What's new

ASUS RT-68 vs Linksys WRT1900AC vs Netgear N7000

  • SNBForums Code of Conduct

    SNBForums is a community for everyone, no matter what their level of experience.

    Please be tolerant and patient of others, especially newcomers. We are all here to share and learn!

    The rules are simple: Be patient, be nice, be helpful or be gone!

JokerPower

Regular Contributor
Hello. Any suggestions about this routers? I've read a lot about RT-68 stability, configurations and so on. While Netgear N7000 offers less customization. What about Linksys?

Thanks
 
I have all 3 sitting right here. I eliminated the Asus very quickly because the Linksys and Netgear both crush it in terms of range, at least in my setup. I had a lot of issues with Netgear stock firmware when the R7000 was released so I was hesitant but it appears to perform well now (it only took 18 months). Overall, in my setup the WRT1900AC comes out ahead because it performs the best in terms of throughput at the points in my footprint where I need it.
 
I have all 3 sitting right here. I eliminated the Asus very quickly because the Linksys and Netgear both crush it in terms of range, at least in my setup. I had a lot of issues with Netgear stock firmware when the R7000 was released so I was hesitant but it appears to perform well now (it only took 18 months). Overall, in my setup the WRT1900AC comes out ahead because it performs the best in terms of throughput at the points in my footprint where I need it.

Thanks for answer. I'm looking for WiFi range and performance, basically 2.4 GHz.

What about Linksys customization? Third party firmware?
 
If you want 3rd party firmware, the Netgear is probably your best bet.

For me, 2.4Ghz performance was best on the Netgear, with the Linkys a close second (and the Asus quite a bit lower actually). 5Ghz performance was comparable between all 3.

What swayed me to the Linksys is that it seems to have more complete coverage (due to the 4x4 antenna configuration most likely). If you were to plot my most important spots in my house, it would look like a peace symbol with a media hub clear at the front of the house and 3 spots at the back of the house (a media hub on the left and right with my office being in the middle). The Linksys covers all of those spots equally. With the Netgear, it's a trade-off with antenna positioning. It can really cover 2 of the spots well at the expense of the other two. Changing the antennas just moves the problem around. True 360-degree coverage doesn't happen with the Netgear the way it does with the Linksys.
 
Thanks for answer. I'm looking for WiFi range and performance, basically 2.4 GHz.

What about Linksys customization? Third party firmware?

Kong is developing DD-WRT for the wrt190oac. Currently its in closed beta with only a handful of testers. But if you check the DD-WRT forums (under broadcom) there is a wrt1900ac thread. How long until its public is anyone's guess though.
 
I'm not the right person to ask. I was a Netgear user for the better part of a decade and participated in their beta program. I have dozens of Netgear devices in my house, in use and not. The Netgear R7000, for several reasons, is the LAST Netgear product I will ever buy.

I have the Linksys WRT1900AC, and outside of a few minor hiccups, I'm more than happy with it. You emphasized you're looking for 2.4Ghz range and performance. In side-by-side testing, the WRT1900AC was the best in terms of 2.4Ghz range and performance in my environment. I tested it against both the Netgear R7000 and the Asus RT-AC68W.
 
By the way, is there any difference between internal and external antenna? I'm also considering RT-AC56, but it comes with internal antenna
 
It really depends on the device. In general, internal and external antennas will perform the same. However, external antennas often allow for fine tuning coverage that wouldn't be possible with internal antennas.
 
By the way, is there any difference between internal and external antenna? I'm also considering RT-AC56, but it comes with internal antenna
The AC56u is totally underrated. It's actually a great device, but I did have issues with one of the bands, forgot if it was 2.4 or 5 ghz. I think it was 2.4 and you need to make sure to turn on the interference setting on, which will help the wifi and reduce the USB3 port to USB 2 speed.
Otherwise, it like the AC68 for half the price, runs A LOT cooler and can be nicely overclocked to 1200 mhz. But if 2.4ghz range is a big concern I would stick with one of the others mentioned here.
 
