Netgear adds another Orbi series, the Orbi rbk863 which is another series of orbi ax6000 mesh wifi 6 products with multi-gig 10Gbps internet speed. Which one gives you better value between this orbi rbk863 and tplink deco x90?
In this article:
- Orbi RBK860
- Orbi Rbk860 vs Rbke960
- 10.0Gbps WAN port
- Orbi Rbk860 vs Rbk850
- Orbi Rbk863 vs Deco X90
- Spec comparison table
Orbi Rbk860
Netgear has released top notch tier products in wifi 6e technology, the orbi rbke963 with axe11000 aggregated bandwidth and designed with four radio bands. This product was released in addition to the most popular netgear orbi rbk852 ever which was once a high end product.
And today, netgear added another orbi rbk863 series which seems to me as new series between popular orbi rbk850 and the top notch orbi rbke960.
Orbi Rbk860 vs Rbke960
If you compare rbk860 with orbi rbke960 you will find that these two series are significantly different, different in network segment, different numbers of radio bands and different wifi technology applied to each of the product series.
Orbi rbke963 series is based on latest enhancement of wifi 6e technology with four radio bands, and delivers total aggregated bandwidth up to 11,000Mbps. On the other hand this new rbk860 series is an ax6000 mesh wifi 6 system with three radio bands.
You can refer to table 1 below for spec differences between orbi rbk960 and rbk860.
10.0Gbps WAN port
The way I see this 10Gbps wan port embedded on either orbi rbke960 or rbk860 is too much. Do you currently have internet service up to 10gbps?
Actually, these wifi router devices which are equipped with 10gbps wan port is deliberately prepared to welcome the new 10G superfast internet technology, which so far has carried out several tests that resulted in download speeds of up to 8gbps, and uploads of up to 6gbps, one of which was done by Comcast in April 2024.
This fast speed 10G internet technology is for cable wired network, not for fiber optic. If so far the cable network infrastructure is docsis 3.1 with speeds up to 2gbps, this 10g internet speed is prepared for upcoming docsis 4.0 cable technology in order to accommodate the speed of 10gbps internet.
Later additions of wifi 7 products most come with 10-Gbps Internet port such as Deco BE85 or Asus BT10.
Spec comparison table
So both orbi rbke960 and orbi rbk860 are prepared to be compliant with the coming soon docsis 4.0 cable modem devices if it has started to be rolled out to the market.
Table 1 below is technical spec difference between Orbi rbk863 and Rbk963.
| Orbi series | Orbi Rbk860 | Orbi Rbk960 |
| Wifi technology | Tri-band ax6000 wifi 6 with 8-streams | Quad-band axe11000 wifi 6e with 16-streams |
| Signal rates | 1,200 Mbps @2.4GHz 4×4 2,400 Mbps @5GHz 1 2×2 2,400 Mbps @5GHz 2 2×2 | 1200 Mbps @2.4GHz 4×4 2400 Mbps @5GHz 4×4; 2400 Mbps @6GHz 4×4 ; 4800 Mbps @ 5GHz 4×4 (backhaul) |
| WAN Port | 1x 10.0 Gbps | 1x 10.0 Gbps |
| LAN ports (router and satellite) | 4x 1.0Gbps LAN ports | 1x 2.5 Gbps LAN port 3x 1.0 Gbps LAN Ports |
You may also see comparison between Asus et12 and orbi rbke963, you can see that the latest asus zenwifi et12 axe11000 is not ready with the 10G internet technology.
So what is the difference between netgear orbi rbk863 (3-pack of Orbi rbk860) and orbi rbk852 (2-pack of Rbk850)?
Orbi Rbk860 vs Rbk850
You may refer to the following table 2 below to see what the difference between orbi rbk860 and rbk850 is. You can see here that the main difference is the 10Gbps WAN port as discussed above. So previous model of orbi rbk852 is not ready for the upcoming 10G fast internet technology, but Orbi rbk863 is.
Except the fast 10G wan port on rbk860, all other technical specs are the same including the wifi 6 ax6000 design, processor embedded on the board, and physical dimension and body weights.
Table 2. Orbi Rbk863 vs Rbk853
| Orbi Model | Netgear Orbi Rbk863 | Netgear Orbi Rbk853 |
| Simultaneous tri-band ax6000 wifi 6 | Yes | Yes |
| 1,200Mbps @2.4GHz 2,400Mbps @5GHz 1 2,400Mbps @5GHz 2 | Yes | Yes |
| 8pcs high-performance internal antennas with high-power amplifiers | Yes | Yes |
| Router WAN port | 1x 10.0 Gbps Multi-Gigabit Ethernet WAN port | 1x RJ45 2.5G BaseT for WAN |
| LAN Ethernet Ports router and satellite: 4x 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports | Yes | Yes |
| Coverage | 2,700 sq. ft./ unit | Up to 2,500 sq ft /unit |
| 2,400 Mbps @5GHz band dedicated backhaul link and Optional wired backhaul | Yes | Yes |
| Powerful Quad-Core 2.2 GHz processor with 512MB NAND Flash and 1GB RAM | Yes | Yes |
| Dimension (Height / Width / Depth: 10 ” x 7.5″ x 2.8″ (254 mm x 190.5 mm x 71.12 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Weight: 2.86 lbs (1.29kg) | Yes | Yes |
Now let’s take one of competing products that has been around for a while on the market – the tplink deco x90.
