Linksys EA9500 AC5400 or Asus RT-AC5300?

[ryu1356]

I am trying to decide between the Linksys and Asus. I'm using TWC with 300/20 and running a Netgear CM500 Modem. Typically I get 330-350 mbps down and around 25 up. I previously had a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 but it consistently started giving me 90 mbps when it used to give me 300 mbps. Decided to sell it and upgrade and prepare to add more wireless devices. I've read several reviews about the throughput of Linksys EA9500 and Asus 5300. I currently have the EA9500 but I'm not sure if I should hang on to it or exchange it for the Asus. I will also be adding in a AC1900 range extender. Speed is important to me and I'm running an Asus PCE-AC68 so I can get the full 300+ mbps on my 5 Ghz band. Any help would be appreciated. I also tried the Netgear Nighthawk AC5300 and didn't like it very much.

 

[sfx2000]

I currently have the EA9500 but I'm not sure if I should hang on to it or exchange it for the Asus. I will also be adding in a AC1900 range extender. Speed is important to me and I'm running an Asus PCE-AC68 so I can get the full 300+ mbps on my 5 Ghz band.

I think perhaps you've answered your own question - if the EA9500 is working for you, seems like the problem is solved, eh?

 

[L&LD]

Fully setup your network as you want it (including the range extender). See how it works for you for the next week.

Buy the RT-AC5300 and compare it's performance and stability to the EA9500. Keep the one that does the best overall job for you. Keeping in mind that no one model will offer it 'all'.

 

[TonyH]

Fully setup your network as you want it (including the range extender). See how it works for you for the next week.

Buy the RT-AC5300 and compare it's performance and stability to the EA9500. Keep the one that does the best overall job for you. Keeping in mind that no one model will offer it 'all'.

Or grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, LOL!

 

[RMerlin]

I would look at this site's review for numbers:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...mimo-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=3

 

[L&LD]

Or grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, LOL!

Testing and comparing in your specific network environment and usage is not a case of the grass being greener on the other side of the fence.

You'll either see a concrete reason for one or the other or you won't. Either way, it will answer the OP's question.

 

[ryu1356]

I would look at this site's review for numbers:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...mimo-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=3

I went over these charts many times and saw that the Linksys 9500 performs a little better on Downlink throughput on 5ghz and 2.4ghz. The difference in general between the Linksys and Asus is around 10-20 mbps. Running speed tests both wired and wireless AC I'm getting around 350 mbps down on the Linksys. What I am more concerned about is 1. The Linksys EA9500 only having 256 mb ram compared to 512 of ALL other routers in 5300 class. 2. No custom firmware/crappy web interface/lack of status indicators on the Linksys. My top priorities are speed and also how long the device will last. My Nighthawk AC1900 lasted me a good 4 years. I know that wireless AD is coming up soon. So would it be better to get something like the Asus RT-AC3100 and wait for Wireless AD?

 

[RMerlin]

It took about two years for 802.11ac router to become stable, and for clients to start shipping with support for it (outside of high-end devices). I doubt we'll see 802.11ad become common in our homes for a good 4-6 years, so it shouldn't be a consideration at this time.

RAM is irrelevant, as Linksys's firmware offers very limited features, so it does not need more RAM.

I expect wifi performance to be nearly identical, as they use the same wifi chip. Small differences amount to software fine tuning and such, so I wouldn't expect any major difference. 10 Mbps is nearly within the margin of error.

 

[thiggins]

I know that wireless AD is coming up soon. So would it be better to get something like the Asus RT-AC3100 and wait for Wireless AD?

11ad (60 GHz) is for in-room high-bandwidth file transfer or screen mirroring. It is not a whole house networking technology.

Next "big thing" is 11ax, but that's next year at earliest and the value proposition isn't yet clear.

"Tri-radio" router help increase total bandwidth capacity primarily if you have a lot of dual band devices.

The best solution for high capacity is multiple access points, not multiple radios crammed into one physical box.

 

[sfx2000]

The best solution for high capacity is multiple access points, not multiple radios crammed into one physical box.

Amen...

