Hi guys,

I have an ageing AV600 system consisting of 3x ethernet only modules and 1x wi-fi / ethernet extender across my house. Which works nice and stably, but I've come to realise that as it's not gigabit or 5ghz wi-fi, it's strangling my Virgin Media 250mb connection in the locations I have the plugs. My router setup is a VM Superhub 3 in modem mode, an Apple Time Capsule (Extreme) router, and an Airport Express upstairs connected to ethernet by Powerline. Speedtest shows me I am getting >200 download speed in my lounge next to the router by ethernet or 5ghz, but elsewhere in the house more like 30-40. Which is passable and stable but not amazing. So, I am considering upgrading the four modules to one of the latest models.

I've spoken to TPL, who naturally advised me that the AV2000 would give me the best powerline performance, so I had decided to buy a 9610 KIT and a 9020P KIT to give me 4x AV2000 spec units, one with wi-fi. My question was (and still is), is the AV1200 8730 KIT with AC1750 wi-fi going to be better for my dining room where I extend the wireless? I had thought maybe of buying a 9020P KIT AV2000 kit for the router end where I plug my computers in wired, and an 8730 KIT for my wi-fi area as its wi-fi performance is rated better than the 9610.  This would be cheaper than the 9610 + 9020P. TPL also said that the speed of the wi-fi is governed more by the incoming speed down the cable than by what theoretical maximum the range extender could do, meaning having the AV2000 kit throughout would give me better wired and wireless performance than the 9020 + 8730. Still with me? :)

The reason I asked is because I then read the AVForums review of the 9020P kit and was surprised by their (unique) claim that the performance of the AV2000 kit yielded (them) poorer results than the old AV1200 kits. I'm sure this review is a thorn in the side of TP Link's otherwise universal praise for the AV2000 stuff, and every other review I have read says every time the AV2000 is superior, but it was interesting nonetheless as I was close to pulling the trigger on £220 worth of stuff.

Does anyone have any real world experience of this predicament, and am I likely in the real world to a) see no difference at all between 1200 vs 2000, b) definitely be better off with 2000 all round, even with its 'inferior' wi-fi, c) better off with AV1200 all round, or d) best off with my proposed mix of 2000 and 1200?

Also, if I did mix it (and even if I kept some of my AV600 stuff on the same network), would the overall speed be dragged down to the weakest link in the chain, or should I see superior performance where a 2000 is used and the same performance I currently get at the 600 (as long as the master unit plugged into the router end was 2000 spec)?

Hope this makes sense, and thank you in advance for any thoughts and input. 

Rob