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Which good router for my application? AC68U or R7000?

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KeithGP

New Around Here
Help,

I currently have an Asus RT-N66U. I consistently have 30+ connections vying for bandwidth. When realizing that my Samsung Note 4 and my wife's iPhone 6 have wireless ac capability, I started researching ac routers. It seems to be the AC68U or R7000 over even the newer AC87U or R7000. That being said, I want to demote my current N66U to an AP for upstairs (3200 sq ft home).

- Would the N66U work better with the same manufacturer AC68U over getting the R7000?
- I'm not familiar with Netgear firmware and from research, it seems to be the consensus to immediately put 3rd party Asuswrt-Merlin or Tomato on the R7000 when I buy it. I have no problem doing that.

What's best for my application with this list of connections:

Samsung Note 4 - AC capable
IPhone 6 - AC capable
IPhone 6 - AC capable
Iphone 5s - N capable
Samsung S3 - N capable
Samsung S4 - N capable

IPad 4 - N capable
IPad 2 - N capable
Samsung Galaxy Note - AC capable

5 Foscam wireless IP cameras - N capable
Samsung TV - wired
Toshiba TV - wired
Slingbox -wired
2 Chamberlain garage openers - N capable
2 Honeywell internet thermostats - unknown
Vera home control - wired
Vera home security alarm - wired

4 home computers - wired
4 laptops - N capable and will be upgraded to AC

Thanks,
Keith
 
All 3 will do well but there are just some subtle differences. AC87 has av protection but its better to get a UTM for that.

What you should do is keep using the asus n-66u as an access point for server N + legacy clients and the new AC router to serve AC clients.

The choice between the AC87 or not is whether or not you want MU-MIMO and even than im not sure if its enabled. Netgear do make good hardware but their firmwares arent as good as ASUS.
 
I would consider testing the RT-AC3200 in your situation.

If where you buy has a good return policy, buy the top three (RT-AC3200, RT-AC-68U and the R7000 with XVortex fork of RMerlin firmware) and decide by actual use at your peak usage times.

One is bound to be better overall than the others and with the amount of devices you have, I'd be leaning towards the RT-AC3200 sight unseen.

And, you may have no need for an AP with one of these new models.
 
Seems like performance of the AC3200 was not as good as the AC86 or AC87 for the price. Also, seems like the AC87 wasn't as mature as the others.
 
price/performance the mikrotik CCR1036 is way better than any consumer router even in an unfair test of the CCR using software NAT and the consumer router using hardware NAT and you can even attach a USB wifi stick on it to make it into an AP as well.

Its not the price/performance you should look at its whether or not it suits your requirement and budget best.

The AC3200 has 2 5 Ghz radios, really good if you have a lot of 5 Ghz devices that arent MU-MIMO. On the other hand the AC87U is only beneficial if you have multiple MU-MIMO clients. The AC87U is faster if all 5Ghz clients were MU-MIMO and you had at least 4 connected at a time.

The AC3200 has more 3 streams per 5Ghz radio so while it cant combine and use all at once, you can connect 2x3stream clients and get full wifi bandwidth for both, or divide how you want wifi to be distribute among your clients. The speed of the AC3200 wifi is governed by the slowest device connected to the radio that other devices connect to.

In every other aspect they are about the same even in CPU, extra CPU features, firmware features. The AC3200 has faster tiny CPU accelerators compared to the AC87 and a better planned architecture that doesnt cause you trouble between using the 2nd port and wifi at the same time.
 
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price/performance the mikrotik CCR1036 is way better than any consumer router...

In every other aspect they are about the same even in CPU, extra CPU features, firmware features. The AC3200 has faster tiny CPU accelerators compared to the AC87 and a better planned architecture that doesnt cause you trouble between using the 2nd port and wifi at the same time.

I have never even heard of Miktrotik, so I will look it up. Are you stating that for my application I should not even look at the AC68U or R7000 and more of the AC3200 if I was going the consumer route? I don't believe that I have ANY MU-MIMO devices in that list of items that I posted.
 
Enterprise-ish gear certainly sounds impressive in scenarios like this, but beyond shock value it's typically not a great recommendation; the inherent complexity and entirely different support model are pretty much a non-starter for most consumers, even most networking "enthusiasts", and this case appears no exception. Sure, MT may win quite often on features-per-dollar in a whole bunch of use cases, but lets see the actual context here. :)

I'd stick with the platform you know and do an AC68U with whichever firmware runs best for you. Perhaps start with RMerlin and move to DD-WRT (Kong) or Tomato if the need arises?
 
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I apologize for hijacking your thread Keith but Im also in a similar situation in choosing a router.

Im currently with Windstream at 24/2. I've only got a couple AC compatible devices...here's my list of devices currently.

Galaxy S6
Note 4
IPhone 6
2 Asus laptops
PS4 (2.4ghz band)
Xbox One (2.4 and 5ghz bands supported)
2 Xbox 360s
I pad mini 3
Nvidia Shield Android TV
Toshiba Satellite (about 2 years old)

I'm currently using what Windstream provided me which I believe is a Comtech. Not sure of model. But it's a combo setup. It's about 6 years old i think.

