Need help on choosing a Wifi router

Hi guys,

I am looking for a top wifi router in terms of performance and range(bedrooms on first floor). After going through a lot of them, I have the Asus RT-AC87U, RT-AC86U, TP-link Archer C9, Netgear Ac3200 Nighthawk X and ASUS Triband RT-AC3200.

Please help me choose the best one. Thanks

 

There seem to be alot of issues with the Netgear router and its firmware. So for now I would suggest staying away from it.

 

Thank you TANWare... Should i go with ASUS then? RT-AC87U or the Asus triband RT-AC3200. Your suggestions

 

I have heard they are pretty good but have no experience specifically with those. I think Asus is better supported in the alternate FW universe as well.

 

That is not correct. Third part firmware depends on hardware used, not manufacturer therefore there is no difference between manufacturers as long as you routers are based on a similar platform (i.e. pretty much all Atheros based devices can use OpenWRT, a lot of Broadcom and Atheros are supported by DD-WRT, pretty much only Broadcom ones are supported by Tomato).

Secondly Asus routers tend to have rather poor firmware from the get go - maybe they do improve it over time, maybe not. I wouldn't pay first to find out later.

And as for the price - the point of paying close to $300 for a router escapes me completely. There is not good reason to do so

 

I'd have to give Downloads the go on Asus as I have no experience directly, while Asus may be poor though I can tell you the ac-3200 Netgear is horrid with multiple issues. As for $300 on a router, I agree here too unless you have lots of devices. Not only do I have quite a few a lot of visitors are hitting my network with both PC's and other devices.

TBH I have ironed out my primary issues but there are a few out there that haven't.

Edit; The R-8000 DD-WRT project just seems to be going nowhere and the older version available cripples WiFi speesd.

 

Thanks guys. Regarding the Asus, i have only seen the reviews on CNET, PCworld and few other sites. Where some have said its really good during testing and some saying its not the finished product and should go back to the lab. The cheaper option now is the Archer C9 or the D-link DIR-880L AC1900 DUAL BAND(50% off at my local store here).

 

@Girish Kumar

I would avoid D-Link if I were you. Rumor has it they take things too literally and they have employed actual monkeys to do the job of code-monkeys. That would explain a lot of things.

Archer C9 is a good router but it was a bit too expensive when it hit the market. I see it's about $140 at the moment. It does not have the best 5GHz performance though...

For proper reviews see www.smallnetbuilder.com

@TANWare

I agree DD-WRT is rather appalling as far as releases go. I would look into OpenWRT if your router is supported.
That said, contrary to popular belief 3rd party firmwares generally do make router lag behind factory ones in terms of performance (unless factory firmware is complete crap). You can't very well add features and improve performance.

The $300 does not make sense to me anyway. You can buy an Archer C7 for $90 so you can pretty much have one working as a router and other two working as APs around the house which for the same money will still end up offering better coverage (and ultimately better range) and better speeds for the same money that a single $300 router.
I understand it's not a practical solution and each should be connected via an Ethernet wire so it might be too troublesome but still... $300

 

I hedged and hawed over dropping $300 but needed a single point solution for myself. I was on a 2.4 only Draft n that died and when reasearching found I could be at only 1-2 devices at night but up to 20 during the day. I needed more than 2 streams and TBH now knew why there was such horrible relative performance from my fast internet.

And again TBH, this has fit the bill for me. Even with its quirks that I have worked around.

 

Thanks a lot guys for your help..appreciate it. Cheers

 

Truth be told we weren't helpful in any way.
You are - after all - looking for a router to buy, not for routers not to buy...

 

Lol. Yes exactly. That's what I gathered. Well I ended up going with the Asus. Just set it up and it's blazing fast. Coverage in my house upstairs and downstairs excellent. 5 ghz at longer range is not great.

14366522116161005393857.jpg by Girish Kumar posted Jul 11, 2015 at 6:05 PM

 

I hope it works well.

 

Good luck with it, yeah 5GHz range is an issue with about all of them.