Acer Predator Connect T7 Review: High Price, Underwhelming Performance
▼ Summary
– The Acer Predator Connect T7 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 gaming router with a tower-style design and RGB lighting, but its hardware falls short of its gaming claims and high price.
– It features only a single 2.5 Gbps WAN port and two 1 Gbps LAN ports, which is considered insufficient and disappointing for its $329 per unit cost.
– The setup process for creating a mesh network is cumbersome, requiring manual pairing of nodes and lacking pre-paired multi-pack options, unlike competitors.
– Performance testing revealed limited speeds, with a maximum of 944 Mbps on the 6 GHz band due to the 1 Gbps LAN port bottleneck, trailing behind rival routers.
– Software issues include settings not syncing between the app and web interface, and despite some useful features like Hybrid QoS and free Trend Micro security, the router is hard to recommend due to its price and limitations.
The Acer Predator Connect T7 enters the competitive Wi-Fi 7 router market with a premium price tag but delivers underwhelming performance and questionable value. While it features a sleek tower design with RGB lighting and supports the latest wireless standard, its hardware limitations and cumbersome setup process make it a tough sell against more capable rivals.
This tri-band gaming router stands 8.35 inches tall with a square base measuring 4.29 inches on each side. A vertical LED on the front glows blue when the system is operational, while additional top-mounted LEDs pulse blue for normal operation or red when connection issues arise. The overall aesthetic is modern and clean, though the real concerns emerge when examining its connectivity options.
On the rear panel, you’ll find a non-auto-sensing 2.5 Gbps WAN port that cannot double as a LAN connection. Below it are just two 1 Gbps LAN ports, one designated as a “Game” port for traffic prioritization. A single USB-C port rounds out the physical connections. For a device retailing at $329 per unit, the scarcity of high-speed ports is difficult to justify. Users needing a two-node mesh system must purchase units individually at full price, since Acer does not offer multi-pack discounts.
Setting up the Predator Connect T7 can be done via the Acer Connect mobile app or a web browser, but the process lacks polish. While initial configuration is straightforward, adding a second node requires repeating the full setup procedure manually. You must connect to the new node’s default network, access its admin panel, set it to Mesh Agent mode, and then press the WPS buttons on both units simultaneously, a needlessly involved routine compared to competitors’ seamless pairing.
The router’s software dashboard provides detailed insights into network status, connected devices, and mesh topology. It supports band steering by default, merging 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands under one SSID, though this setting can only be disabled through the mobile app, not the web interface. Acer includes Trend Micro-powered security features at no extra cost, offering malicious site blocking, intrusion prevention, and parental controls.
Where the Predator Connect T7 struggles most is raw performance. Limited by its 1 Gbps LAN ports, the router could not exceed 944 Mbps in our 6 GHz band tests, roughly half the throughput of competing systems. Performance on the 5 GHz band was even more lackluster, failing to reach 500 Mbps. While 2.4 GHz results were in line with other routers, the overall showing places it firmly behind alternatives like the Netgear Orbi 870 or Asus ZenWiFi BT8.
Software inconsistencies further mar the experience. Changes made in the web interface sometimes failed to appear in the mobile app, and vice versa, requiring router reboots to resolve. These issues, combined with the high per-unit cost and subpar wired performance, make it challenging to recommend the Predator Connect T7.
For the same $660 that two Acer nodes would cost, the TP-Link Deco BE68 three-pack delivers superior speed, coverage, and connectivity, including a 10 Gbps port and additional 2.5 Gbps LAN options. Even the two-pack Deco BE65 Pro, priced at just $350, offers better value and hardware. Unless Acer addresses these shortcomings, most users will find better options elsewhere.
(Source: Tom’s Hardware)
