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Which Modem/Router combo for a small flat in Italy?

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Italiano

Occasional Visitor
Hi guys!

Me and my wife live in Italy in a small apartment. Not a lot of Wi-Fi interference from neighbours. We have an 8 Mbit/s ADSL2+ Internet but will have faster fibre-optics if rumors come true and our neighbourhood gets lucky this year.

We have two AC laptops, two AC smartphones and a NAS. We sometimes download a lot. No Ethernet and USB ports needed.

What is the best modem/router combo for around 100 $?

I see here in Charts that TP-Link Archer C5 router performs well and fits the budget. Is it OK to just replace a C with a D and buy a TP-Link Archer D5 combo? Does it work like that? Can I expect the same performance?

Equally, for ASUS RT-AC68U - can I replace RT with DSL and buy DSL-AC68U combo?

Grazie!
 
Equally, for ASUS RT-AC68U - can I replace RT with DSL and buy DSL-AC68U combo?

the issue here is the dsl-ac68u uses a mediatek modem chipset and doesnt work well on lines over 2.5km from the exchange

what do you have atm as you could just bridge the current modem you have and get the asus rt-ac68u to run behind it in pppoe mode as the connection method ( if your isp uses both pppoa and pppoe ) , the benefit here is when fiber comes along you just then ditch the modem and still use the asus rt-ac68u

tp link wise the D5 has a broadcom modem chipset so will work well on longer lines over 2.5km from exchange , the D7 however is better and the D9 better still
 
Yes, I'm quite far from the exchange hence the maximum 8 Mbit....

Currently I have a Netgear DGN2200v4 ADSL2+ modem+router combo which sucks big time. Multiple issues like unable to establish 300 Mbps Wi-Fi connection and QoS setup resets itself each time the router is restarted. Channel 6 makes the router come to a crawl although inSSIDer says I will get better connection on channel 6, etc.

D7 is 40 $ more expensive then D5. What benefits does it bring for my scenario? Can it handle more P2P connections for example? What I'd really appreciate is a speedy connection between NAS and my laptop/smartphone. Working QoS is also very important.
 
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So I checked the prices on Italian Amazon and my choices at this budget come down to:

- Netgear D6100-100PES
- TP-LINK Archer D5/D7

Which one?
 
Currently I have a Netgear DGN2200v4 ADSL2+ modem+router combo which sucks big time.
thus use it in bridge mode as a modem only and connect the asus rt-ac68u and get the best of both worlds

the D7 is really the starting point for all in ones with modem imho

Netgear D6100-100PES
avoid like the plague as they have been nothing but trouble

issues like unable to establish 300 Mbps Wi-Fi connection
you know this maybe to it running in neighborhood friendly mode eg 150M max due to interference around you or even a wireless adapter thats not full 300M ether

although i will admit the 2200 netgear is really a big pile of poo across the board as a router and wifi goes but it does have the broadcom modem chipset which is good for long lines

----------------

so ether consider the separate bridged modem and wireless router

or

tp link D7 upwards , i prefer the D9 as its far better coverage wise as wellas throughput
 
Being Italian as you are, i may have some advice for you ;)
You could be not so close to the street cabinet but with a good "cabling" running from it, as I am, making the Asus modem the best choice. Unfortunatly , you could know that only by trying and get a refund if doesn't fit your case.Amazon is super fast and reliable on this.
Speaking about TIM "FIBER", it's a VDSL2 offer unless you live in Milan or Bologna as for now. The point is, you can't use your own VDSL2 modem, ISP limitations. So if you're thinking about buying a future-proof modem, it's be better buying a simple router
 
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My download Noise Margin is 7.6 db and Line Attenuation is 36.5 db. I'm on Infostrada at 8 Mbit/s. As far as I know this numbers tell that my line is not very good and that I'm far from the Telecom exchange cabinet?
 
I believe you're far from it,i didn't say you were lying,just trying to help.
Archer D7 will work great in in your flat.
 
Thanks for confirming the db numbers, don't know a lot about them.

D7 it is then. Thank you all!
 
if you can spend a bit more zyxel has really good stuff. I have a vdsl modem/router that was given with ISP and it is actually really good and a good contender for openWRT based on the hardware specs. There are also other brands that arent famous that have such good products but i will need to find them.
 

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