At first we would like to thank TP-LINK for offering me a sample of their AC3200 Wireless Tri-Band Gigabit Router for testing and reviewing.

 

About TP-LINK:

"TP-LINK is a global provider of SOHO networking products and No.1 market share holder in China, with products available in over 100 countries to tens of millions customers. Committed to powerful R&D, effective production and strict quality management, TP-LINK continues to provide awards-winning networking products in Wireless, ADSL, Routers, Switches, IP Cameras, Powerline Adapters, Print Servers, Media Converters and Network Adapters for Global end-users.

Based on the confidence of tens of millions of customers, TP-LINK is now growing to become one of the most competitive providers of networking products with aspirations of becoming one of the top 3 networking brands and striving for a larger global market share, while further advancing in the world of networking to better serve our most valued customers with a product that makes their lives easier."

More Wi-Fi for More Devices

 

The Archer C3200 uses Tri-Band technology to run three separate Wi-Fi channels at once, creating a network that can connect to more devices without a trade-off in performance.

 

Smart Connect helps devices run even faster by assigning them to the best available channel to balance network demand.

 

Seamless Streaming and Gaming

 

With the fastest combined Wi-Fi speed of up to 3200Mbps, the Archer C3200 lets you simultaneously game online and stream video in 4K Ultra HD across multiple devices without lag.

 

Maximum Coverage and Stability

 

Six high-performance external antennas greatly increase the Archer C3200’s range and signal stability. Beamforming technology further improves the router’s coverage by helping it locate wireless devices to form stronger, more reliable connections.

 

Run All Your Devices At Once

 

A powerful 1GHz dual-core CPU and three co-processors easily handle the demand made on the Archer C3200’s network when multiple users are browsing, streaming, and gaming all at the same time.

 

Lightning-Fast Wired Performance

 

External hard drives can connect directly to the Archer C3200 via its USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, making it easy to share files, photos, music, and video across your network.

 

The Archer C3200 is also equipped with four Gigabit Ethernet ports that enable blazing wired speeds 10x greater than Fast Ethernet, helping connected gaming consoles, PCs, and smart TVs achieve their best performance.

 

Easy Setup and Use

 

Set up the Archer C3200 in minutes thanks to its intuitive web interface and the powerful Tether app. Tether also lets you manage its network settings from any Android or iOS device, including parental controls and media sharing.

 

Guest Network

Provides visitors width Wi-Fi access separate from your main network

 

Parental Controls

Manage when and how connected devices can access the Internet

 

Advanced Security

WPA/WPA2 encryption creates an active defense against security

 

 

After we did check out a series of MU-MIMO routers, it is time to look upon another types of implementations in order to have more devices connected at the same time, while providing good transfer rates for each. The Archer C3200 router is using Tri-Band technology in order to run no less than three separate Wi-Fi channels at once, creating an even more capable network. We do essentially have one 2.4GHz and two 5GHz bands, while the router will assign each device to the band which is less occupied, via its Smart Connect feature. The AC3200 Wireless Tri-Band Gigabit router from TP-LINK is shipped inside a medium-sized cardboard box, with a photo of the item on the top side, along with an enumeration of the main product highlights:

 

 

 

On the side, TP-LINK has enumerated the list of package contents, physical specifications, supported standards and security modes:

 

 

 

The opposite area does present us the TP-LINK Tether App through which we can control the router via our smartphone/tablet, but we also get to see a photo of the back side of the router, with its interfaces explained:

 

 

 

A more detailed product description can be found on the back, along with a table which shows this model in comparison with others (in order to analyze the benefits):

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will end up with an all-white box; let’s see what is inside!

