help me choose a decent router

[soulbadguy]

Hi,
I am in need of a new router and while i am pretty techsavy , networking (booth hardware and software ) is not my forte.
Current situation and needs :
My current router/modem CISCO DPC3825 ifrom rogers is not working properly : slow download,long ping, connection drops, corrupt downloads, slow youtube video. etc... All but the youtube problems goes away (youtube improved but still somewhat slow, but it improves) when i put the modem/router in bridges mode and connect my PC directly in the Ethernet port.So i want a router to regain wifi (or not having to use my pc as a wifi hotspot)

I have pretty limited needs in term of range and speed, all my devices are wifi N and most of them have 2*2 antennas. So in making the choice for a new router i am mainly focus on reliability and firmware feature set.
Charasteristic/Features that i would want in a router

• Low ping over wifi . I don't game online that much , but i do work from home frequently, and my work involed ssh'ing into remote servers. With my current router, the latency is so bad that i can feel a lag between my keystrokes and them appears in a ssh console.And that rather distracting
• good QOS : i am always downloading something in the background while working or using skype .A good QOS management would be appreciated
• Support for power-on-lan packet and easy access to my local network from outside (remoting in my desktop machine from outside for example)
• Support for Cisco Anytime Connect VPN : i use cisco anytime connect client to connect to work network . Is there a router that support cisco vpns ?
• i know most router support guess networks, is there a router/firmware where the main wifi and the guess can be on different vpns ?
• I am hearing a lot of talk about youtube video performances and stuff life blocking cache servers, changing dns etc... I am not sure i understand the all of it, but are there some router/firmware that would help in case i need to do those kind of things ?

After reading on the forum, it looks like in term of brand asus are good , and they routers look kinda cool, So now i am hesitating between the AC56u,AC66u and the AC68u.

Are there major difference between the firmware/features of those three ?
For someone who does not have a 3*3 antenna device, does a 3*3 router present any advantage ?

Sorry for the long post and thanks for ready , time to go to bed

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
I happen to have same modem/router from Shaw cable here in Calgary. The day I got it
I phoned Shaw support to ask them to put the router into bridge mode. Since I had RT-N66U, RT-AC66U, and now Netgear R7000 going back and forth between dd-wrt and stock f/w. All 3 of them did well for me whatever I tried..

 

[soulbadguy]

Thanks tony, in term of ease of use and reliability which one would you suggest ? R7000 or AC66u?

 

[Hawk]

I am using RT-AC68U and I am quite happy with everything it has to offer. One of you requirement was QOS and I am using that on my side and it handle connection very well, even with Skype or viber running with bittorent all at same time. On average I have 28 devices connected to router over wireless.

Just remember when you enable QOS, you disable hardware accretion which is useful if you very high speed internet 100+ mbps line.

Key difference between RT-AC66U and RT-AC68U is later one is dual core processor and high clock speed, which allow router to be more responsive under heavy workload and you can overclock as well if needed.

 

[soulbadguy]

Does the 2 cores vs 1 core makes a big difference for a 30/10 mbs connection ?

 

[microchip]

Does the 2 cores vs 1 core makes a big difference for a 30/10 mbs connection ?

No, it doesn't

 

[sfx2000]

Does the 2 cores vs 1 core makes a big difference for a 30/10 mbs connection ?

Unless one is doing embedded SW development and tuning the kernel, it really doesn't make a difference... most folks don't have the tools needed in any event.

Putting things at the 100,000 ft view - depending on the job at hand - a single MIPS core at 700MHz vs. two ARM Cortex-A9's @ 1Ghz - the performance is about the same... and the MIPS core can and often does have an advantage in router applications - this is why until recently, MIPS cores were the dominant player in light-duty SOC's - and they still are in other applications...

 

[soulbadguy]

Is it possible to host a git server on the AC56/AC68 with asuswrt firmware ?