Linksys WRT1900AC is quite significantly more pricey than Linksys EA6900, despite the fact that both are dual-band routers. Between the two, Linksys EA6900 is the older product. It has been a notable budget-friendly alternative for a wireless router. It is known for its decent performance; it gets the job done well. However, the company has not-so-recently released Linksys WRT1900AC, which serves as the brand’s top class product. How do the two products differ from each other? Let’s compare them!
Performance
In just a few glances, you will not really notice the difference in network performance, especially since both are dual-band routers with identical amounts of bandwidth. They both support the 802.11n and 802.11ac standards, making them able to provide a total bandwidth of 600 Mbps for the 2.4 GHz frequency and 1300 Mbps for the 5 GHz frequency. Such bandwidth should be sufficient for home usage or a small office room.
However, Linksys WRT1900AC comes with four external antennas while Linksys EA6900 has three. The extra antenna allows for a better area coverage. The Wi-Fi signal can be more properly distributed. In addition, both routers are already equipped with the beamforming technology, a feature that allows the router to focus the wireless signal projection to the direction of every specific unit connected to the network.
Furthermore, Linksys WRT1900AC comes with a far more powerful engine than Linksys EA6900. While the older model relies on an 800 MHz dual-core processor that is actually quite fast for a small group of people, the newer model boasts a 1300 MHz dual-core processor. The upgrade in performance is especially noticeable if you have quite a number of units that need to consume the network resources simultaneously. The faster CPU allows for an even faster processing speed.
Connectivity
The next difference is in connectivity, though this difference may not be as significant to some people. At first, you will not notice it immediately, as the numbers of ports are the same. They each comes with one WAN, four LAN, one USB 2.0, and one USB 3.0 ports. However, Linksys WRT1900AC’s USB 2.0 port also serve as a combo port that can accommodate eSATA connection as well.
Linksys EA6900 vs. WRT1900AC
Linksys WRT1900AC’s upgrade in performance is indeed worth the price increment, but only if you have quite a number of devices that work at the same time in your network. The router shines brighter than Linksys EA6900 when handling multiple requests at once. Another reason for picking Linksys WRT1900AC is if you have a device that makes use of the eSATA port. Otherwise, you can save some bucks with Linksys EA6900.