 

 

 

As expected, we will get to see the Archer C3200 router along with its bundle:

 

 

 

Multiple leaflets are offered with it which include router features, the declaration of conformity, technical support, GNU general public license notice but also the Quick Installation Guide:

 

 

 

The guide provides us the installation procedure with photos, screenshots and text, easy to understand by unfamiliar users:

 

 

 

The hardware bundle includes the LAN cable, one power lead, but also the power adapter; no antennas are presented here since they are non-removable with this model:

 

 

 

The power adapter was manufactured by HuntKey and is rated on the output as 12V at 5A:

 

 

 

The TP-LINK Archer C3200 has an interesting symmetric chassis and sports no less than six antennas, three of which being dual-band and the remaining three single-band:

 

 

 

Both LEDs and interface buttons can be spotted in the frontal area of the router:

 

 

 

From left to right, we’ve got the Power LED, the one for the 2.4GHz band, the one for the first 5GHz band, second 5GHz band, one LAN activity LED, a WAN activity LED, WPS LED and also separate LEDs for the USB interfaces:

 

 

 

The hardware buttons are for turning Wi-Fi On/Off, to enable WPS but also for turning the LEDs on or off:

 

 

 

Besides the ventilated top, we get ventilation grills on each side too:

 

 

 

The interfaces of this router are located in the back and here we will get to see from left to right a Reset button, an USB 2.0 port, a WAN port, four LAN ports, an USB 3.0 port, the Power button but also one DC-IN port. These are color-coded, can be identified easily and have enough spacing between:

 

 

 

There is no surprise that the bottom layer of this router also presents itself as a ventilation grill:

 

 

 

Each lateral features a small rubber foot:

 

 

 

Here is how the Archer C3200 does look when it is ready for operation; each wireless band is driven by a different co-processor and the system is accompanied by a dual-core 1GHz processor:

 

 

 

 

After connecting the router to our network, we will login with the default credentials:

 

 

 

Right after we login successfully, we are asked to define a new username and password for increased security:

 

 

Time zone selection follows:

 

 

The Internet Connection Type must be selected depending on our ISP:

 

 

The router also gives us the possibility to clone the MAC when necessary:

 

 

The Wireless settings menu will then ask which Wi-Fi bands should be active and for each we can define a name and a password:

 

 

A Summary screen is presented to us next:

 

 

During the time the settings are applied, a progress bar will appear:

 

 

After all settings have been applied, we can test the Internet Connection but also navigate to the main router interface:

 

 

As we have been accustomed with the previous TP-LINK models which have passed through our labs for testing, the graphical interface features a “Basic” mode, but also an “Advanced” mode. From the Network Map section of the Basic mode, we will get to see the current status of the router, connected devices and more:

 

 

 

The Internet tab does allow WAN configuration, depending on the settings from our provider:

 

 

The Wireless menu allows the user to enable/disable each band, specify SSID names but also define a password for each band:

 

 

USB Settings menu allows working with the storage devices connected to the router, but also printers:

 

 

Parental Controls can be defined next:

 

 

A Guest Network can be enabled and configured for each and every band:

 

 

If we navigate to the Advanced area of the GUI, we will first notice the Status menu, which gives us more in-depth information regarding the connected interfaces:

 

 

Internet sub-section from the Network menu will allow us to configure the WAN interface, but also clone or use a custom MAC address:

 

 

LAN menu gives us the possibility to select an IP address of the router inside the network:

 

 

IPTV-dedicated menu is also available:

 

 

DHCP server menu allows choosing an IP address pool, the default Gateway, DNS addresses, see the client lists and perform IP address reservations:

 

 

Dynamic DNS menu allows us to use DynDNS or NO-IP services by entering up the credentials:

 

 

Advanced Routing menu is next:

 

 

Same thing we can say about IPSec VPN:

 

 

The Wireless menu first comes with the Wireless Settings sub-section, where we will be able to enable/disable the Smart Connect feature, but also configure in detail each band options (including security options):

 

 

WPS can be enabled or disabled from the next menu:

 

 

We can also set up MAC filtering for the wireless interface:

 

 

Wireless schedule allows the user to select a time period when the Wi-Fi interface should be turned off:

 

 

A Statistics tab is also available:

 

 

Guest Network tab allows us to set a Guest Network on each band, but we can also configure some miscellaneous options too:

 

 

NAT Forwarding comes with the usual menus:

 

