Need Recommendtion: N56U vs N66U

[cm27]

I am planning to upgrade my current home router (Linksys WRT54GS). I have 4 laptops, 4 smartphones, a sired NAS (Synology DS214), streaming video devices (Chromecast and Roku 3) in a 2-level home. Will be adding a smart TV in near future. Current wi-fi can not stream on Chromecast, though works acceptably on Roku. I am hoping that upgrading to Wireless N will improve the streaming video performance.

I am trying to decide between N56u and N66u - Both are within my budget. my Current Comcast cable broadband connection is 50 Mbps down/10 Mbps up. I am getting about 30 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up on wired 100 Mbps connection and 16 Mbps up and 10 Mbps down in current wireless-G connection (speedtest.net test) with my Linksys. The laptop is right next to the router for the test. Downstairs near the TV, the wi-fi signal deteriorates to about 10 - 12 Mbps down.

I would appreciate some advise on selecting new router:

Would N-660 router (N56u) be better or should I go for N-900 router (N66u)? What is the benefit of N-900? Does it give better bandwidth and/or higher speed at the device end and/or support more device without speed degradation?

Would it be worthwhile for me to consider going for an AC router to make it future proof? Or would it be an overkill, considering my available BB WAN speed?

Do both routers have guest SSID support?

Would one of these be better for remote/VPN access to my Synology NAS?

Anything else I need to consider/factor into my purchase decision?

 

[AdvHomeServer]

The N56U does not support a guest network unless you replace the firmware with padavan's firmware. I use it on mine and it works well. The N66U is popular. I have no experience with it or with Merlin's alternate firmware.

The chromecast may be having issues with what you are casting with. Tabcastiing takes a lot of cpu power. Casting using a dedicated chromecast app takes little cpu power and can be done from a phone.

Depending on how many devices are on at a given time, you may have problems unless you split among wired, 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

If you know the best name for a child you know the best router to buy. Otherwise, go with popular ones with lots of great reviews. You're still taking a chance, but you're minimizing the downside risk. The more devices and / or the more demanding uses require more powerful routers.

16Mb on wireless g is about the best you'll get.

Personally, I'd try the N66U if I had to choose between the two. I'm happy with my N56U, but the N66U is more powerful and you'll be less likely to replace it soon.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

I would not go for any of those choices. The N56 is getting old and the N66 signal output has been majorly reduced in the latest firmwares and will never be the same again unless you use much older firmware. I would not go with anything less then the RT-AC68U.

 

[hggomes]

You don't need to use older firmwares, latest N66U FW from RMerlin it's better now in terms of range/coverage, but if not happy you can always try to use the latest FW from Tomato Shibby with old SDK5 drivers, you will get a recent FW and a great range/coverage.

SDK5 drivers are not available anymore on new ASUS/RMerlin FW versions.

Shibby FW is available using SDK5 or SDK6 drivers you can choose.

 

[cm27]

@hggomes:

I am a novice in network management and adv. router configuration. I prefer to set it once and then forget about it, although, with proper instruction, I am quite comfortable with complex configuration. I can do basic set up and configuration of a router without any problem. However, I have no familiarity of firmware upgrade, especially from 3rd parties such as what you have mentioned. Where do I get more info to get familiar with it and get instructions on how to do it?

Can I not run N56U or N66U with the standard firmware out of the box (after upgrading it from Asus web site)?

 

[hggomes]

Hi,

You can update your routers with FW's from those links and revert it back to original FW again if you want to.

The update procedure can be done via GUI as usual:



RT-N56U:

https://code.google.com/p/rt-n56u/

https://drive.google.com/folderview...sharing&tid=0B0clSzFg6jb9ejVLX0cyR0ZpMWs#list


RT-N66U:

SDK5:

http://tomato.groov.pl/download/K26RT-N/build5x-121-EN/Asus RT-N66u 64k/

SDK6:

http://tomato.groov.pl/download/K26RT-AC/121-EN/

 

[sm00thpapa]

Hi,

You can update your routers with FW's from those links and revert it back to original FW again if you want to.

