TP-Link Archer C2300 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router Review

I remember when I was in the computer sales industry and would talk to people about Wi-Fi and their needs. I would show them a couple different models we had, but price would always be their main decision maker and it was hard to explain why one Wi-Fi router was more expensive than the other. I would explain the differences but all they saw was the dollar amount. Perhaps I wasn’t the best sales person, eh?

Then again, that was also back when there was really only 2.4GHz available, though the higher end routers did have 5GHz. I don’t believe anyone I talked to owned devices that handled the 5GHz frequenc,y which is what the more expensive routers supported. Today, I find that there is a big range of prices for Wi-Fi routers and today we will look at a new feature-packed offering from TP-Link that offers performance for the digital connected family without needing to take out a loan: the TP-Link Archer C2300.

TP-Link Archer C2300 at a Glance

Everything is connected these days it seems. How many electronic devices do you have in your home that are connected via Wi-Fi? For me, I have at least a dozen and with that I need to ensure I have enough wireless bandwidth to handle all those devices. Yes, not all of those devices are always active, but the majority are passing data around my home network.

When I look for a Wi-Fi router, I want something that allows me to connect devices to their best possible signal to get the best possible throughput without sacrificing performance on any other device that is connected. The TP-Link Archer C2300 offers dual-band connectivity with a reliable and robust hardware component to ensure packets flow freely around the network and out to the Internet if and when needed.

The Archer C2300 is an AC2300 router, which means it is capable of up to 2300 Mbps speeds in total. In the 2.4GHz frequency, you can theoretically get up to the 600 Mbps and with the 5 GHz frequency you can theoretically get up to 1625 Mbps, so that’s a total of approximately 2300 Mbps. Not too shabby right? It’s more than enough bandwidth for whatever sort of home Internet service you might throw at it. 

To help pass that traffic around your network, the Archer C2300 is powered by a Broadcom 1.8GHz Dual-core 64bit CPU with a co-processor. That’s enough power to help maintain a 4K video stream while playing the latest MMOs on your PC or console.

What’s in the Box?

As with most retail products these days, there is not a whole lot included inside the box. You get the C2300 unit itself of course, 3 detachable antennas, the power supply, a short Ethernet cable and the quick installation guide. Just the right pieces to either add as a new home Wi-Fi router or to replace an existing outdated one.

Specs and Feature Highlights

There are some pretty nice features on the TP-Link Archer C2300.

• AC2300 – 600Mbps at 2.4GHz, 1625Mbps at 5GHz
• MU-MIMO Technology – 3 external and removable antennas
• 1.8GHz 64-bit dual-core CPU with a Co-Processor
• 512MB RAM with 128MB Flash
• 4 Gigabit LAN Ethernet Ports
• 1 Gigabit WAN Ethernet Port
• IPv6 Compatable
• USB Sharing
• Parental Control
• QoS – Quality of Service
• VPN Server – PPTP, OpenVPN

There’s enough power to help keep packets flowing around your network and robust enough as you add more and more devices to your network. The feature of having a built-in VPN server is nice so that you can create a secure and encrypted connection between your home network and a location remotely.