Linksys WRT3200ACM Technology Explained
The WRT3200ACM has many different features, many of which we will detail here. Over the past few years we’ve seen many router makers market and claim certain things about their routers that just are not true. Linksys brands this router is an AC3200 router, but what actually are you getting? Now typically when we see AC3200 routers they are a 3×3 dual-band router with two 5GHz radios so you have 1300 Mbps on each 5GHz radio and 600 Mbps on the 2.4GHz radio (1300 + 1300 + 600 = 3200). On the Linksys WRT3200ACM you have a single 5GHz radio supports contiguous 160 MHz bandwidth. So doing the math here you have 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz radio and 2600 Mbps on the 5GHz radio (600 + 2600 = 3200).
Now there is a catch here, in order to achieve the 2600 Mbps speed on the 5GHz band you need a 3×3 client that also supports contiguous 160 MHz bandwidth. To our knowledge the only client that would support this is another WRT3200ACM in client mode. So for most users this would be more like an AC1900 router with 600 Mbps on the 2.4GHz radio and 1300 Mbps on the 5GHz radio (600 + 1300 = 1900).
MU-MIMO is a term we’ve been hearing a lot when it comes to routers, so let me explain. MU-MIMO stands for multi-user, multiple-input, multiple-output technology and allows a Wi-Fi router to communicate with multiple devices simultaneously. This decreases the time each device has to wait for a signal and dramatically speeds up your network. Considering that the average household has upwards of eight devices battling for bandwidth simultaneously, MU-MIMO will increasingly improve your Wi-Fi experience. MU-MIMO also will allow you to speed up your bandwidth if your device has supports MU-MIMO. It can open multiple simultaneous connections with the WRT3200ACM and maximize your bandwidth.
One great feature for advanced users is that Linksys’ WRT routers are open source. That means that if you want you have the ability to install your own custom operating system on the WRT3200ACM. Advanced users like this as it gives them more control and a very streamlined system. Some of the more popular open source operating systems for these routers include OpenWrt and DD-WRT.
