP/PPPoE/L2TP(Dual Access)/PPTP(Dual Access) |
| Management | Access Control Local Management Remote Management |
| DHCP | Server, Client, DHCP Client List, Address Reservation |
| Port Forwarding | Virtual Server, Port Triggering, UPnP, DMZ |
| Dynamic DNS | DynDns, NO-IP |
| VPN Pass-Through | PPTP, L2TP, IPSec |
| Access Control | Parental Control, Local Management Control, Host List, Access Schedule, Rule Management |
| Firewall Security | DoS, SPI Firewall MAC Address Filter IP and MAC Address Binding |
| Protocols | Supports IPv4 and IPv6 |
| USB Sharing | Support Samba(Storage)/FTP Server/Media Server/Printer Server |
| Guest Network | 2.4GHz guest network × 1 5GHz guest network × 1 |
| VPN Server | OpenVPN, PPTP VPN |
| OTHERS | |
| Certification | CE, RoHS |
| Package Contents | AC1200 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router Archer C1200 Power supply unit Ethernet Cable Quick Installation Guide |
| System Requirements | Microsoft Windows 98SE, NT, 2000, XP, Vista™ or Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1/10 MAC OS, NetWare, UNIX or Linux |
| 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 |
Verdict
The Archer C1200 is ready to go, bringing together convenience and high performance in a single package. This is the ideal budget-friendly item to have in any home. You’ll have a fast, wireless internet connection throughout your home within minutes of pulling it out of the box.
The three antennas that are mounted behind the unit assist in amplifying your wireless signal so that it may reach a large region. With your phone or tablet in hand, you won’t have to be concerned about losing connection with your Wi-Fi network while you wander around your house.
When using a Wireless N device (in this case, an Intel NUC), we did have some performance problems, but they were resolved when using Wireless AC adapters. Having said that, our file copy tests revealed a statistically significant difference in performance between the Netgear and D-Link adapters.
If you’re looking for a budget wireless router for your house, the TP-Link Archer C1200 should be on your shortlist of options.
English 
Deutsch (Sie) 
Nederlands 
Español 
Français 
Italiano