 

[System Error Message]

get both, you will have 6 radios.

 

[onewire]

I thought I'd throw in another consideration, although it may not be important to you. I have been trying both for a couple of weeks now. Started with the Linksys EA9500 but had issues with the guest acct. I'll try and post a link to my thread on the Linksys forum but don't know if SNB allows it. The Linksys is getting returned.

http://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/EA9500-problems-Warning-Long-post/td-p/1036152

At the end (as of today) is my post with the tier 2 support response and my reply.

The Asus works wonderfully for me. My RT-66 lasted me over three years and I'm hoping for at least that from the 5300.

Will

 

[sfx2000]

I thought I'd throw in another consideration, although it may not be important to you. I have been trying both for a couple of weeks now. Started with the Linksys EA9500 but had issues with the guest acct. I'll try and post a link to my thread on the Linksys forum but don't know if SNB allows it. The Linksys is getting returned.

Linksys SmartWiFi uses a captive portal approach on their Guest Networks, so there's a DNS redirect from whatever website the user is trying to reach if they have not authenticated with the captive portal.

This can cause some issues with devices trying to attach that don't have webbrowsers, and it's generally not the best approach, IMHO - I understand where they're coming from, but there's no way around it, e.g. cannot be changed to something else.

 

[onewire]

Hmm. I assume it's a security thing then? Not sure I understand, but it does deny the user the added security of having devices off of the network that don't need it. The OP can decide if it works for him. I should add that the signal from this thing goes through the metal garage door where the RT=66 couldn't. Awesome.

I really didn't mean to come off harsh to Linksys, and didn't post my alternative on their forum. I was just frustrated. Now to go to the neighbor and get him hooked up again. He's the most computer illiterate person I've ever run across. Been changing things around for 2 weeks and trying to avoid down time for others.

Thanks for the heads up. I figured they must have a reason, but network security isn't my forte.

 

[onewire]

Added my location. We're neighbors.

 

[sfx2000]

Hmm. I assume it's a security thing then? Not sure I understand, but it does deny the user the added security of having devices off of the network that don't need it. The OP can decide if it works for him. I should add that the signal from this thing goes through the metal garage door where the RT=66 couldn't. Awesome.

I really didn't mean to come off harsh to Linksys, and didn't post my alternative on their forum. I was just frustrated. Now to go to the neighbor and get him hooked up again. He's the most computer illiterate person I've ever run across. Been changing things around for 2 weeks and trying to avoid down time for others.

Thanks for the heads up. I figured they must have a reason, but network security isn't my forte.

It kind of is - their gist of a guest network isn't that much different than what one would find at the local startbucks or hotel, where one has a captive portal and casual usage - and yes, it's open wifi, no encryption or whatever, so someone with the appropriate tools and technical skills can see all the traffic from all the clients on the Guest Network.

But with that Captive Portal - they need to authenticate into the captive portal first, and it does timeout (I forget how long it runs, but there is a time limit) - you can change the passphrase in the Linksys GUI, but you cannot disable the captive portal for Guest...

This is different from many other vendors - Apple, for example, supports Guest Networks, but they give the admin a high degree of autonomy/authority on how that Guest Network is configured - Asus and Netgear are very similar here.

For some, it's a better approach perhaps, using the captive portal, but not having an option to disable it, can cause problems like you've noted with consoles and printers, etc... mainly because the portal page will not be presented to the end-user.

 

[njweb]

In Tim's highly respected testing, the Linksys performed better.
In my home (tested before the review came out), the Asus performed better on both bands than the Linksys, in some cases quite significantly, so I kept the Asus. This is just given my experience.
I posted some findings in a thread; however, given this is a high end router and not exactly inexpensive, you might want to buy the Asus as well (you already own the EA9500 for anyone who missed that part). Then you can run some tests with each router in YOUR home in order to decide which will work best for you...
Let us know the outcome. They are both excellent routers in any case.
If the Linksys works better for you, it does have the 3 year warranty (only 2 years for Asus). Asus' other big benefit is link aggregation for higher LAN throughput. More things to consider.

