Recommend a fast 5Ghz, AC1900, 3x3 access point (or router as AP)

[occamsrazor]

Hi,

I'm upgrading my home network to a powerful pfsense wired router. Currently my wifi is provided by my main router Asus RT-N66U running tomato and some Linksys E3000s as access points. I'm looking to add a FAST access point.

My internet is slow but my main interest is in 5Ghz Wifi>LAN connectivity from my MacBook Pro with Broadcom AC1900 3x3 internal client, to various gigabit wired devices such as LAN computers and QNAP NAS etc. My MBP would be close to the access point and there would be only a couple 5Ghz clients

I looked at the "Wireless Extender Charts" but they don't seem to have anything new. I am open to either an "access point" or also happy to use a router converted to access point, but my focus will be on the wireless transmisison speeds not routing performance. It would be plugged into my Netgear GS110TP switch.

I liked the look of the Mikrotik HAP AC or WAP AC, but reviews I read indicated it wasn't competitive at actual transfer rates. Ubiquiti UAP Pro or HD an option but the HD is quite expensive and have seen various reports of throughput issues on the Pro (I am not clear if it is indeed an issue, but it seemed enough to make me question). Alternatively a consumer router, if so which? I read the reviews of them but naturally so much focus is on their routing ability not strictly wifi performance and then it's not always specified which client was used.

Any recommendations?

 

[gp-se]

I would suggest the TP-Link C3150, it's got great coverage and speed on 5Ghz band. I also have a MacBook Pro with 3X3 and using the C3150 I've run speed tests over WiFi averaging 700-800mb/s. I'm also running PF sense and have the Router running in Access Point Mode, and I haven't seen anything else that can do those speeds over WiFi.

 

[occamsrazor]

Nice, thanks for the recommendation - those are really impressive speeds. I hadn't been looking at rates higher than AC1900 as I thought that was the maximum that a 3x3 card could handle. But maybe it's also a question of CPU limitations on some of the slower devices.

We don't have the C3150 where I will be buying from (not US) but the C2600 and C3200 are available:
http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-5506_Archer-C2600.html
http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-5506_Archer-C3200.html

I find the specs of these interesting:
The C2600 says:
5GHz Band: Up to 1733Mbps
2.4GHz Band: Up to 800Mbps
The C3200 says:
5GHz Band1: Up to 1300Mbps
5GHz Band2: Up to 1300Mbps
2.4GHz: Up to 600Mbps

So the C2600 has a single 4x4 band but the c3200 has dual 3x3 bands..... is that right?

TP-Link make relatively affordable hardware. I'd never really looked at them much as routers as the functionality and GUI is all-important, but as a "dumb" access point I don't care about that I just want the speed.

EDIT: OK have read some more now and understand a little bit better. It seems these 4x4 radios do indeed provide a performance benefit even for 2x2 (and presumably also 3x3) clients. There's some useful explanation in the "closing thoughts" in this reveiew of the C3150:

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...mimo-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=3

 

[gp-se]

You're correct the C3200 is dual 3x3, but I would suggest getting something 4X4, even though you don't have any devices that use 4x4, the extra antennas help older 3x3 devices. If you look at this graph you can see 4x4 makes a big difference over 3x3:

Here is a chart for the C2600:

Looking at this chart the C2600 doesn't have the same WiFi performance as the C3150, even though they are both 4X4. If you can't get the TP-Link C3150 then I would suggest the Asus C3100 which is similar to the TP-Link C3150. Both the Asus C3100 and TP-Link C3150 use the same SOC/WiFi components, so the performance is very close.

 

[occamsrazor]

Thanks. I edited my post above with some more info while it seems you were writing yours. At the end of the c3150 article though it says this:

In the meantime, if you already have an AC2600 router, like the top-ranked NETGEAR R7800 or its #1 ranked predecessor, TP-LINK's Archer C2600, there is no reason to move to the TP-LINK Archer C3150 or any AC3100 / 3150 router, including the more expensive ASUS' RT-AC88U. Both are 4x4 routers that can provide the same rate vs. range improvement shown above

Which is a bit confusing. Either way though I can certainly see the benefit of a 4x4 radio. And in my case wanting the fastest connection for a single client, rather than fast overrall for lots of clients simultaneously, it seems a 4x4 is better than 2 x 3x3.

