EA9500, X4S, AC88U or None of the Above?!

[nulambhbk]

In some ways, I think I was better off before I discovered SNB. As it is, I’m obsessed with choosing the right wireless router for my home and a bit overwhelmed by the information I’m finding here.

Here’s my situation:
I have a large home and a fair number of connected devices. 25+ and the number is bound to grow exponentially as I add smart home devices. My trusty old wireless router just died, and I quickly threw a Linksys EA9500 in its place while I figure things out.

Based on what I’ve read here, the EA9500 seems a bit expensive and a bit underpowered unless you’re lucky enough to grab a V2.

I like to have all my primary devices (4K TVs, game systems, streaming boxes, media server, etc.) on hardwired connections. The WiFi mostly serves our laptops, mobile devices, and various smart appliances.

I’m hoping this community can help me make the best choice for my permanent replacement. Here are my questions:

1. Am I right that the EA9500 isn’t a great value and should find something else? If Linksys, the EA9300 actually seems like better hardware, or am I missing something?
2. The Nighthawk X4S seems very highly regarded around here, but I’ve been burned by Netgear in the past. Have I just been unlucky and should I give it another go?
3. Lots of people seem to love the Asus RT-AC88U, and I’m tempted by the 8 LAN ports, but am I better off going with something like the newer 86U paired with a gigabit switch to make up for the lower number of wired connections?
4. If money isn’t my biggest concern, am I nuts not to go tri-band? Would a mesh system like Orbi be even more future proof?

I know that’s a lot. What would smarter people like all of you do?

 

[avtella]

The X4S has the best 5Ghz performance and CPU performance for VPN is above the 88U but much lower than the 86U.

The 86U has pretty good WiFi performance and the VPN and storage performance significantly above the rest. The EA9500v2 uses the same CPU I believe.

You can easily do 20-30 devices on these. Unless you are doing large file transfers between multiple devices at once or something I doubt you’d really benefit that much from triband devices, I have around 20 devices myself on my X4S.

Avoid the R9000 though, worse WiFi performance than the R7800 and the ad band is not very useful in routers.

TLDR: The 86U seems like a better package overall at the moment.

 

[psychopomp1]

The 86U has pretty good WiFi performance and the VPN and storage performance significantly above the rest. The EA9500v2 uses the same CPU I believe.
.

The EA9500v2 uses a quadcore 1.8ghz CPU whilst the 86U uses a dual core. The Linksys also has more RAM than the 86U (1Gb v 512mb) and has a 4x4 2.4ghz radio whilst the 86U has a 3x3 2.4ghz radio. The only common trait between the 2 is a 4x4 5ghz radio (BCM4366E). I would say the EA9500v2 is vastly superior to the AC86U. Good luck in finding a EA9500v2 for sale though, Linkys seem hellbent on not selling them to the public lol

 

[nulambhbk]

The X4S has the best 5Ghz performance and CPU performance for VPN is above the 88U but much lower than the 86U.

The 86U has pretty good WiFi performance and the VPN and storage performance significantly above the rest. The EA9500v2 uses the same CPU I believe.

You can easily do 20-30 devices on these. Unless you are doing large file transfers between multiple devices at once or something I doubt you’d really benefit that much from triband devices, I have around 20 devices myself on my X4S.

Avoid the R9000 though, worse WiFi performance than the R7800 and the ad band is not very useful in routers.

TLDR: The 86U seems like a better package overall at the moment.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful feedback! So would you do the 86U over the 88U? I’ve just recently increased my number of wired devices and am tempted be routers with 8 gigabit ports integrated, but is a dedicated switch a better solution?

 

[nulambhbk]

The EA9500v2 uses a quadcore 1.8ghz CPU whilst the 86U uses a dual core. The Linksys also has more RAM than the 86U (1Gb v 512mb) and has a 4x4 2.4ghz radio whilst the 86U has a 3x3 2.4ghz radio. The only common trait between the 2 is a 4x4 5ghz radio (BCM4366E). I would say the EA9500v2 is vastly superior to the AC86U. Good luck in finding a EA9500v2 for sale though, Linkys seem hellbent on not selling them to the public lol

That’s what I’m discovering! Is it just luck of the draw to find one at retail? The V1 seems way too underpowered for the price, so I need to choose something else. Seems like even the EA9300 is a superior product to the V1 in many ways?

