The Best Buy-exclusive Netgear Nighthawk AX5200 (RAX48) Wi-Fi 6 router is half off its normal price right now, a few weeks ahead of Black Friday. It’s a great router if you want to upgrade your home network to the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard for faster speeds.
At $149.99, the RAX48 router is in direct competition with its non-exclusive cousin, the RAX50. At about half the price, Best Buy’s RAX48 offers wi-fi speeds of up to 4,800 Mbps on its short range 5GHz band, and 460 Mbps on the long range 2.4GHz band. The RAX50 only increases the 2.4GHz band’s speed by 140 Mbps, so this cheaper router isn’t that far off by comparison.
For most people it’ll be a significant upgrade if you have an older Wi-Fi 5 router. The upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 will help new devices make use of a fast internet connection speed, and the overall faster throughput may help you hit higher speeds than you could on your old router, too. Anyone that plans to download massive games like Forza Horizon 5 or Call of Duty: Vanguard over wi-fi will appreciate the upgrade.
The RAX48 has a triple-core 1.5GHz processor that should be able to handle the congestion from several devices better than many older, slower routers. It includes five gigabit ethernet ports and a USB 3.0 port if you want a network-accessible drive for storage.
Like a lot of modern routers, it has four antennas to help widely spread its wi-fi coverage throughout your home (just don’t stick it in a closet, even if it’s not winning any awards for stylish design). A router is nothing if its signal can’t reach those remote corners of your house you might take your phone or laptop to.
The RAX48 is available online, but if you have a local Best Buy, you can look into its in-store recycle and save discount. If you trade in your current router towards this new one, you’ll save an additional 15% off the price, making this deal even better than it already is.
