INTRODUCTION

   It's no secret that wired connectivity is more reliable, secure and faster compared to wireless (perhaps even healthier) but the second is a lot more convenient which is also why it keeps gaining ground over the first (at least in households). Of course we all know just how annoying it is when we don't have good WiFi signal everywhere we go (i get especially annoyed when i go someplace to eat or have a drink and not only is my 4G signal extremely weak but so is their WiFi signal) so using a high-performance modem/router and/or access point is obviously extremely important. In late 2016 Linksys expanded their very popular WRT line of high-performance routers with the WRT3200ACM AC3200 MU-MIMO Gigabit Wi-Fi model which is also here with us today. 

   The Linksys brand has pioneered wireless connectivity since its inception in 1988 with its leading innovation and engineering strategies, and best-in-class technology, design, and customer service. Linksys enables a connected lifestyle for people at home, at work and on the move, and with its award-winning products, simplifies home control, entertainment, security and Internet access through innovative features and a growing application and partner ecosystem. Linksys is part of Belkin International.

   The WRT3200ACM is yet another AC3200 router that can output throughput speeds of up to 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz band (802.11n) and 2600Mbps on the 5GHz band (802.11ac) simultenously via 4 dual-band high-gain detachable antennas. It's also virtually identical to the WRT1900AC and the WRT1900ACS models which we have already reviewed but since it so happens it's one of the sturdiest (not to mention best looking) enclosures we've ever seen i too don't see the reason as to why they should change it. Inside this very familiar enclosure Linksys has placed a Marvell Armada 88F6820 dual-core CPU clocked at 1.8GHz, 512MB of DDR3 RAM (our sample had a single Micron module inside), 256MB NAND flash (Spansion branded), two Marvell Avastar 88W8964 WiFi processors (featuring integrated ARM® Dual-Core Cortex A9 CPU's and 128MB DRAM cache modules) and two Skyworks amplifiers (SKY85309 for the 2.4GHz band and SKY85728 for the 5GHz band). Thanks to its Avastar processors not only does the WRT3200ACM support MU-MIMO and beamforming technologies but it also supports the brand new tri-stream 160MHz bandwidth technology which basically doubles the 80MHz channel width on the 5GHz band to achieve faster throughput speeds. The only "downside" with that is that there aren't really many devices that support it yet. Finally in terms of connectivity the WRT3200ACM has 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, Gigabit WAN port, USB 3.0 port and an eSATA/USB 2.0 port.