AC1750 and above routers... should I get one if all my devices are 2x2?

[gumpy]

Hi Everyone,

First post here please don't kill me.

I'm in the market for a new router and a mid range AC1900 or AC1750 look appealing to me. Household of 3, with combined 12 devices with the usual netflix, skype nothing too hardcore. I do work from home if that'makes a difference.

After doing a fair bit of reading on this site I was settling on a nice 3x3 router when I stopped to wonder if my devices would be able to connect at the max rate.

I have a very new dell XPS 15 which supports MU MIMO, and otherwise we have iphones, galaxys, PS3 and 3 other laptops. The max number of antennas for any of the devices are 2.

Am I correct to conclude that I really should limit myself to an AC1200 router or are there other benefits to getting the 3 antenna routers (ie they share the load etc)?

Thanks in advance.

Brian

 

[thiggins]

Your 2x2 devices won't connect at 3x3 rates. But 3x3 routers can provide some additional receive gain that can provide a moderate throughput boost with strong to medium strength signal levels. AC1900 class tends to have more powerful processors than AC1200 or AC1750. This can help in networks with heavy wireless loads.

 

[gumpy]

Thank you, so the additional spend and hardware won't be wasted but will actually assist with performance. Perfect.

 

[thiggins]

Thank you, so the additional spend and hardware won't be wasted but will actually assist with performance. Perfect.

It *might* improve performance. But if you have the budget, AC1900 is our standard recommendation for best combination of price and performance.

 

[microchip]

Also note that for MU MIMO to work, you need at least 2 clients (that also support it) doing their job. If you plan on adding more MU MIMO capable devices in the near future, might be a good idea to look for a MU MIMO capable router

 

[thiggins]

Sorry I did not notice the MU-MIMO requirement. As microchip noted, you need two or more MU-MIMO devices to gain any benefit from MU-MIMO.

If you want MU-MIMO support, I recommend only QCA-based products at this time. These would be AC2600 class. Broadcom-based products (AC3100 / AC3150 class) do not properly support MU-MIMO at this time.

 

[gumpy]

Hi Microchip, I don't need MU MIMO to work as that laptop is the one I use when I'm alone during the day working. I'm not fighting anyone for bandwidth.

In saying that (correct me if i'm wrong) for MU MIMO to work you need all clients on the 5g band to be MU MIMO? (which won't be happening for me anytime soon).

 

[microchip]

Hi Microchip, I don't need MU MIMO to work as that laptop is the one I use when I'm alone during the day working. I'm not fighting anyone for bandwidth.

In saying that (correct me if i'm wrong) for MU MIMO to work you need all clients on the 5g band to be MU MIMO? (which won't be happening for me anytime soon).

No, not all clients need to be MU MIMO aware. The ones that don't will work without it, but the ones that are will benefit from it and as I said, at least 2 need to be to see the benefits

 

[sfx2000]

If you want MU-MIMO support, I recommend only QCA-based products at this time. These would be AC2600 class. Broadcom-based products (AC3100 / AC3150 class) do not properly support MU-MIMO at this time.

I'm not seeing any value for MU at the moment - but there is a slight benefit for SU clients, but not enough to matter...

AC1900, at present, is the best value for just about everyone... if one wants - the QC-Atheros solutions for AC2600 are a good bet...