The AC56u is totally underrated. It's actually a great device, but I did have issues with one of the bands, forgot if it was 2.4 or 5 ghz. I think it was 2.4 and you need to make sure to turn on the interference setting on, which will help the wifi and reduce the USB3 port to USB 2 speed.
Otherwise, it like the AC68 for half the price, runs A LOT cooler and can be nicely overclocked to 1200 mhz. But if 2.4ghz range is a big concern I would stick with one of the others mentioned here.

Some people recommends me to stick with N56 (with Padavan firmware), because I won't see benefit from AC in my environment. Well, I have only one device with AC, and it's AC1200, while the rest is N. The problem is that I don't know how will perform internal antenna in my house.
 
I've had both the R7000 and the RT-AC68 and I went with the Asus because of firmware. I really didn't like DD-WRT but really liked Merlin's firmware. I just found it was more inline with the stock firmware and easier to setup.
 
I also have all 3 routers being asked about. I'd say that the RT-AC68P has the least capable wireless, and the WRT1900AC has the best (for me). I'm talking about 5GHz. wireless here, I don't care much about 2.4GHz. wireless (bandwidth is too limited), and signal strength is important to me since I need a strong signal to cover my place well. The thing about the WRT1900AC that I have learned to appreciate is that the 5GHz. wireless that it offers is the least variable of the group. On the other hand, the WRT1900AC has the least intelligently designed and laid out stock firmware of the group (my opinion, obviously), with the R7000 a close second on that criteria *smile*. They all have peak signals that are about the same, but the low swings on the WRT1900AC are the "least low", which matters most at the edges of their coverage areas. Both the RT-AC68P and R7000 have lower swings, the RT-AC68P has the lowest and longest duration low swings of the group (I'm still talking about 5GHz.).

The main advantage of the RT-AC68P is RMerlin firmware. It is pretty much the best firmware of the group. RMerlin's firmware is now available for R7000 as well, but isn't quite as good there; e.g. IPv6 doesn't work for me on RMerlin on the R7000.

For the WRT1900AC, I'm not in love with the price, and wouldn't personally buy it until dd-wrt is actually available for it (and it was on sale). OpenWRT firmware really doesn't appeal to me, that's just me. If you're looking for a capable router that will do pretty much everything well and has lots of third-party firmware, that would be the R7000. The wireless on it isn't quite as good as the WRT1900AC, but it works really well with dd-wrt, and there's also tomato ARM and RMerlin/R7000 (ported by XVortex) available for it. I would choose the RT-AC68P if wireless range isn't critical to you, and you like RMerlin firmware a lot.

All 3 of these routers do have wireless that covers my house, the WRT1900AC and R7000 are just better than the RT-AC68P here.
 
Thanks for answer. But what about 2.4 GHz?

WRT1900 is way more expensive. So you recommend R7000? How does work third party firmwares on R7000? I don't care about IPv6
 
Amazon UK ships to Ireland but their prices are in British pounds.

WRT1900AC: 199
R7000: 155
AC68U: 145


Unfortunately, Amazon US is doing a new thing called "frustration-free packaging". By saving on packing materials, they're offering discounts on lots of items that wouldn't normally be available. For example, the WRT1900AC is actually $218 US but with the special packaging is reduced to $201. I don't believe they're doing that in Europe yet, though.

Given those prices, I would probably lean towards the R7000. I'm sure RogerSC can attest that even without IPv6 support, the 3rd party firmware available for the R7000 is pretty strong.

As far as the WRT1900AC, I wouldn't get too hung up on the V1/V2 thing. If you can get either for a decent price, there's not likely to be much difference, if any. I would point to the RT-AC68P, which is essentially an Asus RT-AC68U with a better processor. In Tim's controlled test here on SNB, the AC68P actually performed WORSE for some wireless tests. There's no guarantee the V2 will be better, just slightly different.
 
Regarding R7000, what firmware do you recommend? In case if something goes wrong, how to restore?

I've seen ASUS offers restoration tool in case of emergency
 

Similar threads

Sign Up For SNBForums Daily Digest

Get an update of what's new every day delivered to your mailbox. Sign up here!
Top