TP-Link Archer VR900 AC1900 Modem Router Review

Testing & Methodology

Testing a router’s performance is a pretty straight forward process from my point of view. I will first test the wired network performance with several tests followed by the wireless performance on each available band.

When testing the wireless performance I will adjust the distance between the router and the receiving WiFi connection from short over medium to long distance throughout my apartment.

Hardware

• Supermicro C7Z97-OCE
• Intel Xeon E3-1230Lv3
• Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1866MHz
• Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD
• Sapphire R7 240 2GB
• BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850W
• Thermaltake Water 3.0 Performer
• Asus PCE-AC68 Dual-Band wireless adaptor

We would like to thank our sponsors for supplying us with the equipment needed to perform these tests.

Software

• Lan Speed Test
• PassMark PerformanceTest Suite

For both the wired and wireless tests, I’ll be using both static and variable package sizes. The final test will be of the built-in storage ports such as USB 3.0 and eSATA with their file-sharing functions, if they exist. These test together should give us a fair image of what the router is capable of. USB 2.0 ports aren’t really needed to test as they always perform the same; slow.

While it’s easy to test and give you comparable view on the wired connections, we need to keep in mind that environmental factors can’t be avoided with the wireless signals. I live in a pretty big apartment complex where many of the residents have multiple WiFi networks. This will have a natural impact on the shown performance, but at the same time give a great view of how the device can handle itself in a heavy traffic area.