D-Link DIR-X6080Z Review – You’re Paying For The Speed

Unboxing & Walkaround

Today we’re taking a look at D-Link’s mid-range Wi-Fi 6 router called DIR-X6080Z, where you’ll only find the standard items as far as routers go. There’s quite a bit of foam protecting this router inside the box, though.

Here are all the items you’ll find in the box, laid out on the table:

– DC power supply
– Warranty document
– Quick start guide
– LAN cable
– D-Link DIR-X6080Z main unit

Moving on to the router itself, you’ll find five indicator lights (power, internet, USB, WPS, and Wi-Fi status) accompanied by a mesh pairing button below. On the rear, this is where all the ports are housed, which includes a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, 2.5GbE WAN port, 2.5GbE LAN port (as LAN1), plus three more GbE LAN ports. Finally, the DC barrel jack completes the I/O. Additionally, you can find the reset pin under the router, and you’ll need a fine object (such as a SIM ejector pin) to access it.

Specifications

D-Link DIR-X6080Z

Full specifications available on product webpage and datasheet.

Operation Modes	Router, Mesh mode *Mesh mode supports 1+3 topology
Wireless Specification	802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)
Antenna Topography	8 external antennas
Operating Frequencies	2.4GHz (1148 Mbps) 5GHz (4804 Mbps)
Backhaul Channel Support	No
Bandwidth Modes	2.4GHz: 20 / 40 MHz 5GHz: 20 / 40 / 80 / 160 MHz
Throughput Rating	AX6000 (1148 + 4804 Mbps)
Signal Modulation	1024-QAM
Processor	MediaTek Filogic 830 2.0GHz Quad-core
RAM	1GB
Onboard Storage	128MB
WAN	1x 2.5GbE RJ-45
LAN	1x 2.5GbE RJ-45 3x GbE RJ-45
Auxiliary I/O	1x USB 3.2 Gen 1
Wireless Security	WEP, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, WPA/WPA2-PSK
Web Protection	None
Control Interface	Via gateway IP address (Web) D-Link Wi-Fi Connect (Mobile)
Wall Mount Support	Yes
Dimensions	267 x 267 x 167 mm
Weight	680g

Test System

Server	Standard benchmark system Intel Core i9-13900K ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 HERO Network adapter: Intel I-226V 2.5GbE LAN
Client	Razer Blade 14 (2024) AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS Network adapter: Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 (Wi-Fi 7)

Performance

Our performance testing uses iperf3 command-line tool to gauge the router’s maximum throughput via specific network bands in various distances. The server (which is our standard benchmark system) is connected via 2.5GbE LAN port to the router, whereas the speed is tested on the laptop to measure bandwidth. All scenarios are tested with direct line-of-sight between the router and the laptop.

So let’s look at the numbers – at close distances, the DIR-X6080Z is capable of delivering seriously fast speeds, clocking at nearly 1.6 Gbps at 2 meters from router over 5GHz bands. In theory, this is capable of saturating most internet plans available here in Malaysia, unless you opt for the 2Gbps plan, which is still a rarity today.

The 8 antennas onboard does really help with signal strength across the board, with 5GHz at 10m away still achieving a solid -50dBm with a direct line of sight. If there are obstacles in between (say, walls), the numbers gets dropped to -60dBm, which is still very good considering the lower limit of signal is -128dBm (which means full signal loss) and the ideal minimum is around -70dBm for most scenarios.

Management

Managing this router is going to take someone who have a bit of experience with older routers, as the management homepage (accessible via gateway IP address) is fairly rudimentary. Most of the information are hidden in the submenus – from the user friendliness perspective, this probably needs quite a bit of improvements. Additionally, it lacks OOBE (out-of-box experience, aka first time setup), so you might need a helping hand if you’re not familiar with setting up routers.

The router does come with a mobile app called D-Link Wi-Fi Connect, but it’s basically nothing but a watered-down internet browser that specifically directs to the network’s gateway IP. Hence, the app does not support remote management (you’ll have to do it the old way with opening a port from a set IP), and if you try to access the app elsewhere, it might take you to the router homepage of the Wi-Fi you’re connected to. For example, the app took me to the ASUS ROG Rapture’s management page, which is what runs our office Wi-Fi here.

The Good

The good of the D-Link DIR-X6080Z mostly surrounds its performance – speed, and coverage. This router is properly fast if your device is in close proximity, and even on further distances the 8 antennas can make sure the signal is strong enough to deliver solid speeds. One of these is going to easily cover a moderately-sized house, and its mesh support allows multiple devices to be linked together for even greater signal coverage.

For LAN connections, the 2.5GbE WAN and 2.5GbE LAN support should futureproof the use of 2Gbps networks from internet service providers. Not all areas have 2Gbps internet today, but if you have access to it, and have the means to pay for it (they don’t come cheap, obviously), this router is going to deliver the speed that you paid for.

Feature wise, I find the router’s feature set is mostly bog standard, though there’s the Guest Network feature that I find handy in certain situations. Say you’re hosting a house party, you can set up a separate guest SSID and leave the home SSID untouched, and this can be configured through the management page with relative ease.

The Bad

However, it’s far from perfect – the router does come with several shortcomings, particularly surrounding its feature set. For one, the setup process is mostly non-existent, as there is no OOBE process on both the web management page or the mobile app. The setup guide only takes you to the WAN submenu, and from there on you’re pretty much on your own. Consider getting someone familiar with networking to help you, if in doubt.

While the router supports mesh systems, it’s limited to three other models only – the DIR-X3000Z, DIR-X3060Z, and the DIR-X1860Z. Apparently, the DIR-X1860Z and DIR-X3060Z in particular is what TM provides as the complimentary router if users sign up for Unifi plans, and this happens to be one of the selling points of the DIR-X6080Z as it is directly compatible with the free Unifi-rebadged router. If you’re one of those Unifi subscribers, you’re in luck; for everyone else, this is probably more of a downside.

Finally, we can’t find any indication that this router supports backhaul channel in a mesh network. It is most likely sharing the same bandwidth as regular network traffic when data is sent across nodes, so you might not get the optimal performance if you’re connected to one of the satellite routers instead, if many devices are connected at the same time.

Verdict

At RM499, the D-Link DIR-X6080Z is not any cheaper nor any more expensive than competition, so it comes down to what kind of router you’re looking for. Other routers offer better creature comforts over outright speed, friendlier user interface, among other things – for this, what you pay for is outright performance and not much else.

If you want to maximum performance for the money, this router is perhaps the most suitable candidate if you can ignore some of the less-than-stellar aspects.

Special thanks to D-Link for providing the DIR-X6080Z Wi-Fi 6 router for this review.