Advice for good AC router on a budget needed.

[dikkiedirk]

I'm looking for a good AC router well below 200 and if possible below 150 Euros.

Good wireless performance and reliability is important, but then it always is.

It should connect to Ipad, IPhone and Android and several laptops with Intel AC adapter and MacBook.

USB ports and speed is not very important. I never attach a harddisk and share it on the network.

It should have at least 4 GB LAN ports.

Any advice is welcomed.

 

[L&LD]

The RT-AC56U or above with RMerlin firmware (or the forks thereof) is (only) worth considering, imo.

What is the size of the area to be covered? What are the building materials used? How many stories? How many walls from router to clients?

Whether your specific devices will connect is not up to just the router. The network setup, your expectations and the os level and drivers they are running will play a part too.

 

[System Error Message]

under 200 you can always go non consumer as they're very reliable assuming you look at indoor APs. Some are even upgradeable.

Are you looking for an AP or a router? Consumer routers can be reliable with 3rd party firmware but you must look at the hardware revision. The issue i find with dlink, tp-link and linksys is they tend to have so many hardware revisions of the same model and not all of them are stable with 3rd party firmware (or themselves for that matter). With ASUS the revision difference is usually just either retail/colour or actual functionality (CPU, modem, etc).

If you're only using apple hardware you could always go for apple airport.

 

[erraticsemotional]

What would you recommend for non-consumer AP? Are they worth it for home use compared to using an ASUS with 3rd party firmware?

 

[dikkiedirk]

It is roughly an area of 15 x 15 sq. meters. Router will be placed upstairs 3.5 meters above the grounds. It is an all brick house with brick upper floor. WiFi use outside is just occasional.

When comes Mu-Mimo into play?

Is the RT-AC68 still worth considering? Or would a R6400 or R7000 be a better choice?
Or should I go for a RT-AC87? Might be too pricey.
Or perhaps a Linksys EA6900?

Then there is TP-Link and D-Link, are they any good?

 

[pege63]

U can also get a LINKSYS EA7500 MAX-STREAM for 160 in sweden anyway (1599 SEK)

 

[dikkiedirk]

Don't live in Sweden, but in the Netherlands.
Thanks anyway.

 

[System Error Message]

There are many non consumer APs like ubiquiti's indoor AC APs which have variants less than $100, linksys have some, engenius too. There are many brands to choose from even cisco meraki. The business ones support things like POE in and other features but lack features like band steering , MU-MIMO and such as they adopt those features very late.

Using a consumer wifi router as an AP is stable (i do this with Asus routers) so you get a 4 port switch as well which does mean you have to consider bottlenecks in your network design. Not all consumer wifi routers are stable even as APs such as dlink and some linksys models as well. Often if you see many hardware revisions for a wifi router that means it has stability issues and can make things bad when you use 3rd party firmware. In the cases of the AC68 from ASUS its usually just a colour/CPU/functional difference like the inclusion of a modem but if the revision has difference with the internal components like the wifi chip that is usually a clear indication of instability and the PSU can also play a part in that too.

So aside from the wifi features the difference is non consumer AP have POE in and only 1 ethernet port. consumer wifi routers as an AP gives you a 4 port switch as well but lacks POE in.

 

[L&LD]

It is roughly an area of 15 x 15 sq. meters. Router will be placed upstairs 3.5 meters above the grounds. It is an all brick house with brick upper floor. WiFi use outside is just occasional.

When comes Mu-Mimo into play?

Is the RT-AC68 still worth considering? Or would a R6400 or R7000 be a better choice?
Or should I go for a RT-AC87? Might be too pricey.
Or perhaps a Linksys EA6900?

Then there is TP-Link and D-Link, are they any good?

Properly placed, the RT-AC56U may be all you need for your required coverage. The RT-AC68U would only make it better (same base hardware but with an extra and external antennae).

MU-MIMO comes into play when you have more than two or three AC class clients that support it. Today? It doesn't matter one way or another at the price point you're considering.

The RT-AC87U is not a recommended Asus router. Too many issues for some people with the Quantenna chipset (and firmware), still.

The R7000 is very similar to the RT-AC68U without continued RMerlin support.

The rest of the options you list? Issues with old code (known security issues), lack of timely firmware upgrades and lack of long term support from the manufacturer make them a choice best left off the table.

If the RT-AC56U or the RT-AC68U with RMerlin firmware (or the forks thereof; john9527 and hggomes) do not give you the expected results, then your best bet would be to try the current range of routers with modern designs (radio/circuitry) and updated hardware such as the RT-AC3100, RT-AC88U or the RT-AC5300 (again; with RMerlin firmware as possible).

