Looking for a new Router..

Chess

Golden Member
Mar 5, 2001
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I have a mom and pop ISP (Metrocast now Atlantic Broadband) and they suck ha...

Anywho I have 150meg package with them, and the Asus RT-AC66R is basically on its last leg...

Therefore I have been doing some research and I am trying to determine which is the best play...

Asus AC-5300
Netgear Nighthawk X6
Asus AC-RT3200
Go Mesh ? If so suggestions...

I do alot of gaming, streaming (2 console at all times, netflix, youtube, streaming media...
I have an attached NAS as well, so I need GB ports as well.

Thanks for any and all inputs !
 

XavierMace

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2013
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I'm only using them as AP's, no routing, but I've been very pleased with my TP-Link Deco kit. Decent price, super easy setup, great speeds anywhere in the house now.
 

Chess

Golden Member
Mar 5, 2001
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I'm only using them as AP's, no routing, but I've been very pleased with my TP-Link Deco kit. Decent price, super easy setup, great speeds anywhere in the house now.
Tracking... I appreciate it...

I think I want to stick with Asus..
 

mxnerd

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2007
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I don't play games, so I'm still on paltry 150Mbps 802.11n TP-Link travel router flashed with DD-WRT, and most devices are wired except smartphones.

The question is, why do you think your AC-66R is on its last leg?

The Wi-Fi thing is, it depends a lot on the environment.

One model that works great for one person probably will perform badly for another.
 

Chess

Golden Member
Mar 5, 2001
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I don't play games, so I'm still on paltry 150Mbps 802.11n TP-Link travel router flashed with DD-WRT, and most devices are wired except smartphones.

The question is, why do you think your AC-66R is on its last leg?

The Wi-Fi thing is, it depends a lot on the environment.

One model that works great for one person probably will perform badly for another.

flaky, etc etc..
 

Chess

Golden Member
Mar 5, 2001
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Yeah, "etc etc" is the worse for Routers. o_O


:cool:

LOL.. I know I should have written more info !

BTW @JackMDS thanks for the windows help much appreciated...

Its losing connection, firmware hasnt been updated for the specific model in a while. I'm not getting full coverage in my 6k sq ft home... It was great for my townhouse... now its another ball game.. It doesnt do AIMesh... etc..

I was trying to stick with bestblows because i have 300 in gift cards from there... i try to avoid the place unless I can get a price match off amazon, newegg, or b&h....
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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Its losing connection, firmware hasnt been updated for the specific model in a while.
Specifically, have you tried Shibby Tomato (138 or 140) on that router? Might have a change of mind. (Or might need to change the power brick, if you've had it for longer than 2 years. Those do "go", and when they do, often, the symptoms are: "flaky" router, needs to rebooted more and more often, losing wifi coverage / signal strength, etc. A replacement power brick off of ebay usually does the trick, although the "new" ones, that aren't Chinese clones, can be somewhat expensive. But still cheaper than a new router.)
 

XavierMace

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Apr 20, 2013
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correct the 3100 and the 5300 do the AI Mesh... I was just curious what folks thoughts are...

I've been reading the 86U is worth every penny and its WAYYY cheaper than the 5300

The 86U is $200. For the size of your house, I'd personally probably want at least 4 access points. Personally I stopped drinking the Asus Koolaid years ago. I haven't found their products to be any better than their competition, their support sucks, and their pricing is high. AIMesh is just a marketing ploy to get you to overpay by buying full (expensive) routers when all you're looking for is an access point. Get a quality router (IE an Ubiquity Edge Router) and an expandable mesh wifi kit that supports and ethernet backhaul. Since you don't need WiFi on your router at that point, pretty much any router will do. You should be able to do the whole setup for $300 at BestBuy. If 3 AP's aren't enough, just add more as needed.
 

Chess

Golden Member
Mar 5, 2001
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Specifically, have you tried Shibby Tomato (138 or 140) on that router? Might have a change of mind. (Or might need to change the power brick, if you've had it for longer than 2 years. Those do "go", and when they do, often, the symptoms are: "flaky" router, needs to rebooted more and more often, losing wifi coverage / signal strength, etc. A replacement power brick off of ebay usually does the trick, although the "new" ones, that aren't Chinese clones, can be somewhat expensive. But still cheaper than a new router.)

I am running merlin's firmware right now.... so we shall see how that goes ya know.... I am going to do some extensive testing on it
 

Chess

Golden Member
Mar 5, 2001
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The 86U is $200. For the size of your house, I'd personally probably want at least 4 access points. Personally I stopped drinking the Asus Koolaid years ago. I haven't found their products to be any better than their competition, their support sucks, and their pricing is high. AIMesh is just a marketing ploy to get you to overpay by buying full (expensive) routers when all you're looking for is an access point. Get a quality router (IE an Ubiquity Edge Router) and an expandable mesh wifi kit that supports and ethernet backhaul. Since you don't need WiFi on your router at that point, pretty much any router will do. You should be able to do the whole setup for $300 at BestBuy. If 3 AP's aren't enough, just add more as needed.

