TP-Link Archer GE800 review

Exterior, space. Stars twinkle. A serene planet hangs in the blackness. A Star Destroyer passes across the camera's view to orchestral music. The shuttle of evil Sith Lord Ray Tracingus flies by with a scream of engines, enters the destroyer's bay and lands, folding its wings up as it does so. Wi-Fi reception aboard the heavily armed warship improves considerably.

Yes, TP-Link's latest and greatest Wi-Fi 7 router, the Archer GE800, is what you might call a distinctive shape, and if you put it on display with some model TIE Interceptors and a CR-90 corvette or two it might blend in, or at least have people wondering which part of the expanded universe it comes from.

This is no simple shuttlecraft, however, but a fully armed and operational… [that's enough -ed] battle… er… Wi-Fi 7 router with five fast Ethernet ports for smuggling data away from Imperial probe droids and capable of downloading the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs [you're fired -ed]. Look, the antennas are merged into two panels that stick up like the Netgear Nighthawks of old, OK? And they look like wings.

The box is huge, and emblazoned with 'dominate the competition'—a slogan most probably aimed at gamers unless there's some kind of competitive networking event we're unaware of. And while a Wi-Fi World Cup might be fun, we suspect a certain amount of performance-enhancing plugs might be involved. 

Wireless standard: Wi-Fi 7
Max speeds (claimed): 2.4 GHz: 1376 Mbps; 5 GHz: 5760 Mbps; 6 GHz: 11520 Mbps
MU-MIMO: Yes
Ethernet ports: 1x 10 Gbps, 4x 2.5 Gbps
WAN: 10 Gbps
Processor: Quad-core, 2.2GHz
RAM: 2GB
USB: 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0
Dimensions: ‎29.2 x 20.7 x 22.4 cm
Weight: 2.21kg
Price: $600 | £600

Your first challenge is to get it out of the plastic wrapping, which clings tightly to the angles and flat plates of the router. It's fully assembled, with no antennas to screw in, but you'll be forced to put it down on a desk before committing it to the cupboard or shelf just to take in the sheer majestic size of