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  1. #1
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    Mesh network recommendation: Xfinity gigabit 1200Mbps with CM1200 Modem. Orbi, Deco, Nest?

    Hey, so I'm setting up my first mesh network coming from a Surfboard modem and Asus RT-AC86U. I am going to take advantage of a new customer/student pricing on a Xfinity gigabit 1200Mbps deal, I already purchased a CM1200 modem that arrives tomorrow.

    I was mainly choosing between the Orbi AX5400 and the Deco AXE5300, in fact I picked up the Deco already but wanted to be sure before proceeding. I am trying to make the Mesh purchase from Costco so that I can get around poor warranty and return policies and basically if I have issues down the line return the product and swap it for something else - hence why I grabbed the cheapest 6E option off the bat with the Deco. I was really interested in the Amplifi alien but I wouldn't be able to swap it out as easily, so I'm choosing between the Costco products.

    Every Router I come across explicitly states somewhere on the packaging, spec sheet, or webpage that it works with Gigabit+ connections, over 1000Mbps and anywhere from up to 2gig or 2.5gig etc. Every router EXCEPT the Deco AXE5300 which is why I'm hesitant. Is this router capable of going over 1gig?

    I have a 2700sqft home excluding the full basement we'll eventually finish and just over half acre property. We do not have wiring in the walls yet and do not plan on doing it any time soon. My current setup that I'll use is Modem in the upstairs office in middle of the house, router hardwired to it and hardwired into my main PC, and the two satellites downstairs in the far ends of the house forming a triangle wirelessly.

    There's a lot of really bad comments on reddit about the new Nest Pro's, although there seems to be a big update to them coming out to address some issues, and the only negatives I see about the Orbi's come from customer service issues. I don't really know anything about the Velop, and the Decos get mostly praise on reddit.

    I know I don't need a 6E device, but it is nice to have and will probably last the longest. We do have a TON of wireless/smart devices, and the additional 6ghz band seems pretty useful even if it's limited.

    tl;dr

    Will the Dexo AXE5300 work over my 1200Mbps connection or will I hit a wall at 1gig?

    Should I have spent $50 more for the Orbi AX5400 or $100 more on the Nest Pro 6E?

    Deco: $349 - Orbi $399 - Google $449

    Also, if the Deco is the play (at least for now) should I go ahead and set it up today, or wait till my new modem arrives tomorrow and set that up first?

    Thanks! Sorry for the wordy post, using more than a single Modem and Router is new to me and this house is over twice the size of my old one. I do want to mention that my house is basically entirely Nest/Google products and that is our ecosystem.

  2. #2
    Impossiblu
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    Haven't tried Orbi or Nest but I've got experience with Deco and Eero, only reason I moved to the Eero system was for 2.5gig (this is for home networking) but both deco and eero were easy to set up overall. My house is a bit bigger than yours (~500sq ft or so) and 3 nodes has been enough to cover wall to wall with at least 600mbps from my gigabit line and 300~500 in the yard. 3 is plenty for me but as you can see it isn't carrying the full gigabit connection through walls and interference with only 3 nodes. Worth noting that hardwiring to each eero node does provide me better results than connecting wireless by a little bit but that's to be expected.

    Anyway, know you didn't ask about Eero but thought I'd toss in my experience.

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    I was eyeing up eero but I couldn't pass up Costco options since I can literally trade it in for a different one if I start having issues. Some of the reviews I read for nest for example are they work fine at first then crap out months later.

  4. #4
    The Optimistic Asshole
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    I don't think the deco has a 2.5gb port. I know for sure the nest doesn't. So both of those are going to limit your WAN speed to 1gbps. I can't find info on the orbi.

    You're going to have to have a router with a 2.5gbs wan port. Just because the routers can communicate betwixt each other faster than 1gbps does not mean they can access the internet at that speed without a port capable of handling that speed.

    If your house is wired, you may want to consider using PoE access points.

    I know the TP Link deco x90 has a 2.5gb port and it's tri-band, but the 3rd band is 5ghz, not 6. Not sure if that band is used exclusively for communication between routers like most tri-band 6ghz routers.

    After doing some very cursory browsing, there's not a lot of mesh systems with tri-band and 2.5gbps ports under $500. If I had to have a mesh system that fit those needs and wanted it priced reasonably, I think I'd probably go with one of the TP-Link deco options like the x90.

    I think your best option for future-proofing and multi-gig speeds would be some PoE Unifi access points, but that's going to require the house being wired to all the points and some small bit of networking knowledge.

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    Yeah I know unifi is great, but also we aren't wiring anything any time soon.

    I really wanted the Amplifi alien, and I do not need 6E, that's why I was steering towards a Costco purchase so I can just bail on it down the line when better products exist. Also I was trying not to spend $700 on something like the Alien.

    I didn't know the Google nest pro 6e didn't have a >gig port, now I'm sure the deco I have doesn't. Costco has a few other options I'll look at.

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    Okay there aren't many routers with 1g+ ports at least in my price range, but my modem has 4 of them so I'll still at least get the most out of my internet speeds.

    Otherwise I was going to downgrade to 800 or 400.

  7. #7
    The Optimistic Asshole
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    Well, if you're running the 2.5gbps port from the modem to a 1 Gbps port on the router, you're only gonna get 1 gbps speeds. You're going to have to get a router with a 2.5 gpbs port. Those are not that uncommon and can be found reasonably priced. Where the money is gonna be spent is how fast and reliable you want the mesh to work between the routers and to the devices wirelessly. But a router with a 2.5gbps port is a must unless you drop your speeds.

  8. #8
    The Optimistic Asshole
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    The TP-Link x5700 is a 2.5gbps wifi 6 mesh system with tri-band and walmart has it on sale for $250. That's a pretty good deal.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tyche View Post
    Well, if you're running the 2.5gbps port from the modem to a 1 Gbps port on the router, you're only gonna get 1 gbps speeds. You're going to have to get a router with a 2.5 gpbs port. Those are not that uncommon and can be found reasonably priced. Where the money is gonna be spent is how fast and reliable you want the mesh to work between the routers and to the devices wirelessly. But a router with a 2.5gbps port is a must unless you drop your speeds.
    Yeah the original plan was Modem > Router > Hardwire to PC > Mesh nodes around house. So I wanted a router with a 2+gbps port.

    I realized my modem has >gbps ports on it, so I can just do Modem > PC and I don't need the router to have the ports. I don't need the mesh network to have some insane speed setup I just want my damn smart speakers to stop cutting out lol.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tyche View Post
    The TP-Link x5700 is a 2.5gbps wifi 6 mesh system with tri-band and walmart has it on sale for $250. That's a pretty good deal.
    I didn't look at that model because Costco only had the 4 pack for like $700. Since I don't really need the gb ports it kind of changes what devices I can look at, and really determine if I want a 6E system with a 6ghz band or a wifi6 system with better 5ghz bands like the X5700 seems to have.

    I'll probably stick with the TP AXE5400 for now and if I have issues swap to something else.

  10. #10
    The Optimistic Asshole
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    Just be careful with that setup. I'm assuming the modem has multiple ports. It'll effectively be serving as a router as well if you're running to the PC and to a seperate router. Depending on the modem and router customizations and defaults, it could introduce a number of LAN issues such as cutting off the PC to other devices in the house. It's issues that'll be difficult to solve until you get it up and running and checking what is going on. It may work through them on their own, it may be a troubleshooting headache. It would be easily solved by putting a cheap multi-gig switch between the modem and PC/router.

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