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Acer is better known for its laptops and monitors, but the company began selling WiFi routers in the first half of 2024 as well. Now Acer is jumping quickly onto the latest wireless networking technology with the Predator Connect X7 5G CPE, which supports the emerging WiFi 7 standard. But the Predator Connect is much more than just a me-too WiFi router. It has some unique features aimed specifically at gaming. So we put it through its paces to see how it stacks up against the more veneral wireless router brands.
The Acer Predator Connect X7 5G CPE is sold as a standalone WiFi router, but you can also buy multiple devices and set them up as a mesh. On its own, the router is specified as BE11000, which means it can transfer 11,000Mbits/sec across all wavebands. This is more meaningful than some other WiFi bandwidth ratings because WiFi 7 can aggregate 160MHz and 80MGHz channels to make 320MHz or 240MHz bands with improved performance. Individually, BE11000 can deliver 5,760Mbits/sec at 6GHz, 4,320Mbits/sec at 5GHz, and 574Mbits/sec at 2.4GHz.
The Predator Connect has another trick up its sleeve – built in 5G. In fact, Acer markets the router as 5G first, with the wired broadband there as a backup. We suspect most UK buyers will use it the other way round, but having a 5G fallback will theoretically mean you never lose Internet connectivity, unless there is a total power outage. It could also be useful for setting up temporary broadband for a gaming LAN. The much lower latency of WiFi 7 also makes it much better suited to local network gaming than previous WiFi standards.
The wireless-first focus of the Predator Connect is further underlined by the fact that it only has three Ethernet ports on the back. The WAN port operates at 2.5Gbits/sec, ready to support the latest high-speed cable or fibre broadband, and there are two 1Gbit/sec Ethernet LAN ports for local wired devices. There's also a USB C port, although the specifications say it only operates at USB 2.0 speeds, which feels like a wasted opportunity.
However, the Acer Predator Connect X7 5G CPE does not come cheap, priced at a penny under £380 when WiFi 7 routers are already available for under £300. So read on to find out if it deserves its premium.
The Acer Predator Connect X7 5G CPE is available from Amazon UK for £379.99 inc VAT.
Specification:
- Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n/be 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac/ax/be 5GHz/6GHz
- Performance: BE1100 (5,760 + 4,320 + 576 Mbits/sec)
- Antenna Configuration: 2x2x2 internal antennas
- Ports: 2 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x 2.5Gigabit Ethernet WAN, 1 x USB 2.0 C
- Modem Support: VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable, 5G data
