Pros: Had only a SD and a microSD slot instead of several kinds that I will never use.

Cons: Two are already dead.

Pros: Fast
Powerful
Easy to Setup
Four Ethernet ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one e-SATA port.
Switch to turn off LEDs.
Switch to turn Wi-Fi on and off.

Cons: Huge!
Bright LEDs
Antennas difficult to tighten.
Expensive
Netgear Genie is a resource hog.

Other Thoughts: When my old, faithful Netgear router started dropping out on me after several years of faithful service, I chose this router over the more expensive and, supposedly better Nighthawk X6 because I didn't need tri-band and the X4 had an e-SATA port and two USB 3.0 ports instead of just the single USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. I do not regret that choice.

This router is much more powerful than my old Netgear router and gives a much stronger signal. It was easy to install and set up, using Netgear Genie. Changing passwords and SSID name is easy with Genie, albeit a bit slow at times. Geannie, however, is a bit of a resource hog and, when closing the program, I have to go into the Task Manager to kill its process. Fortunately, I don't need the extra bells and whistles that comes with the router so I rarely need to use Genie.

I was unable to sufficiently tighten the antennas to the router with my old, arthritic fingers so I carefully used a pair of pliers to snug the little nuts up. Bigger nuts and not having an overhanging lip on the back would have made the task a bit easier.

This thing is HUGE! My old Netgear router was no larger than the modem I used with it, especially since it could be installed vertically. The X4 can be installed either laying flat or wall mounted but, either way, it will devour a lot of real estate. Be sure to plan for that when considering the X4

The LEDs are almost bright enough to read by. Fortunately, there is a switch on the backside to turn them on or off.

The X4 is blazing fast on both bands. My speed is limited by the speed provided by my ISP. Keep in mind speed is also related to the modem's capability and, if Wi-Di is used, the speed of the Wi-Fi adapter used. An adapter that runs off USB 3.0 is required to get the best speeds.

Having a switch for the Wi-Fi could be handy. While, right now, since my computer is 15' away from my router and is connected to the router via Wi-Fi, if I ever am able to connect the computer to the router via Ethernet, I could also connect my printer, two scanners and future TV tuners to the router and turn on the Wi-Fi only to connect to my notebooks, such as when updating them or if my main computer is down and I need to use peripherals. That will beat the hairy heck out of cable swapping.

One reason I decided to stay with Netgear when replacing my old router, besides the years of good service I had from the old one, is whenever a new router security hole was announced, Netgear was conspicuously missing from the lists of affected routers. Only the most recent list to come out had any Netgear routers on it, and those were really old models.

The X4 isn't cheap but then, you only get what you pay for. As long as it keeps working, the X4 should meet my needs for several years to come.