 

[psychopomp1]

That’s what I’m discovering! Is it just luck of the draw to find one at retail? The V1 seems way too underpowered for the price, so I need to choose something else. Seems like even the EA9300 is a superior product to the V1 in many ways?

If you're in the USA, have a peek inside your local bestbuy as there have been reports of the EA9500v2 being sold by BB in brick & mortar stores. If no luck at BB, then you may want to order direct from Linksys and if by any chance they send you a v1, then return to them specifically asking for a v2. Linksys web store are pretty good. Btw the packing for V1 & V2 is identical except that on V2 packaging its states "1.8 quadcore processor on side of box".

 

[avtella]

Thank you so much for the thoughtful feedback! So would you do the 86U over the 88U? I’ve just recently increased my number of wired devices and am tempted be routers with 8 gigabit ports integrated, but is a dedicated switch a better solution?

I would go for the 86U, the 88U uses an older CPU that’s not only much weaker than the rest on your list, but also runs very hot. Not that it would matter much but even the bad MU-MIMO performance of the 88U was supposedly fixed with the newer revision 4366E WiFi chipset that’s in the 86U. The difference between the 9500v2 and 86U CPU you won’t really see much a difference (as they are pretty much the same architecture wise just differences in core count) in daily use as even OpenVPN is single threaded.

 

[nulambhbk]

I would go for the 86U, the 88U uses an older CPU that’s not only much weaker than the rest on your list, but also runs very hot. Not that it would matter much but even the bad MU-MIMO performance of the 88U was supposedly fixed with the newer revision 4366E WiFi chipset that’s in the 86U. The difference between the 9500v2 and 86U CPU you won’t really see much a difference (as they are pretty much the same architecture wise just differences in core count) in daily use as even OpenVPN is single threaded.

Thank you! One last question since I can’t stop reading about routers. Do you have an opinion on the Synology 2600? Seems like people like it, but maybe there’s a reason it’s not as good of a choice as something like the 86U.

 

[psychopomp1]

Thank you! One last question since I can’t stop reading about routers. Do you have an opinion on the Synology 2600? Seems like people like it, but maybe there’s a reason it’s not as good of a choice as something like the 86U.

TBH if you are after the best router for wifi coverage/range, then you're better off going with the Netgear R7800, R9000 or Synology RT2600AC. These routers are the crème de la crème, all are 4x4 (both 2.4ghz & 5ghz), all use Qualcomm Atheros (QCA) radios, which imho, give better range than Broadcom based ones.
Have a look here, the AC86U is not all its cracked up to be:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac86u-awful-router-netgear-wins.44224/#post-376946

 

[nulambhbk]

Thanks to all for your help! If you wouldn’t mind humoring me with one last question, I’d be very grateful. It seems like no router I choose is going to have the number of wired ports I want, so I’m planning to add a switch. What is the ideal way to wire this? Modem > Router > Switch with only a single cable connecting the router and switch and all of my devices wired to ports on the switch? In other words, nothing other than the switch wired directly to the LAN ports on the router?

 

[mreg376]

TBH if you are after the best router for wifi coverage/range, then you're better off going with the Netgear R7800, R9000 or Synology RT2600AC. These routers are the crème de la crème, all are 4x4 (both 2.4ghz & 5ghz), all use Qualcomm Atheros (QCA) radios, which imho, give better range than Broadcom based ones.
Have a look here, the AC86U is not all its cracked up to be:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac86u-awful-router-netgear-wins.44224/#post-376946

I really tried to like the R7800. And I did like it. It's a fine, well made device with excellent hardware. But I wanted to use router-attached storage and that Readyshare is unreliable crap and Netgear support is nonexistent. I ended up going with the Synology RT2600ac, and found a gem. Same basic hardware as the R7800, excellent range, attached storage works great and is accessible from anywhere with a variety of options. Have been running the router since 12/15, without a disconnection, or reboot except for firmware updates. Interface is a pleasure to use. 2-year warranty. Unlimited (if not fast) email technical support and chat support. Recommended.