My question now is, would it be more ideal for me to get a similar Ac1900 router as KeithGP? I'm maxed out with what windstream can provide, so I'd have to switch ISPs to increase the speed of my service. Would getting a new router be ideal in my situation?
 
My question now is, would it be more ideal for me to get a similar Ac1900 router as KeithGP? I'm maxed out with what windstream can provide, so I'd have to switch ISPs to increase the speed of my service. Would getting a new router be ideal in my situation?

Well, considering your client load and potential applications - any AC1900 class router is likely to do a decent job of things... really don't need much more for now.

Recommendations - Linksys WRT1900ac, Apple Airport Extreme AC, Netgear R7000, Asus RT-68U - they're all good, and you'll find a decent group of knowledgeable folks here if you have questions.
 
Well, considering your client load and potential applications - any AC1900 class router is likely to do a decent job of things... really don't need much more for now.

Recommendations - Linksys WRT1900ac, Apple Airport Extreme AC, Netgear R7000, Asus RT-68U - they're all good, and you'll find a decent group of knowledgeable folks here if you have questions.
Thank you sfx2000. I've completely gone over the router charts and ranker lists and product reviews...but I'm still learning, and figured I'd just ask before I just go all out on an AC3200 router when I'd be right at home with a AC1900. Thanks again.
 
If you have many many mixed devices than the AC3200 is a good choice whereas if you dont have that many wifi devices the AC1900 would be enough.

Or you could get 2 AC1900 and spread them out. It really depends on your coverage, use and requirements. I suggest either getting an AC3200 if it covers your entire house or get 2 AC1900 routers (you can mix if you want to such as getting the R7000 and AC68U).

I was merely teasing using mikrotik as an example relating to why you shouldnt go for price/performance rather go for what fits your requirements best within your budget mainly because you're unlikely going to max out a single core of its 36 cores.
 
If you have many many mixed devices than the AC3200 is a good choice whereas if you dont have that many wifi devices the AC1900 would be enough.

Or you could get 2 AC1900 and spread them out. It really depends on your coverage, use and requirements. I suggest either getting an AC3200 if it covers your entire house or get 2 AC1900 routers (you can mix if you want to such as getting the R7000 and AC68U).

EDIT:
Sorry, disregard my message...I wasn't sure if you were replying to me or the OP. Kinda selfish on my part. Haha!

I've got about 6 devices that can utilize the 5ghz band, with the Nvidia Shield Console and Xbox One being the main 2. The others are just smartphones and a tablet (assuming the new ipad supports it). The smartphones are continuously connected when at home. And I have 6 other devices that wouldn't use 5ghz.

I could understand getting an AC1900 router like sfx2000 recommended due to not all devices are run at the same time during the week. But the weekend is a different story. My house is roughly 1900 sqft, 3 stories counting the basement. To add to it, I'm currently thinking of getting a Synology NAS in the near future as well.
 
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EDIT:
Sorry, disregard my message...I wasn't sure if you were replying to me or the OP. Kinda selfish on my part. Haha!

I've got about 6 devices that can utilize the 5ghz band, with the Nvidia Shield Console and Xbox One being the main 2. The others are just smartphones and a tablet (assuming the new ipad supports it). The smartphones are continuously connected when at home. And I have 6 other devices that wouldn't use 5ghz.

I could understand getting an AC1900 router like sfx2000 recommended due to not all devices are run at the same time during the week. But the weekend is a different story. My house is roughly 1900 sqft, 3 stories counting the basement. To add to it, I'm currently thinking of getting a Synology NAS in the near future as well.
you can go with 2xAC1900 to cover the area or you can go with 2 stream AC wifi instead. Make sure to wire them together not bridge them. For practicality go with 1 first than 2. ! of those APs can practically handle 10 or a bit more clients using the network at the same time before things get too slow.
 
you can go with 2xAC1900 to cover the area or you can go with 2 stream AC wifi instead. Make sure to wire them together not bridge them. For practicality go with 1 first than 2. ! of those APs can practically handle 10 or a bit more clients using the network at the same time before things get too slow.
I decided to go with 1 Netgear R7000 for now. Would it be ideal to get a new DSL modem as well? Or just set the current comtrend combo to modem only?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
I still haven't jumped in yet because I received that same refurb offer on the AC87R. The prices seem to fluctuate daily. I am scrounging through the threads now seeing if the AC87U's growing pains with 5GHz has been sorted out yet. That "seems" to be a better deal than the AC68 for the price but I see lots of reports that the router is not mature and even the DD-WRT is not helping it yet.
 
I still haven't jumped in yet because I received that same refurb offer on the AC87R. The prices seem to fluctuate daily. I am scrounging through the threads now seeing if the AC87U's growing pains with 5GHz has been sorted out yet. That "seems" to be a better deal than the AC68 for the price but I see lots of reports that the router is not mature and even the DD-WRT is not helping it yet.
I'm currently having zero issues with my netgear r7000 in my home at 1900 sqft..3 stories. I've got the router set as my wireless access point upstairs in the master bedroom and the basement still has an amazing signal.

I'm just on the stock firmware for now and no hiccups, and just installed a synology nas. But I also don't have as many connections as you. I'm only at 13 connected devices I believe.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

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