Actually it seems the C3150 may be available so it may not be an issue.

 

[gp-se]

Good choice with the C3150! I have similar needs as you, a fast single connection, and the TP Link delivers in that regard.

 

[TonyH]

Nice, thanks for the recommendation - those are really impressive speeds. I hadn't been looking at rates higher than AC1900 as I thought that was the maximum that a 3x3 card could handle. But maybe it's also a question of CPU limitations on some of the slower devices.

We don't have the C3150 where I will be buying from (not US) but the C2600 and C3200 are available:
http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-5506_Archer-C2600.html
http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-5506_Archer-C3200.html

I find the specs of these interesting:
The C2600 says:
5GHz Band: Up to 1733Mbps
2.4GHz Band: Up to 800Mbps
The C3200 says:
5GHz Band1: Up to 1300Mbps
5GHz Band2: Up to 1300Mbps
2.4GHz: Up to 600Mbps

So the C2600 has a single 4x4 band but the c3200 has dual 3x3 bands..... is that right?

TP-Link make relatively affordable hardware. I'd never really looked at them much as routers as the functionality and GUI is all-important, but as a "dumb" access point I don't care about that I just want the speed.

EDIT: OK have read some more now and understand a little bit better. It seems these 4x4 radios do indeed provide a performance benefit even for 2x2 (and presumably also 3x3) clients. There's some useful explanation in the "closing thoughts" in this reveiew of the C3150:

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...mimo-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=3

Keep in mind your wifi card in the device should have equally compatible specs.

 

[occamsrazor]

Keep in mind your wifi card in the device should have equally compatible specs.

Can you elaborate? Don't the SNB tests show that even 2x2 and 3x3 cards can show improved throughput with 4x4 routers compared to 3x3 routers, even if they don't achieve the 4x4 maximums? Thanks...

 

[gp-se]

Can you elaborate? Don't the SNB tests show that even 2x2 and 3x3 cards can show improved throughput with 4x4 routers compared to 3x3 routers, even if they don't achieve the 4x4 maximums? Thanks...

Yes, even old 2x2 or 3x3 devices show a benefit from 4X4. Your MacBook Pro which is 3x3 will show an improvement. I also have a 3x3 MacBook and it is much faster on the 4x4 C3150 vs my old Asus 1900P 3x3.

 

[TonyH]

Yes, even old 2x2 or 3x3 devices show a benefit from 4X4. Your MacBook Pro which is 3x3 will show an improvement. I also have a 3x3 MacBook and it is much faster on the 4x4 C3150 vs my old Asus 1900P 3x3.

One analogy may be on automobile engines, same size engine, older vs. new. The new engines are improved in many different ways. More Hp. better MPG, lighter weight, better drivability, etc.

 

[occamsrazor]

Yes, even old 2x2 or 3x3 devices show a benefit from 4X4. Your MacBook Pro which is 3x3 will show an improvement. I also have a 3x3 MacBook and it is much faster on the 4x4 C3150 vs my old Asus 1900P 3x3.

In which case I should see a sweet improvement over my Asus RT-N66U running Tomato firmware
That said I get about 35-40MB/sec (megabytes/sec) LAN file transfers with this setup already (a couple metres from the unit direct line of sight) which I think is pretty good.
Can you tell me what kind of speeds you are getting to another fast machine on your LAN?

