Poll: Best future proofing router between $150 and $210

[veqryn]

My situation:
I moved into a new house that is 2 stories plus a furnished basement. Roughly 3500 square feet including basement. The walls are relatively thick since it is a recent build.
My old router is dead, and I'm not tied to any particular brand. I probably will not be using custom firmware or doing anything too special. I want something reliable, fast. low latency, low maintenance, and decently future-proof.
There are probably around 5-10 devices that would be connecting to it right now, but I plan to install a security system with cameras and more stuff hooked up to it soon. My wife and I use VPN when working from home, and when not working I play xbox and some pc games, while she streams youtube, movies, and makes video calls to her relatives on the other side of the globe.

So what router should I buy?

I did a decent amount of research around the web, and also on SNB, and narrowed my choices to the following routers. Badly formatted data table with headers below:

Price, Years Old, Bands, MU-MIMO Streams, Speed, Brand, Model, Fakespot Review Grade, Review Score, Lowest Price Ever, Link
$150 0.7 2 4x4 2600 D-Link DIR-882 AC2600 B 3.6 $100 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711TPTZL/?tag=snbforums-20
$170 1 3 2x2 2200 Linksys AC2200 EA8300 C 4.4 $150 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X9CPC45/?tag=snbforums-20
$170 1.6 2 4x4 2600 Zyxel Armor Z2 AC2600 B 3.9 $170 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I4223HS/?tag=snbforums-20
$200 0.7 2 4x4 2900 Asus RT-AC86U A 4 $182 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0752FD3XJ/?tag=snbforums-20
$200 2.3 2 4x4 2600 Netgear X4S AC2600 R7800 C 4.3 $180 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0192911RA/?tag=snbforums-20
$200 0.7 2 4x4 3200 Linksys WRT32X D 3.4 $200 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072LQZFHM/?tag=snbforums-20
$200 1.2 2 4x4 2600 Synology RT2600AC A 4.1 $195 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5MPTG1/?tag=snbforums-20
$210 1.1 2 4x4 3150 TP-Link Archer AC3150 V2 B 3.8 $140 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4R01UJ/?tag=snbforums-20

All prices were based on what I saw on Amazon today.

All are dual bands, as new-ish tri-band routers with 4 streams on each band seem to be out of my budget.
With the exception of the Linksys AC2200 (which is 2x2), they all have 4 streams for the 5 ghz band (and 4 streams for the 2.4 ghz band except for the AC86U which has 3).
The X4S is more than 2 years old at this point, though SNB says it is still unbeaten for raw 5ghz speed. The rest are about 8 to 16 months old.

If you recommend something else in the poll above, please post about it below...

 

[avtella]

WiFi performance without a doubt especially 5Ghz I’d go R7800, the Zyxel and Synology RT2600AC also use the same hardware pretty much. For VPN the AC86U.

 

[joegreat]

Simple question - simpler answer: Asus AC86U with Merlin's firmware is the router of choice!

Bcs.: only a good firmware makes a good router great!

 

[veqryn]

Thx all for the votes.

@joegreat: though I probably won't use it (I plan to stick with the manufacturer's firmware as long as it is still supported), it is good to know there is another option out there in case the manufacturer stops supporting their firmware.

 

[joegreat]

@joegreat: though I probably won't use it (I plan to stick with the manufacturer's firmware as long as it is still supported), it is good to know there is another option out there in case the manufacturer stops supporting their firmware.

Well, if the manufacturer (Asus) stops, then also the the other option (Merlin) will stop - better use it now as it's simply better then the manufacturer's firmware AND it's fully supported as it's close to the original one!

 

[veqryn]

That is odd. Why would the custom firmware stop getting developed just because the manufacturer stops supporting the manufacturer's firmware?
Let's say in 3 years a security vulnerability is found in the router, and Asus won't fix it. I would have thought part of the point of a custom firmware would be to keep making security fixes long after the manufacturer has stopped.

 

[joegreat]

That is odd. Why would the custom firmware stop getting developed just because the manufacturer stops supporting the manufacturer's firmware?

Bcs. more and more parts of the firmware are closed source (see FCC rules) and delivered only as binares (no sources and no ablility to change things)!

Of course the rest (delivered GPL sources) can be change also independent from the vendor - by the way: same problem with modern cars where more and more components are locked by security and cannot be replaced if the vendor does not allow or is not on the market anymore...

 

[scjr]

Thx all for the votes.

@joegreat: though I probably won't use it (I plan to stick with the manufacturer's firmware as long as it is still supported), it is good to know there is another option out there in case the manufacturer stops supporting their firmware.

I agree with @joegreat.

Take it from someone who thought I would running Asuswrt. Merlin’s firmware is superior, in my opinion. I’m not a power user, but I appreciate the updated wireless log, the site survey feature.

More importantly, when Eric (Merlin) is working the firmware he’s always thinking security first. Example: in one of his latest change logs he tightened up security around some config files. In essence, you get Asuswrt with all of Merlin’s goodness added in.

Keep in mind, if you ever run AiMesh in future you’ll have to stick with Asuswrt. Merlin does not support that feature. Enjoy your router!

 

[Fyodor]

If you have a three floor 3500 sqft home, rather than trying to cover everything with one router, I'd build in some space in your budget for some kind of distributed system (e.g. MoCA or a wireless extender)

 

[veqryn]

So I have been testing with the modem+router combo unit that came with Comcast internet, and if I place it on the main floor then I have full signal in the basement and the second floor, and decently OK signal outside the house depending on where I am standing. (I have just 2 floors plus basement)
If I had a third floor or the house was bigger, or I had a big yard (I don't) then I could definitely see a mesh working better. But I think a single wifi router / access point will be fine for me.

 

[umarmung]

Netgear R7800 is supported by open source solutions like OpenWRT so software future proof, is likely the best performing 4x4 WiFi router (the top ranked on SmallNetBuilder), and is highly tested.

Since you want a standalone and don't need any feature special to the Asus RT-AC86U, e.g. extraordinary VPN performance for an off-the-shelf consumer router or AiMesh (requires two Asus), this is one of the few situations where you can safely pick Netgear's hardware and not have to worry about future proofing.

If you want the same hardware as the R7800, but with frequent and reliable updates, a UI that beats even Asus, and very polisher consumer functionality, then the Synology RT2600AC is recommended. It's basically a Netgear without ever having to worry about software, either now or in future.

 

[Trip]

As the old saying goes, "If you have only a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail."

I know I'll probably catch flack for going out of scope here, but IMHO the best way to "future proof" this type of stuff, if there is such a thing, is to decouple wireless from routing and switching. Delegate different responsibilities to the devices that do it best. In most cases you'll have a higher-performing network, and you'll definitely have an easier ability to upgrade/swap out stuff as is required.

If you do start off with an all-in-one, I would buy the unit with the highest performing and most stable wifi. That way, if wired features fall short, you can re-purpose it to just an AP and proceed to break out routing/switching to a device(s) that do those roles as well as you may need.

Hope that helps!