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Acer Predator Connect W6x: One-Minute Review
Like most manufacturers, Acer has been focusing on the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology in its best routers and mesh systems.
One advantage of Wi-Fi 7 is its use of the high-speed 6.0GHz frequency band, which provides far higher speeds than previous versions of Wi-Fi. However, there are millions of people who are still using older computers and mobile devices that only support the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands used by the previous generations of Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6.
To provide a more affordable option for those users, Acer has also released the Predator Connect W6x, which provides basic dual-band Wi-Fi 6 support using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands with a top speed of 6.0Gbps (and is also backwards-compatible with older devices that use Wi-Fi 5).
Acer uses the Predator name for its range of gaming PCs and accessories, and while the Predator Connect W6x certainly isn’t the fastest router around it can still provide a fast, affordable option for gaming, streaming and other tasks at a very competitive price.
The only problem is finding the right router with the right model number on Acer’s perpetually unhelpful website.
Acer Predator Connect W6x: Price And Availability
- How much does it cost? $169 / £99 / AU$299
- When is it available? Now
- Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia
Your first task is to make sure you find the correct model on Acer’s website, as the company sells a number of routers in the Predator Connect range that look almost identical and have very similar model numbers.
We tested the Predator Connect W6x, which you can spot by counting its array of six external antennae. However, there are also models called the Predator Connect W6 (eight antenna) and W6d (four antenna), which have very similar designs, although they do have slightly different technical specifications.
And Acer’s Australian website carelessly manages to refer to the W6x as being both a tri-band and dual-band router, depending on which web page you look at, so you really do need to take care when ordering online.
Assuming you manage to find the correct model, then the Predator Connect W6x is available directly from Acer in the US and Australia, priced at $169 / AU$299.
That’s a fairly competitive price when compared to similar Wi-Fi 6 routers, but it’s customers in the UK who seem to get the best deal, as the W6x costs just £99. It’s not sold on the Acer website in the UK, though, so you’ll need to shop around online.
Acer Predator Connect W6x: Design
- Low-profile design
- Eight external antennae
- Four Ethernet ports for wired connections
The Acer Predator Connect W6x certainly looks like a gaming router, with a sombre black, low-profile design and an intimidating array of dagger-like antennae (that’s six antennae – count ‘em, not four or eight).
The body of the router stands just 50mm high, 270mm wide and 187mm deep, but the adjustable, rotating antennae are 170mm long so you’ll need plenty of room when you’re setting it up to make sure that the antennae can spread out and zap the Wi-Fi signal far and wide.
The affordable W6x doesn’t have the array of glowing lights that you find on some gaming routers, but Acer hasn’t cut too many corners in order to keep the price down.
The back panel of the router provides a 2.5Gb Ethernet port for a high-speed Internet connection, and there are four Gigabit Ethernet ports available for a gaming PC or console if you prefer a lag-free wired connection for your online gaming sessions.
There’s even a USB port for adding a network storage drive as well. This uses a USB-A (3.0) connector, rather than the faster USB-C, but that’s hardly a criticism at this price.
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Acer Predator Connect W6x: Features
- Free security from Trend Micro
- Free parental controls
- QoS for gaming and streaming
The Predator Connect app provides a number of useful features, but it’s not as user-friendly as it could be.
The apps provided with many routers keep things simple by automatically combining the different frequency bands to create a single network, while others prefer to create a separate network for each frequency band.
The Predator app does neither of these things – it starts by simply filling the screen with the various network settings and leaves it up to the user to decide which options to choose.
That’s fine for more experienced users, but home users who aren’t familiar with terms such as ‘band-steering’ and ‘SSID’ may be a bit confused at this point.
Once that’s done, the app provides features such as the ability to create a guest network, or to block Internet access for individual devices. There’s also a QoS option – quality of service – that allows you to give priority to devices, such as a gaming PC or console, that require maximum performance.
Some features are made unnecessarily complicated, though. The app does include a number of security features and parental controls, and we were pleased to find that these are provided free of charge, with no need to pay an additional monthly subscription – as is the case with some of Acer’s rivals.