@XavierMace I totally get it and I totally understand....

I've been debating with and toying with the Mesh products, and honestly NOT AI Mesh in particular... I know there are a ton of them out there...between googles, netgears, eero, tplink etc...

I want to have gigbit ports for SAN/NAS, desktop pc, laptop etc.. since its by everything why not ? I do have a 10/100 switch that I could just use... I prefer to have 2-3 ports in the all in one mesh setup...

I am all ears if you have a suggestion on a particular one.. I havent dug deep into it yet...
 

Chess

Golden Member
Mar 5, 2001
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With the Ubiquiti: No desktop software, I am assuming web gui ? or am I reading that incorrectly ?
 

mxnerd

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Jul 6, 2007
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@mxnerd whats your experience with this ? Thanks man
No experience. It's their claim.

Reviews at BestBuy & Amazon were very good.

You can add more Mesh Point if not enough.

But 20,000 sqft coverage claim should cover your 6000 sqft townhouse very well for it's router + 2 mesh point package.

==

Why do you need desktop software?

==

Review by John (Review title: Best in the game) who bought the package at BestBuy said he has two story house and an acre yard. He said slowest speed anywhere in the yard is 90 Mbps.

==

A very comprehensive review. It does come with smartphone APP, and you can do a lot of things on main router's touch screen UI.

 
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XavierMace

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With the Ubiquiti: No desktop software, I am assuming web gui ? or am I reading that incorrectly ?

I've never met somebody unhappy with their Ubiquiti gear. Was planning on going that route, but the TP-Link kit was on sale and I've been happy with their stuff so I went that route. TP-Link's setup is a mobile app, which I'm perfectly fine with. Install the app, plug in the AP, set it up from your phone while standing next to it, rinse, repeat for each AP.
 
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simas

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Oct 16, 2005
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I posted this here https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/new-home-setup.2535846/ - it applies.
I use primarily Ubiquiti and happy with it.

Questions for you
- what NAS? does your NAS has SPF+ ports (QNAP ,etc) ?
- how many floors you want service on (including basement if any).
- do you have any wiring already in the walls? if not, do you want to add it?

Otherwise
- Wifi is shared bandwidth convenience technology for mobile devices. not something you want to use unless you must , if you care about speed and reliability.
- large house/ multiple levels => multiple access points , not a single device regardless of what marketers say. physics does not lie (distance, barriers, etc)
- mesh is ok if you must do it (zero cables, terrified is running cables), otherwise do normal wiring
- isolate functions (route/firewall, switching, storage), match device to a need (i.e. you are not attaching a usb stick into a "router" and caling it as "NAS"). let router route/apply firewall rules, switch do switching, NAS do whatever you want it to do, etc.


write down goals, set up a budget, fund, execute


"

Set up a budget , write out the list of goals , rank them
- use conduits
- CAT6 is fine no need to cheap out on much older tech here . the wire will serve you longer then other components
- write out the list of functional pieces you want to have, i.e.
router and/or firewall
switch
wireless access
centralized storage, server or NAS
etc
- figure out how you will cover the list above, i am a big fan of having things do what they are designed for vs going for crappy all in one junk that you can not upgrade/replace . Let router route, switch do switching ,etc.
- set up centralized location now for writing (where, how, what power it would get). rack/mini-rack for equipment, patch panel for wiring,
onto specific components
- TPlink 24 port is fine. no need to go lower than this port count now. However, if I were doing this now I would have went for this https://www.servethehome.com/mikrotik-css326-24g-2srm-review-cheap-24x-1gbe-2x-10gbe/ or the ubiquity equivalent. The one from mikrotik has SFP+ ports and if you want , you can hook it up with say QNAP NAS going over SPF+ . Are you planning to centralize your media?
- for the router you linked, what is the ISP you are planning to use in terms of up/down speeds? would you do any form of packet inspection? do you need multiple WAN ports (dual IPS, failover/ load balancing ,etc) . i currently use mikrotik hex3 which is similar price range and would scale up higher than what you link. unifi has its own equivalents in the unifi security gateway (USG/USG Pro) if you want convenience solution
- is this a single level house? if not, you may want an access point on each floor.
Summary - set up a budget , write out the list of goals , rank them
"
 
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sonitravel09

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Jun 25, 2014
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I have a wireless Linksys router for my NTL connection with four wired ports and in addition I use a switch for the 2 pcs downstairs.