 

[gp-se]

Doing speed tests on speedtest.net over WiFi with the TP-Link it averages 750-800mb/s, and I've seen in peak at 840mb/s a few times. Transferring from my MacBook Pro to my WD My Cloud NAS it transfers around 60-70MB/s but I think the NAS is the limiting factor. Even from the far side of my house to the router I've run some speed tests getting 400mb/s, whereas my old ASUS would do 150-180mb/s. I've been a longtime ASUS supporter, and never considered TP-Link, but I'm so glad I decided to try the C3150. Also the weird part is the Asus C3100 which uses the same hardware doesn't perform anywhere near as close to the C3150, the Asus C3100 performed almost identical to the Asus 1900P it replaced.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm upgrading my home network to a powerful pfsense wired router. Currently my wifi is provided by my main router Asus RT-N66U running tomato and some Linksys E3000s as access points. I'm looking to add a FAST access point.

My internet is slow but my main interest is in 5Ghz Wifi>LAN connectivity from my MacBook Pro with Broadcom AC1900 3x3 internal client, to various gigabit wired devices such as LAN computers and QNAP NAS etc. My MBP would be close to the access point and there would be only a couple 5Ghz clients

Believe it or not - Airport Extreme AC's work very nice as Access Points - esp with using ethernet as a backhaul...

I run this here at Casa SFX with pfSense on a netgate box - two Extremes, a Netgear GS-108T managed (lightly) switch...

Airports are getting on the older side - they're still Wave 1 802.11ac - the secondary/guest SSID is mapped out to a VLAN ID even in AP mode - which is pretty cool (VLAN1003) - and roaming between Airports has always been pretty cool - even with Android and Windows.

The only downside I've seen with the Airport AC's is that they don't have the higher Tx power permitted in the UNII-1/2 bands, but the upside is that they do DFS very well, and they're 30 dBm in 2.4GHz and UNII-3/5GHz channels...

Check eBay/Craigslist for second hand - they're showing up these days, and the Apple online store - check the Refurb section - they go for $129 there when they're available.

I know a lot of folks are Apple adverse, and that's ok - but also consider that Apple's interest in WiFi is a big deal for them, as such, their Airports actually are pretty decent.

 

[occamsrazor]

Hey GP-SE (or anyone)... any thoughts on the TP-Link C5400. Where I am it's actually not a whole lot more expensive than the C3150. But haven't been able to see any proper tests.


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[pege63]

Why waste a lot of money when you can have the same with TP-Link EAP series/UBIQUITI UNIFI AP AC series, just pick the one that fits you demands.

 

[occamsrazor]

Why waste a lot of money when you can have the same with TP-Link EAP series/UBIQUITI UNIFI AP AC series, just pick the one that fits you demands.

I don't see any in the EAP series that would offer same speeds as C3150 or C5400... is there? EAP330 is about same price as C3150 where I am.


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[pege63]

I don't see any in the EAP series that would offer same speeds as C3150 or C5400... is there? EAP330 is about same price as C3150 where I am.v Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What use is that for you if you dont have clients that support this speeds, most portable devices have no more than 1x1, 2x2, very few 3x3. Or if you go for WIFI USB adapters like i have - Asus PCE-AC88, Asus PCE-AC68 , Asus USB-AC68, D-Link DWA-192

 

[occamsrazor]

What use is that for you if you dont have clients that support this speeds, most portable devices have no more than 1x1, 2x2, very few 3x3. Or if you go for WIFI USB adapters like i have - Asus PCE-AC88, Asus PCE-AC68 , Asus USB-AC68, D-Link DWA-192

As per the first post in this thread my MacBook Pro has an inbuilt Broadcom 3x3 client adapter. While it is not 4x4, the testing of the 4x4 access points, and also GP-SE's experience, seems to show an increased throughput even for 3x3 clients compared to using 3x3 access points.

 

[pege63]

Yes if you believe on that so go for it.

 

[occamsrazor]

Yes if you believe on that so go for it.

I have no interest in "believing" in things that aren't true, I have an open mind. But there seems to be a factual basis and real-world tests indicating these routers achieve good speeds, even with 3x3 clients, such as here:

http://wegotserved.com/2016/07/22/review-tp-link-archer-c5400-router/3/

If you have a reason to think the speed figures people have tested aren't correct I would be genuinely interested to know.

Also, what advantage would something like an EAP330 or Ubiquiti AC Pro give? The SNB tests do not rate the AC Pro very highly in terms of pure speed...


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