A receiver capable of receive and process data signals of multiple baud rates by using an equalizer that is disposed upstream of a decimator. The receiver includes an equalizer coupled to an output of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and a decimator couple to the output of the equalizer. The ADC and the equalizer both operate in full rates even in the case of lower data rate, e.g., half or quarter data rate. As the equalizer inherently can inherent remove high frequency noise as well as perform equalization, it practically functions as a low pass filter (LPF). Thereby, there is no need to introduce an extra dedicate LPF upstream of the decimator. This can advantageously and significantly simplify circuitry design and reduce latency.