The update procedure can be done via GUI as usual:



RT-N56U:

https://code.google.com/p/rt-n56u/

https://drive.google.com/folderview...sharing&tid=0B0clSzFg6jb9ejVLX0cyR0ZpMWs#list


RT-N66U:

SDK5:

http://tomato.groov.pl/download/K26RT-N/build5x-121-EN/Asus RT-N66u 64k/

SDK6:

http://tomato.groov.pl/download/K26RT-AC/121-EN/

Of the SDK5 what is the difference between AIO and VPN? Big difference in MB size.

 

[hggomes]

http://tomato.groov.pl/download/K26RT-N/build5x-101-EN/builds.png

 

[Deleted member 22229]

You don't need to use older firmwares, latest N66U FW from RMerlin it's better now in terms of range/coverage, but if not happy you can always try to use the latest FW from Tomato Shibby with old SDK5 drivers, you will get a recent FW and a great range/coverage.

SDK5 drivers are not available anymore on new ASUS/RMerlin FW versions.

Shibby FW is available using SDK5 or SDK6 drivers you can choose.

Do these firmwares flash the same as Merlin or stock ? Or is there a special way they need to be installed ?

 

[hggomes]

The update procedure can be done via GUI as usual, no special procedure.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

The update procedure can be done via GUI as usual, no special procedure.

Thanks never tried these firmwares before. There seem to be 3 versions of the SDK5 build for N66U can you rell me what is the very latest and does it support IPv6 ? I am wanting to play with my older B1 version N66U.

 

[hggomes]

In fact there are only 2 versions of SDK5 version from that link i posted here, you should use AIO version that's the most complete version.

http://tomato.groov.pl/download/K26...ato-K26USB-1.28.RT-N5x-MIPSR2-121-AIO-64K.trx

 

[Deleted member 22229]

In fact there are only 2 versions of SDK5 version from that link i posted here, you should use AIO version that's the most complete version.

http://tomato.groov.pl/download/K26...ato-K26USB-1.28.RT-N5x-MIPSR2-121-AIO-64K.trx

Thanks, do you know if it supports IPv6 ?

 

[hggomes]

Yes it supports.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=135487&postcount=8

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Unfortunately none of those will flash on my 66U says improper image or file tried both for the 66U a no deal at least trying to flash the normal way.

 

[hggomes]

1. Turn off the router.
2. Press RESET without releasing and turn it on until you see power led blinking.
3. Go to http://192.168.1.1 select file anf flash it.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

1. Turn off the router.
2. Press RESET without releasing and turn it on until you see power led blinking.
3. Go to http://192.168.1.1 select file anf flash it.

Thank You probably try again after dinner.

 

[KevTech]

Only problem with Tomatousb is IPv6 is wonky.

 

[tarmdjur]

1. Turn off the router.
2. Press RESET without releasing and turn it on until you see power led blinking.
3. Go to http://192.168.1.1 select file anf flash it.

If you can't log on to web gui, give your nic a static address (like 192.168.1.12), default netmask and gateway 192.168.1.1. When flashed and rebooted, clear nvram by pressing the wps button while powering on. Finally, set your nic to receive an ip address automatically from the router's dhcp.

There's no need for the Asus recovery utility for flashing.

DD-WRT on the other hand is pure hell to flash on n66u. You need knowledge, time, luck and some magic.

 

[KevTech]

You don't need to use older firmwares, latest N66U FW from RMerlin it's better now in terms of range/coverage, but if not happy you can always try to use the latest FW from Tomato Shibby with old SDK5 drivers, you will get a recent FW and a great range/coverage.

Not entirely true as it depends on the wifi devices you have.

Some devices have issues with the SDK6 drivers no matter what build it is.