Do you have a need for a Gigabit gaming and streaming switch? If so, Netgear have the S8000 and here is our review.
The NETGEAR Nighthawk S8000 Advanced 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch is a versatile, ultra-performance, easily configurable network switch designed for expert gaming, 4K UHD media streaming, and home network connectivity. It brings low latency, port prioritization, and Quality of Service (QoS) management for the best experience with demanding applications. The sleek and modern design makes it the perfect fit for any modern home or small office. The Nighthawk S8000 switch comes with an intuitive mobile-optimized web browser-based user interface for advanced configuration, with user-friendly pre-configured one-click optimized settings.
What’s in the box?
The box contains the switch, an installation guide and the power supply.
A Closer Look
Configuring the S8000
All of the configuration for the S8000 is handled via a web page.
When you first log in you can see a variety of information presented – including the number of connected ports, the IP address, and port status.
This tells you about the speed, and other information. There are a number of settings that can be changed here too.
You can also easily see system details such as the firmware too.
Prioritisation (also known as Quality of Service) is a major feature of the S8000, and you can either use some of the presets modes or you can change any of the settings on any of the ports yourself.
You can also test the ports too with a useful testing tool built in!
You can select any of the preset modes – such as Gaming or Media Streaming – this basically takes all the effort out of configuration.
You can also configure multicast settings if you plan on doing streaming.
Another great feature of the S8000 is Link Aggregation, which is the capability to combine multiple links into a single logical link. Setting this up is as simple as clicking on the screen!
There are a number of other settings that you can change, disable or enable depending on your needs – all at the click of a button.
Final Thoughts
The S8000 doesn’t look like your run of the mill switch – it looks sleek and sexy, which is exactly what Netgear were going for!
Setting up the S8000 was very simple – just connect an Ethernet cable from your router to port 8 on the S8000 and then connect up your first games console on port 1 – and that is literally all you have to do!
All of the configuration for the router is handled via a webpage, and it’s all fairly intuitive what you can change. The only issue I found was that neither my Windows laptop or my Mac could initially see the router and the instructions don’t provide any help if you can’t see it. All I did was work my way through the IP addresses on my network until I found the correct one, but for some people this might cause them some issues. However, the configurations out of the box are perfectly acceptable and work very well.
The NETGEAR Nighthawk S8000 is available now priced around £90, and if you need a very good easy to configure gigabit router then look no further than the S8000!
