Wireless speed 2.4 GHz
The maximum speed provided by the device when communicating wirelessly in the 2.4 GHz band.
This range is used in most modern Wi-Fi standards (see above) - as one of the available or even the only one. The theoretical maximum for it is 600 Mbit. In reality, Wi-Fi at a frequency of 2.4 GHz is used by a large number of client devices, from which congestion of data transmission channels emerges. Also, the number of antennas affects the speed performance of the equipment. It is possible to achieve the speed declared in the specification only in an ideal situation. In practice, it can be noticeably smaller (often by several times), especially with an abundance of wireless technology simultaneously connected to the equipment. The maximum speed at 2.4 GHz is specified in the characteristics of specific models to understand the real capabilities of Wi-Fi equipment. As for the numbers, according to the capabilities in the 2.4 GHz band, modern equipment is conditionally divided into models with speeds
up to 500 Mbit inclusive and
over 500 Mbit.
Bandwidth
-
160 MHz. The presence of a bandwidth of 160 MHz increases the throughput for data transmission and allows it to approach the maximum theoretical speed.
-
320 MHz. The bandwidth of 320 MHz was introduced in the Wi-Fi 7 standard (see the corresponding paragraph). It provides a significant increase in the speed of data exchange - twice as much compared to the width of the wireless channel of 160 MHz.
Number of antennas
The total number of antennas (of all types — see below) provided in the design of the device.
In modern Wi-Fi equipment, this indicator can be different: in addition to the simplest devices with 1 antenna, there are models where this number is
2,
3,
4 and even
more. The point of using multiple antennas is twofold. Firstly, if there are several external devices per antenna, they have to share the bandwidth among themselves, and the actual communication speed for each subscriber drops accordingly. Secondly, such a design may also be required when communicating with one external device — to work with MU-MIMO technology (see below), which allows you to fully realize the capabilities of modern Wi-Fi standards.
Anyway, more antennas, usually, means a more advanced and functional device. On the other hand, this parameter significantly affects the cost; so specifically looking for equipment with numerous antennas makes sense mainly when the speed and stability of communication are critical.
Note that antennas intended for mobile communications may also be considered in this clause. So when choosing a model with support for mobile networks, it's ok to clarify this point.
2.4 / 5 GHz antennas
The total number of antennas in the router that can operate on both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies. For details about the number of antennas, see "Total antennas", about the range — "Frequency range".
CPU
The model of the processor installed in the device.
The processor is responsible for processing network traffic and running software. Knowing its name, you can get more detailed data on the speed capabilities of the equipment and understand how much such a powerful or, on the contrary, mediocre element is needed on board. In new models of Wi-Fi equipment, coprocessors or so-called NPU modules are often installed, which relieve the load from the main processor.
Most often, Wi-Fi equipment is equipped with processors from
Broadcom,
MediaTek,
Realtek and
Qualcomm.
Clock Speed
The number of cycles per second that the processor produces in its normal operating mode. A clock is a single electrical impulse used to process data and synchronize the processor with the rest of the computer system. Different operations may require fractions of a clock or several clocks, but anyway, the clock frequency is one of the main parameters characterizing the performance and speed of the processor — all other things being equal, a processor with a higher clock frequency will work faster and better cope with significant loads.
RAM
The amount of random access memory (RAM) provided in the device. The amount of "RAM" is one of the indicators of the power of the device: the larger it is, the higher the speed and the better the device will cope with "heavy" tasks. Among the values, there can be
128 MB,
256 MB,
512 MB and high scores in
1 GB and
2 GB.
Operating temperature
Ambient air temperature at which the device is guaranteed to remain operational.
All modern Wi-Fi equipment can easily endure the conditions typical for use in apartments, offices, etc. So it makes sense to pay attention to this parameter mainly when choosing a model for outdoor installation (see above) or indoors , where the conditions are not very different from those outside. At the same time, the upper temperature limit is usually quite high, and even in the heat there are usually no problems with operation (of course, if the device is not installed in direct sunlight — which is not recommended anyway). But the lower temperature threshold can be different, not all "street" equipment is designed for frost. However, among frost-resistant models there are solutions where the minimum operating temperature is
-10 °C and below, and sometimes even
-40 °C and below.