Testing other brands/models is an exercise in frustration (first hand), even if they may seem to offer an initial benefit for certain performance aspects of your wireless network.

 

[dikkiedirk]

Properly placed, the RT-AC56U may be all you need for your required coverage. The RT-AC68U would only make it better (same base hardware but with an extra and external antennae).

MU-MIMO comes into play when you have more than two or three AC class clients that support it. Today? It doesn't matter one way or another at the price point you're considering.

The RT-AC87U is not a recommended Asus router. Too many issues for some people with the Quantenna chipset (and firmware), still.

The R7000 is very similar to the RT-AC68U without continued RMerlin support.

The rest of the options you list? Issues with old code (known security issues), lack of timely firmware upgrades and lack of long term support from the manufacturer make them a choice best left off the table.

If the RT-AC56U or the RT-AC68U with RMerlin firmware (or the forks thereof; john9527 and hggomes) do not give you the expected results, then your best bet would be to try the current range of routers with modern designs (radio/circuitry) and updated hardware such as the RT-AC3100, RT-AC88U or the RT-AC5300 (again; with RMerlin firmware as possible).

Testing other brands/models is an exercise in frustration (first hand), even if they may seem to offer an initial benefit for certain performance aspects of your wireless network.

Thank you for this advice.
Gonna stick to Asus for now.

The issue you report with the AC87s Quantenna chipset does this relate to 2.4 or 5 GHz?

Isn't the RT-AC3100 the RT-AC88? Or do you mean the RT-AC3200?

Considering current pricing in the Netherland my best bet would be a RT-AC66 for 129 or RT-AC68 for 149. All the others are above budget.

 

[L&LD]

Thank you for this advice.
Gonna stick to Asus for now.

The issue you report with the AC87s Quantenna chipset does this relate to 2.4 or 5 GHz?

Isn't the RT-AC3100 the RT-AC88? Or do you mean the RT-AC3200?

Considering current pricing in the Netherland my best bet would be a RT-AC66 for 129 or RT-AC68 for 149. All the others are above budget.

The issues some face with the RT-AC87U models is not limited to certain bands. For some, even the wired connections are flakey depending on the options and features used.

The RT-AC3100, RT-AC88U and the RT-AC5300 are the latest hardware/models (and yes, these are distinct models). The RT-AC3200 is based on much older technology.

The RT-AC66U is a first generation AC class product which I have not recommended for many years now (roughly at the 'tech' level of an RT-N66U). The $20 extra for the much better (hardware/design) equipped RT-AC68U is easily recommended. Particularly if you can source the newer revisions with the 1GHz processor (or if you're really lucky, the 1.4GHz processor models that are rumored to be available).

 

[dikkiedirk]

The issues some face with the RT-AC87U models is not limited to certain bands. For some, even the wired connections are flakey depending on the options and features used.

The RT-AC3100, RT-AC88U and the RT-AC5300 are the latest hardware/models (and yes, these are distinct models). The RT-AC3200 is based on much older technology.

The RT-AC66U is a first generation AC class product which I have not recommended for many years now (roughly at the 'tech' level of an RT-N66U). The $20 extra for the much better (hardware/design) equipped RT-AC68U is easily recommended. Particularly if you can source the newer revisions with the 1GHz processor (or if you're really lucky, the 1.4GHz processor models that are rumored to be available).

The RT-AC3100 is that the 4 LAN port version of the RT-AC88? It doesn't seem to be listed here in the Netherlands. All shops in Europe, even Amazon, point me to the RT-AC88. Anyway all those models are 100 Euros above budget. So I better stick with the RT-AC68. Or perhaps a RT-AC3200 at Amazon Warehouse deals for 175 Euros that I just notice.

 

[Shamiro]

If you haven't decided yet. You could take a look at Amazon.de.
The rt-ac68u will be on sale today. Starting at 17:30.
Standard price is around 155€ via Amazon, so you might get it for approx 120€ to 130€.
Credit card needed to order, if I remember right.

 

[System Error Message]

If someone donated a R7000 to @RMerlin and bought him some beer would he continue to support it?

Seems like the AC68U still fetches a good price, perhaps i should sell mine since its just sitting there gathering dust.

 

[RMerlin]

If someone donated a R7000 to @RMerlin and bought him some beer would he continue to support it?

No. Once you take away the Asus proprietary technologies, you end up with something so generic that one might be better off with Tomato or DD-WRT on that R7000.