Orbi Rbk863 vs Deco X90
TP-link introduced few new mesh wifi 6 products including deco x68 ax3600, new deco xe75 pro and newer model deco xe200. The last two products are based on wifi 6e technology. Let’s take tplink deco x90 and compare it with this new Orbi Rbk863 and see which one gives you better value.
Please notice that nowadays you can find the newer model of Deco series, Deco x95 that upgrades the Deco x90 with few richer features including more Ethernet ports, and faster speed with higher network segment. Let’s focus on Deco x90 in comparison with Orbi rbk863.
Table 3 below represents the spec comparison between Orbi rbk863 and tplink deco x90 you can use as reference.
Wifi capacity
Both rbk860 and deco x90 are designed with slightly wifi 6 network segments different, however the two bands @5Ghz are different in bandwidth. Orbi with dedicated backhaul @5ghz and up to 2,400Mbps bandwidth leaving the other two bands up to 3,600Mbps are for connected devices.
How about deco x90? Tplink explains that the backhaul method is dedicated @5ghz, but does not explain which @5ghz radio band is used as dedicated backhaul, @1,200 or @4,800. Deco x90 uses ai-mesh to provide solid wifi performance for both backhaul and to clients.
Wired Backhaul
Both orbi and deco offer optional wired Ethernet backhaul by using wired network cable (typically UTP Cat5e or Cat6) connected the router node to the satellite nodes. Wired connection is more reliable connection than wifi one since wired connection is free from radio signal interference.
With deco x90 you can only configure the wired Ethernet backhaul using daisy chain topology because x90 only comes with two ports only. On the other hand with orbi rbk863 you can configure the wired backhaul either using daisy chain topology or star without adding separate Ethernet switch. This is possible because both orbi router and the satellite come with four lan ports. So you can connect each of the satellite nodes to the router node directly using UTP cable in a star manner.
Ethernet Ports
This is a significant difference between the two products regarding the Ethernet port, not just about the speed capacity as specified as 10.0Gbps WAN port on orbi rbk863. However, it is about the compatibility of the next generation of 10G internet technology. As discussed above, with 10gbps wan port means that your router is future proof to docsis 4.0 cable network technology.
Spec comparison table
The following table 3 shows spec comparison between Orbi Rbk860 vs Deco x90.
Table 3 Orbi Rbk863 vs TP-Link Deco X90
| Mesh wifi 6 model | Netgear Orbi Rbk863 | TP-link Deco X90 |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band ax6000 mesh wifi 6 | Simultaneous tri-band ax6600 mesh wifi-6 system with 8-streams with AI-driven mesh technology |
| Signal rates | 1,200Mbps @2.4GHz 4×4 2,400Mbps @5GHz 1 2×2 2,400Mbps @5GHz 2 2×2 | 4,804 Mbps on 5 GHz (1) 4×4 1,201 Mbps on 5 GHz (2) 2×2 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz 2×2 |
| Antennas | 8pcs high-performance internal antennas with high-power amplifiers | 4x high gain antennas + 2 smart antennas |
| Ethernet Ports | 1x 10.0 Gbps Multi-Gigabit WAN port (router) + 4x Gigabit LAN ports (router and satellite) | 1x 2.5 Gbps port+ 1x gigabit port per Deco unit (WAN/LAN auto-sensing) |
| Backhaul | Dedicated backhaul @5GHz and optional wired backhaul | Dedicated Wifi backhaul @5GHz with smart antennas Optional wired Ethernet backhaul |
| Coverage | 2,700 sq. ft./ unit | 3,000 sq ft / unit |
| Security | Netgear armor network protection services | TP-Link homeshield |
| Processor | Powerful Quad-Core 2.2 GHz processor with 512MB NAND Flash and 1GB RAM | 1.5 GHz Quad-Core CPU |
| Price (Nov 2022 in Amazon) | $1099.99 / 3-pack | $449.99 / 2-pack |
If you want your wifi6 router is gonna be compatible with upcoming 10g internet technology, netgear orbi rbk863 is the best choice. However, if you don’t need to get ready with the upcoming 10G internet technology, tplink deco x90 will be the best choice knowing that the price is much cheaper. Click the product’s link below to learn more details each of the product and see if you can get find deal from Amazon (#ads).
- Click here to learn more detail Orbi Rbk863 (#ad)
- Or you may like to see tplink Deco x90 with cheaper price (#Ad)
Related products
You may also like to consider the new series of Orbi Rbk763 ax5400 mesh wifi 6 and see how this orbi series is compared with best value deco xe75 pro. This new tplink deco xe75 pro is based on wifi 6e technology in middle network segment.