Upgrade from Asus RT-AC66 to something better

[Roadspill]

I'm currently running an Asus RT-AC66U with Current Merlin Firmware (378.55), I would like suggestions on a good upgrade.

House:
- Just under 1000 sq ft Apartment
- 2 Story Townhouse layout
--> Layout: EAST SIDE <> CENTER <> WEST SIDE
--> Upstairs Layout: Bedroom #1 (Master) <> Bathroom/Hallway/Staircase <> Bedroom #2 (Spare)
--> Downstairs: Kitchen/Half Bath <> Dining Room <connected> Living Room

** Cannot run bundled wires through walls.
** Cannot cut large holes to run new RJ45 Outlets throughout the apartment.
** Cannot run to much exposed wires as I'd get killed by my Wife. I would be able to get away with it a little inside of wall color painted cable managers.

Upgrade Requirements:
#1) Gaming Performance
#2) Wireless-AC (Built-in or Seperate AP)
#3) Stable
#4) **OPTIONAL** 3rd Party Firmware to enhance Stability and Performance
#5) **OPTIONAL** Ability to Automate - Cronjob, etc (Reboot, File Downloads, etc)

I'm willing to separate out functionality and purchase a Wired Only Router, and a Wireless-AC Access Point (Eventually 2 with this method).

It was suggested to pick up a Mikrotik router and many of them seem a little overkill, but I'm willing to take the suggestion, but keep in mind I need something now and would just like to get a better solution up and running today. I will then look at putting some money together to get a nicer one like the CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+PC because of the no moving parts feature. Not keen on really loud fan noise that comes from many of the Rack Mount units with fans. (I can always install some Rack Cooling fans that are silent if need be. But I would then probably use the AC66 and New Purchased router as an AP from the Future Mikrotik/similar router purchase.


Currently I have no Network Rack and would be purchasing a small unit to house the the Network Components as I build up a nice Rack of equipment.


Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Please leave equipment/model suggestions and why you choose that particular one.

Currently an Asus Fanboy, but willing to jumpship for good equipment.

Corrected: for some reason it autocorrected to AC66, when it was supposed to be AC68. Sorry for that.

 

[L&LD]

Depending on where you located it, the RT-AC56U or higher (RT-AC68U or RT-AC3200) will be an upgrade over the long in the tooth RT-AC66U you now have (almost identical hardware to the equally old RT-N66U).

But, at this point in time, I would be more inclined to wait for the next wave of AC class routers from Asus instead. If you can wait a few more months or so.

Either way, with RMerlin supported routers and with the RMerlin forks such as john9527 and hggomes, the features you want will be hard to get (easily) with the Mikrotik or other business class equipment you seem to be considering (and the new and unreleased RT-AC2600 and RT-AC5300 is, if I can read between the lines properly from what RMerlin has been allowed to post, while still being under NDA).

 

[Trip]

You may want to think twice about MikroTik unless you're already well versed in RouterOS, or have enough knowledge/skills to assimilate the 'Tik way of doing things. You certainly won't get any help from MikroTik themselves when it comes to implementation or Q&A. Same goes for Ubiquiti. Just not built into either of their pricing models.

If that doesn't phase you, and you want silent and fiber-friendly, how about the EdgeRouter X-SFP? You get all the EdgeMax advantages (Google them, see UBNT's website, etc.) with SFP in a silent enclosure, and soldered-flash storage, so no USB flash issues as with the ERL/PoE-5, and it'll do 250-ish MB/s of fq_codel QoS before breaking a sweat -- good as a simple way to squash your bandwidth contention and latency issues, if they were the fault of the router before.

For wifi, perhaps stick to Asus here and do a 68U, or even another 66. The more similar the chipsets/radios in your wifi setup, the better, I find.

 

[Roadspill]

I ended up just picking up a 68P from Best Buy for less than anyone is offering it for + shipping. Price matched Amazon against a 68U.

 

[Roadspill]

But either way this will do for now until next year when much of the AC lineup changes for the better.

 

[L&LD]

The RT-AC68P is not worth more than an RT-AC68U, higher clocked processor not withstanding.

If you paid close to the $180 price that I just looked up on Amazon.com, I think you paid $80 too much for a few months of use (vs. an RT-AC56U).

Either way, I hope it meets and exceeds your expectations.

 

[Roadspill]

Well value wise at least I got them to price match. If it was $200 like they were asking I wouldn't do it. I paid $174 so it wasn't that bad. And if I do upgrade the router to something like was suggested then I would use the AC68P and the AC66U as AP's at either end of the house.


