is my router too old...need suggestion on new

[T2urtle]

I bought an new modem beginning of the year in attempts to increase speeds. Moto Surfboard SB6121.

My 1100sq ft house only has main floor and basement. Outlet is in the rear... so thats were my modem sits and its hooked up to my old trusty WRT54g with DDWRT software. I had trouble getting signal to the basement front of house and someone mentioned i can run another router/hardline and make an access point/bridge. So i did picked up a linksys 160n V3 and put DD wrt on that.

My wifi has been perfectly fine and untouch for the past 8 years aside from new modem. No issues, speed test got me 12-22mb/s in the basement and 22-28 hardlined to the WRT54g.

Comcast sends me a letter saying they upgraded my BLAST service which was 50mb/s to now 75mb/s, i check my billing and they are billing me for BLAST PLUS which is 90-125mb/s.

So i thought to myself maybe i should check how fast the speeds are going in, I hooked up the PC to the modem straight and pulled 90mb/s, hooked up the WRT54g and it pulled 25mb/s.

AFAIK, all settings are optimize, its been a while and i'm just a average home PC tech guy. Its clear to me the router is the bottle neck, would you guys agree?

If so can someone recommend me a router? Ive seen/heard people claim that the new 6 antenna guys are so strong that it can easily cover a 2500 sqft house no problem. If this is the case i could just delete my 2 router setup for something like that. If its not strong enough thats fine, but an overall increase speed is nice. I was happy getting 20s but if i'm paying for 90mb/s i better least get 50mb/s

- Budget under $150, cheaper the better.
- Reliable (both my old routers needed nothing but a simple power cycle every year or so)
- covers main level and basement.


All my googling and TP LINK C7 keeps showing up and a good one but then i see post about people saying its horrible, overheats and has a temper. The Nighthawk seems to be KING but not in my price range.

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Arche...=1437353645&sr=1-1&keywords=tp-link+archer+c7

 

[boomerang]

My $.02. Based on some recommendations here I purchased an Asus RT-AC66U. It replaced a Netgear WNR3500LV2 that had a flaky wan port. Wireless with the Netgear was great. Good coverage, good speeds.

The Asus wireless slows down over time. I must reboot it regularly. Late last week I installed beta firmware from the Asus site and it appears to be better. Instead of having to reboot it every other day, I have not yet had to reboot it. I'm crossing my fingers.

 

[mcveigh]

The C7 gets good reviews around here. I'm in a similar boat. My faithful WRT54G has a broken antenna now (thanks kids!) and before that it seems like i'm getting more freezes in downloading anything.
I think it's time to upgrade and the C7 is the #1 contender.

 

[lazybedone]

Haven't heard of that Modem ever since. But once you've been successful in installing a new modem then try to use vpn to be safe. It is more reliable and could assure that you can open your favorite website from other countries.

 

[smitbret]

I have been using the C7 for about 2 years without an issue. Had a 2nd that I used in a wireless AC bridge for awhile, too. It has been rock solid for me. Most of the issues were early on with the v1. It had some trouble with Apple devices but most of that was resolved with v2 and v3. There are some features on the more expensive routers and their interfaces are better but nothing that I have missed

 

[Sabrewings]

I had the same problem with my WRT54G. I wanted to use it in place of the Verizon FIOS router but the most it can throughput is about 25Mbps event on Cat 5. Just a CPU speed issue.

I upgraded to a WRT1900AC.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

I have an Archer C9 with DD-WRT installed and working perfectly. Very strong signal, great speeds, Gigabit WAN, Gigabit LAN, etc. Review here, currently $140 @ Amazon, $150 @ Newegg (currently bundled with free 1TB Ext HDD), but I got mine for $130 a few months ago.

FWIW, the original C7 was pretty much a dog, but the updated version is much better.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I'm going to join in on this thread as I am looking for a new wireless router as well.

I have the Motorola SB6141 modem so I know I can get pretty high speeds if necessary so definitely want a good router to complement that.

I'm currently using a Netgear WGR614v10 which is overall ok, but I sometimes don't get great connection speeds or signal strength via wifi in my house, thus the need for a stronger router.

 

[T2urtle]

I might gamble on a refurbished nighthawk on Newegg for $120 as I have Amex rewards for $10 off. No ship/tax for me.

I'm going to try to center this router at the house and see if I can get coverage everywhere.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

I might gamble on a refurbished nighthawk on Newegg for $120 as I have Amex rewards for $10 off. No ship/tax for me.

I'm going to try to center this router at the house and see if I can get coverage everywhere.

The Nighthawk is a fine choice, though a slight gamble with a refurb. The good news is you can flash DD-WRT or Tomato.

 

[T2urtle]

Seems like routers have a higher rate of failure these days or 10 years ago they had a horrible review system or no system.

I'm sure when I bought my wrt54g 10 years ago, everyone raved about and no one mentioned a DOA or other bad things. But now every router has like higher rates of DOA or stuff crapping out after 2 months. My 160n v3 was a referb unit that cost me like $20, still strong.

