TP Link Archer C2300 Review

When there are many different devices in the house, where besides visiting websites and social networking sites they watch videos, play online games or download files, the performance of the router may not be enough. This primarily applies to budget routers. For a stable and fast connection, even under load, you need a powerful and productive router. For example, such as TP Link Archer C2300. You can’t call it exactly budgetary, it costs about $170. But it is two times cheaper than some top models. And the performance and functionality in it are more than enough for home use.

TP Link Archer C2300 is based on a powerful processor. Of course, it supports the standard WiFi 802.11ac, equipped with gigabit ports, two USB ports and HomeCare security system. There is support for the functions Beamforming, MU-MIMO, Range Boost, etc. The software functionality of the router is very rich. It has a multilingual web interface and there is support for cloud functions.

Appearance and equipment

I decided to start the review of TP Link Archer C2300 not with the technical specifications, as I usually do, but with the delivery set and appearance. The router comes in a nice box with all the basic information about the device.
Everything is packed fairly securely. All glossy parts are covered with a protective film

Standard equipment: a router, antennas (they are removable), power adapter, network cable, and instructions.
Almost the entire body is made of high-quality matte plastic.

The top cover is divided into two parts. The first is made of matte plastic with an unusual texture and holes for ventilation, and the second of glossy plastic (which is understandably very dirty and scratched).

There are silver plastic inserts that perfectly complement the TP Link company logo of the same color. Indicators are located on the top and highlighted with a special bar. They can be seen only when TP Link Archer C2300 is on.

The lower part of the silver strip is a button for turning off the indicators. But I do not quite understand why this button is needed, because the indicators are very dim, even in the dark.

On the left side there are three buttons: WiFi On/Off (to enable/disable the wireless network), Reset and WPS. And two USB-ports, one of which is standard 3.0 (it is blue inside).
4 LAN ports and 1 WAN, as well as a power connector and On/Off button are located at the back.

Antennas are removable.
The router looks expensive. Heavy for its size.

Below there are many holes for air ventilation and cooling of powerful iron, a sticker with factory information and some small rubber feet that are frankly ineffective. But the router is not as slipping as on plastic legs. Below there are two holes that allow you to hang the router on the wall.

Quality materials and interesting design. Buttons and ports are located conveniently. I just did not like the straight holes (through which you can see the board) on the top cover of the router. For air circulation and cooling of the board, this is a very good solution, but dust will get there very easily. The fast fee will be covered with dust, because of which, I think, it will heat up even more.

TP-link archer c2300 specs

The Archer C2300 runs on a 1.8 GHz dual-core processor with an additional co-processor. Chip from Broadcom.

RAM as much as 512 MB, and a constant 128 MB.
Of course, such a powerful hardware allows you to squeeze a good speed over a wireless network. In the range of 5GHz to 1625Mbit/s, and in the range of 2.4 GHz to 600Mbit/s. Performance adds support for the function MU-MIMO, through which the router can transmit information to multiple devices simultaneously. And the Smart Connect feature will automatically assign devices to the best available WiFi network band.
WAN/LAN gigabit ports (up to 1 Gb/s) . There is support for the function (Link Aggregation), which allows you to combine two LAN ports into one and receive speeds of up to 2 Gbps.

This can be useful when connecting to a network-attached device (NAS) router. Two USB ports can be used to connect flash drives, external HDDs, or a printer. One USB port version 3.0. The read/write speed will be much faster than USB 2.0. True, when you connect the appropriate drive (with USB 3.0 support).

The TP-Link website says that the router comes with 3 removable antennas. But for some reason, it seems to me that there are also built-in WiFi antennas. Dual bands, high-speed wireless network and MU-MIMO technology – this is hardly all possible due to three antennas. Maybe I’m wrong. I did not find information on the power of antennas. But network coverage is good. For a two or three bedroom apartment will be enough (do not forget that the range of the wireless network depends not only on the router).

Other characteristics and features:

• Range Boost and Beamforming are features that are designed for fast and productive wireless connectivity and increased network coverage.
• Support cloud functions “Cloud TP-Link”. You can, for example, manage TP-Link Archer C2300 via the Internet (instruction here ).
• HomeCare security system, which includes parental control, QoS, firewall, and even antivirus. Maximum protection for your home network.
• OpenVPN, PPTP VPN and VPN Acceleration are available to set up a quick VPN connection.
• Multilingual, beautiful and intuitive web interface.
• Support TP-Link Tether application (with the ability to control via the Internet) .