But, it’s strange that these are initially turned off within the Predator app, which simply tells you to leave the app and connect to the router using a web browser interface in order to activate these features.
Again, this is something that will appeal to more experienced users, but it could be confusing for people who have never used a browser interface to connect to their router before.
Acer Predator Connect W6x: Performance
- Dual-band Wi-Fi 6
- Top speed of 6Gbps
- 2.5Gb Ethernet for broadband connection
Acer Predator Connect W6x: Benchmarks
Ookla Speed Test – 2.4GHz (download/upload)
Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps/150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 70Mbps/70bps
20GB Steam Download – 2.4GHz
Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 70Mbps
Ookla Speed Test – 5.0GHz (download/upload)
Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps/150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps/150Mbps
20GB Steam Download – 5.0GHz
Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 150Mbps
The Predator Connect W6x isn’t a top-of-the-range router by any means, as it’s based on older Wi-Fi 6 technology.
Even so, its top speed of 6Gbps should be more than fast enough for most home broadband services. Our normal office router can only manage a top speed of around 80Mbps on the 2.4GHz band when running the Ookla speed test with devices in the same room.
That’s far short of the maximum 150Mbps available with our office Internet connection. Steam downloads struggle even more, at around 40Mbps. Switching to 5.0GHz on our office router provides some improvement, with the Ookla test rising to 120Mbp, and 100Mbps for Steam.
But, when connecting to devices that are nearby, the W6x breezed along at the maximum 150Mbps for both tests on both 2.4GHz and 5.0Ghz bands.
I also have an office at the back of my building that suffers from an annoying Wi-Fi ‘deadspot’ as my normal office router can’t provide a reliable signal in that location at all.
The W6x was able to reach that office, although its 2.4GHz band struggled a bit and dipped to 70Mbps for both Ookla and Steam.
Fortunately, the router’s 5.0GHz band stepped up to the plate and quickly boosted both Steam and Ookla tests up to the full 150Mbps once more.
So while the Acer Predator Connect W6x might not be the fastest router around, it does perform pretty well for an affordable Wi-Fi 6 router and could be a good upgrade for owners of older Wi-Fi 5 routers (especially for £99 in the UK).
|
Category |
Verdict |
Score |
|
Value |
It’s not going to break any speed records, but the W6x is a good, affordable upgrade for people who are still using an old router provided by their ISP. |
4.5/5 |
|
Design |
It doesn’t have any flashing lights for gamers, but the low-profile design looks smart, and the array of eight antenna provides good Wi-Fi coverage. |
4/5 |
|
Features |
The Predator app has some rough edges, but the W6x provides good wired connectivity, along with security features and parental controls that don’t require an extra monthly subscription. |
4/5 |
|
Performance |
The Predator app has some rough edges, but the W6x provides good wired connectivity, along with security features and parental controls that don’t require an extra monthly subscription. |
4/5 |
|
Overall |
It’s certainly not state-of-the-art, but if you just want to replace an old Wi-Fi 5 router then the W6x does the job at a very competitive price. |
4/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Acer Predator Connect W6x: Also consider
|
Router |
Acer Predator Connect W6x |
Acer Predator Connect T7 |
Netgear Nighthawk RS200 |
|
Price (as reviewed) |
$169/£99/AU$299 |
$329.99/£236.22/AU$699.00 |
$229.99/£199.99/AU$449 |
|
Wi-Fi Type |
Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 |
Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 |
Dual-band Wi-Fi 7 |
|
Wi-Fi Speed |
6Gbps |
11Gbps |
6.5Gbps |
|
Connectivity |
1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN), 4x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN), 1x USB-A (3.0) |
1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN), 2x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN), 1x USB-C (2.0) |
1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN), 1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (LAN), 3x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN), 1x USB-A (3.0) |
|
Processor |
Quad-core 2.0GHz |
Quad-core 1.5GHz |
Quad-core 2.0GHz |
|
Memory |
1GB RAM |
1GB RAM |
2GB RAM |
|
Storage |
256MB Flash |
512MB Flash |
512MB Flash |
|
Dimensions |
49.5 x 270 x 187mm |
212 x 109 x 109mm |
249 x 150 x 102mm |
- First reviewed: June 2025
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