SmartConnect is my only real disappointment in the Asus. Hopefully it will continue to be refined.
I did not have the inclination to test Smart Connect on the Linksys at the time I owned it because my main goal, in my limited time, was to maximize the combination of wifi signal / throughput in fringe locations in our house. I also had not had enogh
I wish I had more time in hindsight (had to decide whether to return my Asus to a faraway store [by my in-laws and nothing else in the state - Microcenter] the day I ran my final tests since the return period was expiring).

PS: You may want to test both routers with Smart Connect off initially (most people have it disabled). Then you can try with Smart Connect enabled...

Good luck!

 

[ryu1356]

In Tim's highly respected testing, the Linksys performed better.
In my home (tested before the review came out), the Asus performed better on both bands than the Linksys, in some cases quite significantly, so I kept the Asus. This is just given my experience.
I posted some findings in a thread; however, given this is a high end router and not exactly inexpensive, you might want to buy the Asus as well (you already own the EA9500 for anyone who missed that part). Then you can run some tests with each router in YOUR home in order to decide which will work best for you...
Let us know the outcome. They are both excellent routers in any case.
If the Linksys works better for you, it does have the 3 year warranty (only 2 years for Asus). Asus' other big benefit is link aggregation for higher LAN throughput. More things to consider.

SmartConnect is my only real disappointment in the Asus. Hopefully it will continue to be refined.
I did not have the inclination to test Smart Connect on the Linksys at the time I owned it because my main goal, in my limited time, was to maximize the combination of wifi signal / throughput in fringe locations in our house. I also had not had enogh
I wish I had more time in hindsight (had to decide whether to return my Asus to a faraway store [by my in-laws and nothing else in the state - Microcenter] the day I ran my final tests since the return period was expiring).

PS: You may want to test both routers with Smart Connect off initially (most people have it disabled). Then you can try with Smart Connect enabled...

Good luck!

I tested the Asus 5300 and it seemed like it performed better. I get a better signal strength at the back of the house (router is at the front of the house) but down/up is about the same as the Linksys. Previously I had an issue with connections dropping when I tested an Asus 3100. I had the same issue with the Asus 5300 but I fixed that issue by doing a little reading on Control Channels and 20/40/80 channels. The Linksys also had this issue, signal strength on the bathroom Smart TV was at 4 bars but the Linksys would continually drop the connection. I didn't use the Linksys for long enough to even see if you can change the channel settings in the firmware but I know the firmware is very lacking. The worst part of the Linksys for me was the status indicators. All the lights on the Linksys told me was that the router is online and working. That's inexcusable for a $350 router. The only problem I am having with the Asus now is that when I am playing games or downloading something the Asus doesn't necessarily drop the connect but it slows down and practically stops working. Technically it doesn't disconnect or loose the internet connection, it just slows down for a few seconds then gets back up to speed. I wanted to use the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware but it seems like I will have to wait until they release a stable build (nonbeta).

 

[njweb]

I tested the Asus 5300 and it seemed like it performed better. I get a better signal strength at the back of the house (router is at the front of the house) but down/up is about the same as the Linksys. Previously I had an issue with connections dropping when I tested an Asus 3100. I had the same issue with the Asus 5300 but I fixed that issue by doing a little reading on Control Channels and 20/40/80 channels. The Linksys also had this issue, signal strength on the bathroom Smart TV was at 4 bars but the Linksys would continually drop the connection. I didn't use the Linksys for long enough to even see if you can change the channel settings in the firmware but I know the firmware is very lacking. The worst part of the Linksys for me was the status indicators. All the lights on the Linksys told me was that the router is online and working. That's inexcusable for a $350 router. The only problem I am having with the Asus now is that when I am playing games or downloading something the Asus doesn't necessarily drop the connect but it slows down and practically stops working. Technically it doesn't disconnect or loose the internet connection, it just slows down for a few seconds then gets back up to speed. I wanted to use the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware but it seems like I will have to wait until they release a stable build (nonbeta).

Glad you found the one that works best for you.
Interesting about the extreme slowdowns. How frequently does this occur?