New router - Asus ac86u, Netgear XR500/X4S or other?

[Grothmog]

Hello, looking to upgrade router ISP gave me as I'm annoyed with ping spikes and low wifi quality.
I have 42m2 apartment, with two laptops, 2 smart tv and 3 smartphones. I use mainly laptop for online gaming, right now i'm getting ping spikes even with one device connected to router (verifed dosen't happen on cable unfortunately I can't connect by ethernet). Speed drops also happen quite often. My internet speed is 250/20 Mbps in next year i will be upgrading to 500/20 Mbps.

Looking around web found two models Asus AC86u and Netgear XR500 as i expect them to have good quality qos and wifi quality, I won't be running VPN, not interested in WTFast tested on PC dosen't work too well for me.

Netgear X4S - seems to have issues with my wifi card intel ac7260 ad mentioned in driver notes and some posts mention low quality qos database.

I'm considering also AP. Any suggestions which way to go?

 

[umarmung]

If you are technically inclined and won't be going above 500M/500M Internet, then Edgerouter X + Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Pro should offer good throughput, very low latency, very high stability and any possible QoS configuration you want including cutting edge algorithms. If you need you can extend your WiFi with UAP-AC-Lite APs later, or other Ubiquiti wireless APs.

If you are not technically inclined, then the Synology RT2600ac should offer all the possible QoS management you need.

Asus routers may have powerful QoS options, but they may also not work over WiFi, though they will work over wired, e.g. the Asus RT-AC86U. Perhaps this WiFi QoS issue is fixed with Merlin firmware - you'll need to ask in the official Merlin forum.

Despite their great hardware, DumaOS on Netgear XR500 is too new, especially when Netgear's well known weakness is their software and updates. Also, DumaOS is crippled compared to the original NetDuma. If you want something more advanced than just basic consumer setup right now, I'd keep away from DumaOS for at least six months.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hello, looking to upgrade router ISP gave me as I'm annoyed with ping spikes and low wifi quality.
I have 42m2 apartment, with two laptops, 2 smart tv and 3 smartphones. I use mainly laptop for online gaming, right now i'm getting ping spikes even with one device connected to router (verifed dosen't happen on cable unfortunately I can't connect by ethernet). Speed drops also happen quite often. My internet speed is 250/20 Mbps in next year i will be upgrading to 500/20 Mbps.

Looking around web found two models Asus AC86u and Netgear XR500 as i expect them to have good quality qos and wifi quality, I won't be running VPN, not interested in WTFast tested on PC dosen't work too well for me.

Netgear X4S - seems to have issues with my wifi card intel ac7260 ad mentioned in driver notes and some posts mention low quality qos database.

I'm considering also AP. Any suggestions which way to go?

The 86U is a solid current choice, imo. It will easily cover your area... you may want to throttle its radios down a notch to spare your neighbors.

Your ping results may be device dependent.

If you are in the US near a Micro Center and know someone who needs a router, you can get two 86Us now for $300.

OE

 

[Grothmog]

Edgerouter X + Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Pro - I thought about combo like this, separating ap and router is nice idea however I read that Ubiquiti access points should be ceiling mounted for best performance and this is big NO from my wife ^^. Best i could do is putting it on tall wardrobe but i'm not sure how well would that work.

I didn't found any price friendly access points like Ubiquiti that dosen't have to be ceiling mounted so unfortunately I'm leaning towards all-around consumer grade devices