Just pulled the trigger on the nighthawk. Maybe Amex will extend my warranty as well.

 

[boomerang]

Seems like routers have a higher rate of failure these days or 10 years ago they had a horrible review system or no system.

I'm sure when I bought my wrt54g 10 years ago, everyone raved about and no one mentioned a DOA or other bad things. But now every router has like higher rates of DOA or stuff crapping out after 2 months. My 160n v3 was a referb unit that cost me like $20, still strong.

Just pulled the trigger on the nighthawk. Maybe Amex will extend my warranty as well.

I used to exclusively use and recommend Netgear products. The one I just replaced lasted 11 months. Still under warranty but what went through my head is how long would a replacement last? The product is EOL too. I didn't bother.

I've got a refrigerator that is (knock on wood) still going strong after 28 years. A friend just dropped $3600 on a new one and the sales guy told him to expect to get 7 or 8 years out of it.

Can we expect the same out of a $150 or $300 router? Only time will tell.

 

[tsupersonic]

I've been using the Archer C7 for about 8 months now, got it for $40 on Amazon. It's been rock solid - no connections dropped, and range is decent. I'm in an apartment (about 900 sq.ft), and the range extends to my car in the parking lot. I haven't seen any overheating symptoms. The only thing I don't like about it is the management interface - it's ugly, but functional.

 

[JackMDS]

Under $150.

This - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320115
If you can effort fe $$ more - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320174


Why? Because they work very well with No excuses.

 

[ultimatebob]

I'm suprised that Comcast didn't give you one of those new cable modems with built-in 802.11ac. The WiFi on that unit isn't half bad, but they seem to block some ports on that model that make setting up VPN connections a pain.

 

[T2urtle]

I'm suprised that Comcast didn't give you one of those new cable modems with built-in 802.11ac. The WiFi on that unit isn't half bad, but they seem to block some ports on that model that make setting up VPN connections a pain.

I don't rent their stuff. Not at $5 or $10 a month.

Plus they own our area so they are my only option. It's not like I have a choice, been with them for years so I came up on top.

Wrt54g have any value now? Figures it caps out around 25mbs and that's about max u verse speeds.

 

[s44]

Wrt54g have any value now?

No. You should have replaced it with your WRT160N as your primary router already anyway.

 

[ccbadd]

I upgraded my router to a Ubiquity Edgerouter Lite about a year ago. Only time it gets rebooted is for a software update and I've only done that twice. It does not have Wifi. I look at it like I do the cable modem, just plug it in and let it run, you will completely forget about it and it can route up to around a gb so bandwidth shouldn't be an issue any time soon. It is more complicated to set up but comes with a couple of scripts to handle the most common setups to make it easier. Wifi routers just are not anywhere near as reliable or durable. I do use an Asus AC66 and AC68 for access points.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Is there any real benefit/difference between AC1750 and AC1900?

Obviously AC1900 can achieve higher speeds, but generally does cost more. Other than higher speeds, would it make much difference if my internet speeds are anywhere between 30-200mpbs?

 

[smitbret]

Is there any real benefit/difference between AC1750 and AC1900?

Obviously AC1900 can achieve higher speeds, but generally does cost more. Other than higher speeds, would it make much difference if my internet speeds are anywhere between 30-200mpbs?

Quite literally, no. AC1750 is AC1300 + N450. AC1900 is AC1300 + N600.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Quite literally, no. AC1750 is AC1300 + N450. AC1900 is AC1300 + N600.

I see, thanks for the response. Looks like it wouldn't make much sense them for me to spend more on an AC1900 given that it would not provide me with any real additional benefits. I'll probably look for a AC1750 as that seems to be a better price point during sales.

 

[therealnickdanger]

I see, thanks for the response. Looks like it wouldn't make much sense them for me to spend more on an AC1900 given that it would not provide me with any real additional benefits. I'll probably look for a AC1750 as that seems to be a better price point during sales.

Not so fast. If you have AC clients, then go for the biggest/best AC router. But if you mostly have N clients or B/G, then get the router that gives you more N bandwidth. It really just depends on what your clients need.

 

[smitbret]

Not so fast. If you have AC clients, then go for the biggest/best AC router. But if you mostly have N clients or B/G, then get the router that gives you more N bandwidth. It really just depends on what your clients need.

An AC client would see absolutely no benefit from an AC1900 router vs. an AC1750 router. The difference between the two is on the N standard.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Not so fast. If you have AC clients, then go for the biggest/best AC router. But if you mostly have N clients or B/G, then get the router that gives you more N bandwidth. It really just depends on what your clients need.

I see, good point. I'm really only running a few iphones (5C and 6's), PS3, and couple laptops. My desktop PC and PS4 are all hardwired.

I don't think any of those devices use AC, but I guess I better double check before buying anything.

 

[T2urtle]

All my stuff is N. Minus maybe iPhone6 and note4. And my printer is on G.

Router showed up but can't install til monday