ALG

 

 

Virtual Servers

 

 

Port Triggering

 

 

DMZ

 

 

UPnP

 

 

From the USB settings section, we will be able to scan and safely remove the detected devices via Device Settings menu:

 

 

Sharing Access options are available in more detail from the next tab:

 

 

We can also configure the Print Server next in case we have a printer connected to the router:

 

 

Parental Controls are next:

 

 

We can also turn on the Bandwidth Control option from the next section and configure it:

 

 

The Security menu houses custom settings for this section, but also the Access Control and IP & MAC Binding options:

 

 

IPv6 connection has a separate menu of its own, and is useful if our provider also supports it:

 

 

System Tools menu is next, with its Time Settings sub-section, which allows us to configure the router OS date/time:

 

 

Diagnostics such as Ping or Traceroute are available next:

 

 

Firmware upgrades can be also performed from the GUI:

 

 

Backup & Restore menu allows us to save the current configuration to a file, restore it when necessary or reset the router to factory settings:

 

 

Administration menu does allow us to create a new user name, enable local management through a specific IP/Port, but also remote management:

 

 

Detailed information about the router OS actions can be found in the System Log area:

 

 

SNMP Settings has a separate menu available:

 

 

Statistics area is next:

 

 

We do also have the last menu available with some extra miscellaneous settings named System Parameters:

 

 

Wired Station

 

CPU: Intel I5 3570K Retail

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional

RAM: GeIL Black Dragon 2x4GB DDR2133 (@1600)

Video: Sparkle X560 Calibre

Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W

HDD: Crucial MX100

Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840

For the new routers, we have used a mix of PerformanceTest 8.0 and LAN Speed Test in order to test performances. Our wired server had a public shared folder on it and with the help of the wireless station (i7 6700K, ECS Z170 Claymore, 8GB RAM DDR 2133MHz, OCZ Vector SSD) we have operated the test software (LAN Speed Test for measuring wireless download/upload and PerformanceTest 8.0 for checking out the wired station-to-station switch performances).

For the wired client tests, both stations were linked to the router via UTP wire.

 

Wired Test

 

 

 

We have tested the router while using all available modes from the interface, on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies:

2.4GHz

5GHz

 

To test the USB Storage speeds, we have connected one Corsair Flash Voyager GTX USB 3.0 Flash Drive to the router and performed file transfers both ways. While the read speeds are decent, the copy ones are a bit on the low side.

 

Copy

Read

 

The AC3200 router from TP-LINK is another high-end offering which does use Tri-Band technology to run no less than three separate Wi-Fi channels at once. The second added 5GHz band makes sure that more devices can connect to the router, without a decrease in performance; also, thanks to the Smart Connect feature, the devices which do need to connect to the router will be assigned to one of the channels which has least load in order to perform balancing.

 

On the 5GHz bands, the Archer C3200 router is able to provide good performance so we will be able to stream, game, download without issues given that we also have a decent Wi-Fi adapter to our disposal. If we need to expand or fill out remaining Wi-Fi dead spots inside the house, we are free to choose either the RE450 or RE580 range extenders, which work well with this model.

 

Despite the number of antennas which are not removable (three single-band and three dual-band), the router maintains a compact footprint; for moving the router to another location, we can easily fold back the antennas in the “closed” position so we won’t damage them during transit.

 

Having two USB ports in the back of the device is surely handy, but do not expect stellar performances when connecting storage drives in order to replace the functionality of a standalone NAS. Newer entry-level NASes can surely provide better read/write performances than what we have seen with the last model routers which have passed through our labs.

 

The setup procedure of the product is quite simple and if the user has not worked with this type of devices before, he/she can always consult the provided Quick Installation Guide; a more detailed version of the manual is available on the TP-LINK website for download.

 

The TP-LINK Archer C3200 router can be picked up online for about 249 Euros, placing it in the high-end section.

TP-LINK AC3200 Wireless Tri-Band Gigabit Router is Recommended For:

 

 

We would like to thank again to TP-LINK for making this review possible!