Linksys’ latest router bakes in Killer Network software for butter-smooth gaming

By Brad Bourque Published December 30, 2016

linksys wrt32x ces 2017 featured — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Linksys is bringing a series of routers to CES in 2017. The networking giant has a specialized gaming router, a few home network solutions, and a high-powered USB Wi-Fi connection, all of which will be coming to market in the spring of 2017. Let’s take a look.

Linksys WRT32X

For the gaming crowd, Linksys has teamed up with Rivet Networks, of Killer Network fame. The WRT32X picks up the classic WRT styling and open source firmware adoption, pairing it up with 2.6Gbps of bandwidth across three channels.

Recommended Videos

What’s special about this router is how it works with systems that have Killer Network installed. The software connection allows for acute control over bandwidth prioritization and signal distribution. At the cost of other devices on your network, you can prioritize devices that need the fastest speeds and the lowest latency — namely, gaming computers.

Those feature additions are mostly skin-deep. The WRT32X sports a 1.8GHz dual-core processor and 512MB of DDR3 memory, which matches other high-end routers at the $300 price point.

Linksys EA8300

Moving on to the more routine routers, the EA8300 brings 802.11ac Wave 2 and up to 2.2Gbps of total bandwidth at the $200 price point. While we haven’t had hands-on time with the device, its bandwidth should be more than enough for small households and personal networks.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Under the hood, the E8300 is powered by a quad-core 716MHz processor with 256MB of DDR3, allowing for speedy distribution of network signals and any data drives attached to the network.

It carries basically every feature we’d hope to see from a midrange to high-end router, with beamforming, Amazon Alexa, automatic band switching, and bandwidth prioritization for specific devices.

Linksys EA9300

The Linksys EA9300 ups the ante with a 1.8GHz Quad-core processor and twice the RAM, for a total of 512MB. It almost doubles the EA8300’s bandwidth at 4.4Gbps across three channels.

It packs in the same feature set as the EA8300, with Amazon Alexa Skills, beamforming, and per-device bandwidth distribution. It’s hard to ask for much more than that.

That extra power will cost you an extra $100, bringing the total sticker price up to $300.

Linksys WUSB6400M

Since a lot of systems aren’t equipped to take full advantage of the new 802.11ac Mu-MiMo functionality, Linksys is also rolling out a high-end USB Wi-Fi device to help bring them in line.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The USB 3.0 adapter is built with plug-and-play functionality in mind for simple setup, and works with any router, not just Linksys devices.

At just $60, the WUSB6400M is a solid deal on a very capable Wi-Fi adapter, especially consider its advanced feature set and performance promises.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Brad Bourque is a native Portlander, devout nerd, and craft beer enthusiast. He studied creative writing at Willamette…

Computing

Best early Black Friday deals under $100: Amazon Echo, TVs, headphones and more

The Amazon Echo Pop on a desk.

Update 11/19/24: Black Friday is still over a week away, but you can already start your shopping with the Black Friday deals under $100 that we've gathered here. There's a possibility that these affordable items get even bigger discounts when the sale officially launches, but we won't blame you if you're already tempted by today's prices.

Black Friday will start on November 29, but if you've already got the itch to shop, check out the early Black Friday deals under $100 that we've gathered here. The offers cover smart home devices, laptops, TVs, kitchen gadgets, and so much more, so if you want to start enjoying discounts without blowing your entire budget for the shopping event, take a look at our favorite bargains below.

Computing

Understandably, Stalker 2 is a bit of a mess on PC

Key art for Stalker 2. A character in a lit-up gas mask and a gun on their back.

Stalker 2 is one of those games I never thought would actually release. Originally announced 14 years ago, the project was shelved after developer GSC Game World closed its doors, only to be reignited in 2018. Then, as the originally announced 2022 release of the game approached, Ukraine, where the developer was based, was invaded by Russia.

There are plenty of games that suffer in development hell, but they pale in comparison to the struggles Stalker 2 has gone through. The fact that the game is even here is nothing short of a miracle. Like other titles stuck in development hell, though, Stalker 2 is far from perfect, particularly when it comes to PC performance.

Computing

Nvidia may keep producing one RTX 40 GPU, and it’s not the one we want

The Alienware m16 R2 on a white desk.

The last few weeks brought us a slew of rumors about Nvidia potentially sunsetting most of the RTX 40-series graphics cards. However, a new update reveals that one GPU might remain in production long after other GPUs are no longer being produced. Unfortunately, it's a GPU that would struggle to rank among Nvidia's best graphics cards. I'm talking about the RTX 4050 -- a card that only appears in laptops.

The scoop comes from a leaker on Weibo and was first spotted by Wccftech. The leaker states that the RTX 4050 is "the only 40-series laptop GPU that Nvidia will continue to supply" after the highly anticipated launch of the RTX 50-series. Unsurprisingly, the tipster also reveals that the fact that both the RTX 4050 and the RTX 5050 will be readily available at the same time will also impact the pricing of the next-gen card.