need help choosing AC router

[rey71]

Hi all =) Need some advice on getting a new router. I just upgraded my internet speed to 100Mbs speeds - along with that I purchased a SB6141 docsis 3 modem. However I have an old Linksys E900 router. Connected directly to modem I am hitting 90mbs consistently. When I go through the router thats where there is a huge drop off in speeds and I realize I won't get the the same speeds as I would as a direct connect but 25mbs is rather sad. I don't know if the E900 is not able to handle the new speeds at its an older router. I was looking to upgrade into perhaps a TP-Link C7 Archer, Trendnet AC1750 (812DRU) or maybe the Linksys 6350. I really would like to stay under $125 if I could and don't even know if those two are overkill my setup is this 400 sq ft apt with 6 devices I am looking to connecting not sure if any of them have the new ac technologies (iPhone/iPad/Xbox one) but would like to have the ac router to future proof myself.

Thanks in advance

 

[sm00thpapa]

Amazon has the D-Link AC1750 DIR-859 on sale for $79.99. For 6 devices it seems like a decent router.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PVCZI40/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[System Error Message]

i would avoid dlink because both their hardware and firmware tend to be of less stable. Usually if the hardware is alright when it comes to dlink the firmware is unusable that you would need to install a 3rd party firmware.

the throughput you need is your download + upload which would be 100Mb/s + 10Mb/s (using standard cable speeds) which is 110Mb/s which a 600Mhz MIPS router can do if you dont need VPN. This means that any AC router will support your speeds and having gigabit ethernet ports is essential because you cant use the full 100% capacity because of overheads.

What router you should get really depends on what features you want to use. ASUS, Linksys and netgear all have good hardware. TP-link is only good for basic things so if you only need basic features TP-link does well. If you need features not found in basic firmware than you need another brand or 3rd party firmware. I suggest finding the demo firmware for the router you want to buy to see how its like beforehand. Many manufacturers have such which you can try out to see if it has the features you need. D-links have really poor firmware quality from performance, stability and security. Ive seen ISPs that give out dlinks which are so insecure despite firmware updates that you can get the PPP and login user and passwords unencrypted via web commands.

 

[rey71]

Hi and thanks for the replies I don't need any additional features just a good basic AC router that will get me as close to my connection speed as I can get. From my understanding the Linksys N router I have now won't allow me to go over 50mps that is why I am looking at the the AC line because they can go over that cap set by the N routers. I may be wrong and am trying to learn this as I go along. I do understand I will not get speeds with a router as being directly connected but would love to get a little more bang than the 20-25mbs I am getting now. As for the TP Link there are a few models I read here on the site and not sure what model to go with C5 got great reviews as well as the C7, and C8. Anything in the Linksys lineup that I should consider? I have had Linksys for many years and been pleased with the performance after dealing with Dlink and their issues

 

[System Error Message]

The C8 uses the same broadcom ARM A9 that other routers use so you arent missing out on performance however the firmware only offers basic features. If you need VPN or advanced control than you would need another brand. Im not sure what CPU the C5 and C7 has but MIPS at 600Mhz will do 100Mb/s NAT in software. Not all WANs can have hardware NAT. the ASUS AC66U uses MIPS. Only some wifi routers have accelerators instead of the CPU performing bridging between wifi and wire such as AC87U, AC3200, netgear R8000.

The linksys has the WRT1900AC series which many here would say does quite well. Theres also the netgear R7000 you can use with a port of merlin firmware, and the asus AC56U and 68U. All these provide 3 stream AC wifi and have dual core ARM A9 CPUs. It is just not necessary to have a broadcom dualcore ARM A9 when you arent expecting much throughput between wifi and wire and also WAN.

The MIPS CPU will also perform up to 2Gb/s of bridging if you arent doing anything else so choosing a C5 or even C7 will also work if you dont need such high WLAN throughput. The most common devices use dual stream wifi while mobile devices uses single stream wifi. Only some high end clients use 3 stream wifi. I suggest going with one that has 2 or 3 streams of AC wifi. Go with the best router you can afford that suits your needs. You want what fits not something overkill or underperforming. This website is filled with stats on different performances of different consumer routers as graphs and charts of throughput, wifi throughput, usb storage, etc.

 

[Cloud200]

The Linksys WRT-1900AC is a very respectable performer. Personally I prefer a router + switch + access point as totally discrete devices, but that's just me.
If you like Linksys and wish to stick with them but are on a budget take a look at the WRT-1200AC. The routing and wired performance is pretty much identical. The only real difference is the WiFi.

 

[stevech]

The Linksys WRT-1900AC is a very respectable performer. Personally I prefer a router + switch + access point as totally discrete devices, but that's just me.
If you like Linksys and wish to stick with them but are on a budget take a look at the WRT-1200AC. The routing and wired performance is pretty much identical. The only real difference is the WiFi.

agree.

 

[rey71]

So the WRT-1200Ac is better than the others i listed? I found it for about $130.

 

[sm00thpapa]

I have the WRT1200AC and it out performs the WRT1900AC v1. Better range and more stable.

 

[System Error Message]

I would pick the linksys over tp-link but it depends on your budget, preference and needed features. If you like linksys and are familiar with it i suggest picking the linksys.

 

[sm00thpapa]

He needs a basic router as he stated. 6 devices don't need many high tech features.

 

[stevech]

I'd skip the price premium of 802.11ac.
Poor cost/benefit.

 

[System Error Message]

I'd skip the price premium of 802.11ac.
Poor cost/benefit.

True but if you can afford wireless AC it does provide improvements over the older wifi protocols. It is unlikely the price will drop much in the future because when wireless N came out routers did cost more than wireless G but the cost of wireless N routers didnt drop much in total to the price of a wireless G router. its the same with GPUs. Every Nvidia and AMD new GPU generation, their GPU prices increase over the last one. Only intel keeps its pricing constant over generations.

So if the wireless AC router is well within your budget than you will benefit by upgrading and getting your full WAN speed and eventually be able to utilise wireless AC by upgrading your other devices compared to buying a cheap router now and an AC router in the future.

Or you can buy a wired only router now and still use your current wireless one as an AP but having more devices means more electricity.

 

[abailey]

I agree with those saying you should get a wireless AC router. I resisted getting an AC router for a long time because all my wireless clients are wireless N. I had tried many different wireless N AP's but none were giving me the performance I thought I should be able to get with my wireless N clients. I finally read this forum post and related articles: http://www.snbforums.com/threads/does-an-ac-router-improve-n-device-performance.19533/
I decided to give wireless AC a try even though all my clients were wireless N. I purchased an Asus RT-68. Wow what an improvement. On the 2.4ghz band I was only getting about 25mb/s download and now I am getting about double that. On the 5ghz band I was getting about 80mb/s and now get 140mb/s. These test were from my laptop. Also my signal is stronger and more stable. So much so that the one RT-68 was able to replace two wireless N AP's I had before (one upstairs and one downstairs).
Anyway all that to say I would definitely get a wireless AC router, and if you have mostly wireless N clients you may want to look at the articles referenced in the link above and decide on which AC router based on the performance test and your budget.