The Linksys WRT3200ACM is a reasonable general-purpose router, although it is let down by its 802.11ac performance. This doesn't live up to the 2,600Mbits/sec billing. Otherwise, though, there is a decent selection of features.
The price is also reasonable at well under £200. For this princely sum, you get a decent four-port Gigabit Ethernet switch capable of running at full wire speed, both USB 3.0 and eSATA for attaching external storage to turn the router into a NAS, and the USB 2.0 port can also be used for sharing printers.
So you do get a reasonable amount of router for your money. The administration interface is also quite comprehensive and lacks nothing major we can think of. Unfortunately, though, the way the 802.11ac signal drops off with distance prevents us from being able to recommend the Linksys WRT3200ACM wholeheartedly. It's a capable workhorse, but a rather slow one.
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Pros:
- Competitive price.
- Four-port Gigabit Ethernet switch.
- USB 3.0 and eSATA for attaching storage.
- Printer sharing via USB 2.0 port.
- Comprehensive configuration via Web interface.
Cons:
- 802.11ac performance drops off rapidly with distance and obstruction.
- 802.11n performance behind the fastest current routers.
Kitguru Says: The Linksys WRT3200ACM has a very good set of features for the price, but unfortunately is let down by disappointing 802.11ac performance at range when walls get in the way.
Yeah the AC on my AC3200 is coming through much faster than this… and that’s through multiple rooms around a 60ft radius of the router. (25-30mbps at max range)