WRT1900AC (v2) or R7000

[Shindig]

Been in need of a new router, and walked into Walmart earlier and found these two at prices I didn't expect:

Linksys WRT1900AC V2 for $70
Netgear Nighthawk R7000 for $49.

I went in only wanting to spend around ~$50ish. I know compared to any other router I would have normally left with for around that price limit, both of these will be great. The Linksys is a bit more than I thought I'd spend, but at the price it's going for I figured I could take it into consideration! I can only grab one of them, so looking for advice on which to keep! Looking for whichever can offer these the best:

--Range! ~1900sq townhouse, router will be on middle floor. not expecting perfect bandwidth on all floors, but the more the merrier!
--Stability; don't want random restarts, or have to reboot it every day or two. The more clients (min 10 clients) it can handle, would be best!
--Passive Cooling (ventilation/heat sinks/etc?); the router I'm replacing had a tendency to overheat, and start acting wonky. Probably what led to the random dc's and restarts.

I'd probably just be running at stock firmware as well, looking mostly for a set and forget solution!

 

[avtella]

I think the 1900AC might be a little better hardware wise, and a better UI to go with it. The R7000 is also pretty good, they improved traffic stats from what I hear with the recent update, but I'd probably go with the WRT1900ACv2.

 

[sfx2000]

At 50 bucks for the R7000 - I was probably go with that one - it's a decent device, factory firmware is very mature, and it has good third party support if one is looking for that...

 

[Shindig]

I bought both this morning, with the intent to return one this evening after some research/asking around. Ended up just taking both home, for now. Figured it's best to try them in actual usage to see which performs better for me.

I think the 1900AC might be a little better hardware wise, and a better UI to go with it. The R7000 is also pretty good, they improved traffic stats from what I hear with the recent update, but I'd probably go with the WRT1900ACv2.

The hardware specs are really nice for the Linksys. I'm not a fan of either UI, each has something the other doesn't imo. I guess a 3rd party firmware would shine here (in addition to all the other goodies). I really did like the build quality of the WRT1900ACv2, as well as the looks. I was hoping it would be the better performer of the two, but in my case it wasn't!

At 50 bucks for the R7000 - I was probably go with that one - it's a decent device, factory firmware is very mature, and it has good third party support if one is looking for that...

The R7000 is pretty awesome, and the one that seems will likely have a place in my home! I compared both as best as I could. 5 GHz band seemed pretty comparable, leaning towards the R7000; it just seems to get a slightly stronger signal out further than the Linksys. Not enough to make a huge difference though. 2.4 GHz is where the NETGEAR stomped the Linksys. I configured them the same; channel, channel width, etc. I read up on the WRT1900 and changed to WPA2 personal and set it to b/g/n only @ 20Hz - it helped some. But even with the changes, at every test point in my home, the R7000 had double (if not more) the speeds here. 2.4 is VERY congested here, but even so the R7000 cuts right through it.

The only area, in my case, where the WRT1900 outdid the R7000 was when I tested file transfers over a USB disk. But that's a feature I don't see myself using often to matter in my choice. It's a shame, 'cus I really love how the WRT1900AC looks, and has a more "premium" feel to it! I'll ask around here and Linksys forums in hopes of getting the WRT1900ACv2 to 2.4 GHz performance more in line with what I'm seeing with the R7000. I'd love to keep it! For now, the R7000 will stay connected - best way to check stability is to just let it run! =)

 

[sfx2000]

The tip on the WRT1900ac for 2.4GHz performance...

Bandwidth 20Mhz Only
Mode - b/g/n-mixed

That'll fix things up there...

 

[Shindig]

The tip on the WRT1900ac for 2.4GHz performance...

Bandwidth 20Mhz Only
Mode - b/g/n-mixed

That'll fix things up there...

I actually read an older post of yours suggesting that in another thread! I applied those changes before testing, and the R7000 still pulled ahead. I also tried tips from other threads on this forum and Linksys' forum for slow 2.4 GHz speeds, but didn't make a difference =( Rooms furthest from the router get around ~15 Mbps on the WRT1900acv2, and ~35 Mbps on the R7000. Rooms nearby, the Linksys pulls ~35 Mbps, and the Netgear ~50 Mbps. I feel like this is due to some user error on my part, lol.

Beyond the difference in the 2.4 GHz speeds, they're both performing great. 5 GHz speeds are comparable when set to the same settings between the two. If we didn't still have a few devices that rely on 2.4 GHz, I think the Linksys would have found a home here. Alas, my old Chromecast, laptop, Amazon tablet, and folk's phones still use 2.4 GHz.

Thanks again for your help and advice!

 

[RogerSC]

I have both of these routers, and I'd recommend the R7000 from my experience. It's a better piece of hardware, and there's more varieties of firmware available for it, as well. It would be an easy choice for me.

I am wondering though, if we're talking refurbished/open box. If refurbished, I would make sure that these were refurbed by the original manufacturers (Netgear and Linksys).

 

[Shindig]

I have both of these routers, and I'd recommend the R7000 from my experience. It's a better piece of hardware, and there's more varieties of firmware available for it, as well. It would be an easy choice for me.

I am wondering though, if we're talking refurbished/open box. If refurbished, I would make sure that these were refurbed by the original manufacturers (Netgear and Linksys).

They're both new in box from Walmart. They were being sold at crazy clearance prices - from what I was told they're supposed to get rid of them and replace them with same models in newer boxes! (for instance the newer WRT1900 box had a "100 million sold" type logo printed on it now, and the new R7000 box had something new too)

At this point it looks like the R7000 is the winner, in my specific case! I kinda wanted the WRT1900ACv2 to come out on top; it's a newer build, nicer H/W specs, and the physical build quality / looks are superior imo. But in the end, it's actual performance that matters. I'm tempted to try a 3rd party firmware on it before returning it - maybe it'll improve the 2.4 speeds; but I know I'll goof it up and I don't want to make it unreturnable =P