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[L&LD]

Well value wise at least I got them to price match. If it was $200 like they were asking I wouldn't do it. I paid $174 so it wasn't that bad. And if I do upgrade the router to something like was suggested then I would use the AC68P and the AC66U as AP's at either end of the house.


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Of course, you can reuse what you have. But would you really need 3 wireless AP's in 1000SqFt?

 

[alarsen77]

I'm also considering an upgrade from my RT-N66u I'm thinking about picking up the RT-AC87U at Best Buy tomorrow and trying it out since I'm an elite member I have a 30 day return policy. I would like to get the 88u when it comes out but it's probably going to be over $300 I'd guess and right now I can get the AC87U for $225 at Best Buy.

I know a lot of people say they have issues with the 5g but my dad has had one for a couple months now and it's working great. Another reason I like the 30 day return policy. But I'm hoping firmware updates will fix the problem. Besides my current router is also dropping wireless a bit too much now. So it's time for a change I really don't want to wait a few months for the AC88U

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[Roadspill]

I wouldn't be using 3AP's.

Recap:
-- Purchase new Wireless-AC Router
----> Use AC66 as AP along with new router.

-- Purchase Wired-Only solution
----> Use AC66 as AP
----> Purchase second AP for range extension to part of house and deck with weak signal.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm currently running an Asus RT-AC66U with Current Merlin Firmware (378.55), I would like suggestions on a good upgrade.

Personally, I would wait until Jan 2016 and see what filters out from 2015-Q4 to be honest - you've got an OK router/AP setup now, but as we go into Q4, there's going to be a lot of stuff thrown out into the market...

Some of it good, some of it great!, and some, perhaps not so good...

 

[Roadspill]

Well I needed something today to replace the AC66 as it has been flaking quite a bit even with Stock Asus Firmware.

So I'm going to be sending it in to Squaretrade under warranty and they will be cutting me a check for the value of the old router which is $7 more than what I paid for the AC68P.

So I'm fine with the fact that I just purchased something and got $7 back in my pocket that will easily be replaced sometime next year.

Really the key to the purchase is that I need a 2nd AP to cover parts of the house that aren't being covered due to interior and exterior walls as well as a whole floor. So it's not a wasted purchase to be honest as it is one of the faster consumer solutions currently available today. So looking at current equipment in the home now, it won't matter to much between what I have because the newest tech is my 2014 Macbook Pro. So tech utilization isn't there unless I purchase separate Adaptors (If they ever come out with MiMo USB Adaptors)

 

[sfx2000]

If you've got some money in your pocket, and need something right now - the RT-AC68 series is a good bet if you're comfortable with the ASUS UI...

Knowing that there is a RT-AC88 sometime in the future...

 

[sfx2000]

I would just suggest to overlook the RT-AC3200, as for most folks, not much benefit, and the RT-87U, well, it's a good performer when it works, but the threads here have many observations and questions about stability and promised features (never delivered) -

Hence the recommendation for the relatively solid RT-AC68 series - it's a good AC1900 class Router/AP with strong 3rd party and OEM support.

 

[Roadspill]

I never really considered anything other than the AC68 series based on a lot of the forums responses, I just wanted to brainstorm to see if I should bite the bullet for something now and use it as an AP or look to the future and suffer through the problems. It's not fun having to reset the chromecasts all the time or the router and the chromecasts or the quality degradation on any sort of streams on any device.

 

[alarsen77]

I know the AC-87 has its issues but is it something we think a firmware revision might fix soon? Cause as of now it's only $25 more than the AC68


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[Roadspill]

I think the biggest thing is that I needed something today so I decided on getting the AC68P as it would offer what I needed today, and then I could utilize it as an AP in the future when the newer solutions start to roll out.

But still, you need devices that support the tech to fully benefit anyways, so 2016 may just be bleeding edge solutions for tech that just isn't there yet in my household.

There is only like 6 devices that support it currently in the house, all the rest are N150 and N300, so even if 2016 offered some crazy specs, nothing would really benefit, so maybe the AC68 is the the one... Who knows.

 

[Roadspill]

Between the AC68 and the AC87, the AC68 wins on just about every front from what I can tell. But even then, why should I sit back and get subpar capabilities for a device that costs more than something that we know outperforms almost all Consumer Wireless AC routers out there. There may be a few out there that work better, but that is far and few between.