The functionality and capabilities of this router will be enough even for advanced users.

WiFi network speed

Testing the speed of such a router like TP-Link Archer C2300 when you have a speed of up to 100 Mbit/s from an Internet service provider is a bit silly and pointless. Is that in the 2.4 GHz band. But I made several measurements (I tested the speed on the iPhone) and now I’ll share the results with you.

The speed of my cable is from 90 to 100 Mbps. In the 5 GHz band, the router of course gave the maximum speed.

In the 2.4 GHz band (which in my apartment is very loaded with neighboring networks) the speed is only slightly lower.

This is at the maximum wifi network signal. When I retreated to the farthest room and one division from the signal level disappeared, the speed dropped slightly (54 Mbit / s incoming and 85 Mbit / s outgoing).

To get the most out of this router, you need an Internet channel of at least 300-500 Mbit/s. But this speed is needed not only to connect to the Internet, but also for a stable connection of devices in the local network. For example, to watch movies on a TV from a computer or network drive via DLNA, or to exchange files over a local network.

Impressions of using TP Link Archer C2300

As one would expect, performance problems did not arise, it is more than enough for home use. The signal level with the high power turned on at the maximum distance for the apartment from the router (10 meters and one barrier in the form of an interior partition) in both bands was about -70 dB. I tried to simultaneously watch YouTube videos in 4K and 1080p on two smartphones connected at 5 GHz, and 1080p video on a computer also connected via Wi-Fi, but at 2.4 GHz – everything works fine, no slowdowns, fast load when going forward and backward. At the same time, one of the smartphones and the computer were located at the same point where the signal level was measured. With low power in the same place, the Wi-Fi Analyzer showed about -80 …- 75 dB, which is more likely “satisfactory” than “good”

When working, the router heated up slightly, which is not surprising – after all, he stood in an apartment without air conditioning, where the air temperature reached + 27 ° C. This had no effect on the performance of the device, and indeed, during the whole time of testing, no malfunctions were noticed. Unfortunately, I simply do not have the equipment on which to unleash the full power of this router, and I could load it with what I could load it without straining.

The bottom line

The AC2300 is one of the company’s top devices, the “younger brother” of the AC3150, noticeably simplified in hardware, but equally functional in software and still too cool for a regular home network from a laptop, several smartphones and (even) a smart TV. It seems to me that this is an excellent choice of a home router for a system administrator or another IT specialist who has a static IP and a small home server, which is not such a rarity now. Or for a small office, somewhere up to 100 square meters, which uses mostly laptop computers and, in addition to accessing the Internet, you need general access to a printer and additional file storage. The price corresponds to the equipment – if the AC3150 now costs about 6000 UAH, then the most common (apparently recommended by the manufacturer) price is AC2300 – 4499 UAH. Basically, 

3 reasons to buy TP-Link Archer C2300:

• you really like the AC3150, but its price is too high for you, and the possibilities are redundant;
• you know exactly why you need two USB ports in the router;
• you have young users in your family, and additional protection from malicious content will not hurt you.

1 reason not to buy TP-Link Archer C2300:

• components of your home or office network do not match the performance level of the AC2300, which means there is no point in overpaying for it.

Conclusion TP Link Archer C2300

is a powerful, fast and very productive router. It is much cheaper than the flagship models, for which most likely it makes no sense to overpay. Unless you are a very advanced and demanding user, and clearly understand why you need such an expensive router. Archer C2300 will be enough for the most difficult tasks (online games, downloading files, transferring files on the local network, watching videos in 4k, etc.) , even if these tasks are performed on several devices at the same time. A regular $ 20 router just hangs. Or, at best, the speed and ping will be strong, and the Archer C2300 will work. This was the answer to the question “Why do we need an expensive router?”.

TP-Link Archer C2300 Router for those who know how to load it This wireless router can work in parallel with three devices that consume a large amount of traffic. Thanks to the effective use of radio frequencies, it allows you to simultaneously watch movies in 4K, play productive online games with minimal lag and upload files. What makes it a popular gadget in a modern house, stuffed with Internet-connected appliances, including Smart-TVs, tablets, smartphones and game consoles.