Need advice on a new router

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I have a NETGEAR WNR2000v4 as my home router, and this thing is a POS. I have a 50/25 internet connection going into it, but it's only outputting 15/0.5. The down speed isn't off by much considering it's running 3 devices minimum at a time, but the up speed is completely unacceptable considering nobody in the house is ever uploading anything. Not to mention it has intermittent issues with connectivity (for about 10 minutes earlier it was reading at .005 down with a ping of 447 to the nearest Speedtest server, which was remedied only after rebooting the device).

Need advice, other than get anything but a NETGEAR...

[Noko]

I just got one of these this weekend:  http://www.engadget.com/products/asus/rt-n66u/
Seemed to be one of the best rated products at this price point ($150 Canadian) and is widely available.  Very impressed with the configuration.

Given that the old advice to just buy a Linksys no longer stands, looks like Asus is emerging as a strong choice in general, as far as my couple hours research went.

[tp4tissue]

N66u is a solid choice.. but, it's VERY HOT..  I run mine active cooled with the front shell off and a stationary 120mm @ 250 rpm, in the Summer when I got it, it used to run up to 80 Celcius on load..

Now max load during winter is 30 C  and 40 C in summer.  pretty big difference..

The first version of the N66u sold was actively cooled, but they switched to a larger heatsink and went "passive"..    TBH, i think it still needs active cooling even with the larger sink..


That said..  I wouldn't buy an n66u TODAY,  because of AC..  you can get the night-hawk router for $150 on sale these days..  so... that makes way more sense, it's almost 5-6 times more powerful CPU wise, has a good support community with the custom roms, and it's also got the 3x3 AC stream for _The-FUTURE_

[Jokrik]

Ever tried linksys?
I use nothing but linksys for my router
I run Linksys wrt1900ac as my main router and connect a Linksys X1000 to it for wireless extender since I have pretty spacious house with lots of concrete

[engicoder]

I've been using the ASUS RT-AC68U ever since my N66U was trashed by a lightning strike. Its been fantastic. Its like they took the N66U made it faster and added features to the firmware.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

N66u is a solid choice.. but, it's VERY HOT..  I run mine active cooled with the front shell off and a stationary 120mm @ 250 rpm, in the Summer when I got it, it used to run up to 80 Celcius on load..

Now max load during winter is 30 C  and 40 C in summer.  pretty big difference..

The first version of the N66u sold was actively cooled, but they switched to a larger heatsink and went "passive"..    TBH, i think it still needs active cooling even with the larger sink..


That said..  I wouldn't buy an n66u TODAY,  because of AC..  you can get the night-hawk router for $150 on sale these days..  so... that makes way more sense, it's almost 5-6 times more powerful CPU wise, has a good support community with the custom roms, and it's also got the 3x3 AC stream for _The-FUTURE_

link to this "night-hawk" pls?

edit: nvm, found it myself...

[IvanIvanovich]

Consider rolling your own? You can get something pretty nice put together. Atom motherboard with a pci-e slot to add quad gbe nic card, mini pci-e for a wifi... couple gigabytes of ram, pico psu or similar and a tiny case. Plenty of power and lots of flexibility and can do a lot of neat stuff with some distros. If you are good at hunting bargains on ebay and the like shouldnt set you back too much, maybe $50.

[tp4tissue]

The benefits from DIY for your own workstation/ gam3rig/ server is straight forward..

The benefit from DIY router is ~iffy~... because it's just as time consuming to put together , but you don't get any sort of speed-up...  and that's ultimately what counts in the puter-world.

[Snowdog993]

TP-Link TL-WDR4300
One of the best I have set up.  Price is right too.  You might want to look into one.

[smknjoe]

How do you know it's a router issue? Have you plugged directly into your modem to see what speeds you get (especially during the times you are experiencing problems)?

[tp4tissue]

How do you know it's a router issue? Have you plugged directly into your modem to see what speeds you get (especially during the times you are experiencing problems)?

I remember comcast did this weird throttling, where if it detected file-sharing traffic.. it will throttle the ENTIRE pipe.. regardless of what data is coming or going..

[jamster]

N66u is a solid choice.. but, it's VERY HOT..  I run mine active cooled with the front shell off and a stationary 120mm @ 250 rpm, in the Summer when I got it, it used to run up to 80 Celcius on load..

Now max load during winter is 30 C  and 40 C in summer.  pretty big difference..

The first version of the N66u sold was actively cooled, but they switched to a larger heatsink and went "passive"..    TBH, i think it still needs active cooling even with the larger sink..


That said..  I wouldn't buy an n66u TODAY,  because of AC..  you can get the night-hawk router for $150 on sale these days..  so... that makes way more sense, it's almost 5-6 times more powerful CPU wise, has a good support community with the custom roms, and it's also got the 3x3 AC stream for _The-FUTURE_

I've been running an N66U for a year or so. I'd recommend it as a sensible, midrange device. Passively cooled. Assuming that the firmware (376.47 Merlin) reports corect temperatures, it sits at 56C all the time, regardless of activity (idle or torrenting, doesn't seem to make any difference to temps or CPU utilisation). Maybe the temperature is reporting incorrectly, but it's also never gotten hot during a touch test either.

It's pretty cheap these days. I personally don't believe in adopting the newest tech when it comes to home routers- you're paying a huge premium for a technology that most end devices won't adopt for a couple years, by which time that tech will be much cheaper and possibly much more reliable in a midrange rather than top of the line router.

I guess AC might be useful if you're trying to stream high def movies over wifi, but I'm old fashioned and don't want to troubleshoot jitter or interference so will stick with wires for anything that needs speed or reliability.

[swathe]

I run a draytek unit and they are very sound, just less expensive than a cisco.

[Lain1911]

I still have a linksys in the box that is over 5 years old never used I am still using my first linksys. Just imagine how old that one is

[Snowdog993]

TP-Link TL-WDR4300
One of the best I have set up.  Price is right too.  You might want to look into one.

I had to quote myself.  Take a look please.
http://www.tp-link.com/lk/products/details/?model=TL-WDR4300

[tp4tissue]

I still have a linksys in the box that is over 5 years old never used I am still using my first linksys. Just imagine how old that one is

Why ?

[HalfSharkAlligator]

Another vote for TP-Link.  I needed to upgrade my router recently and bought the 802.11ac TP-Link Archer C8.  It was around $90 on Amazon and it's been pretty good.  I get much faster transmission than my old 802.11n router and it has dual bands, guest network, and fairly good interface for config.  I have only had to reboot it once or twice in several months.

[tp4tissue]

Another vote for TP-Link.  I needed to upgrade my router recently and bought the 802.11ac TP-Link Archer C8.  It was around $90 on Amazon and it's been pretty good.  I get much faster transmission than my old 802.11n router and it has dual bands, guest network, and fairly good interface for config.  I have only had to reboot it once or twice in several months.

tp-link has always had weaker software even though all these new routers pretty much use the same parts..

I got burned by them twice in the 00s  once on a switch, and then on a router.. 

[Snowdog993]

I got burned by them twice in the 00s  once on a switch, and then on a router..

Maybe you are confusing this with another brand?  These routers have the most comprehensive and advanced settings I have seen.  Maybe the old ones were not as good, but these are very highly recommended.  Ask anyone that has these particular models.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I got burned by them twice in the 00s  once on a switch, and then on a router..

Maybe you are confusing this with another brand?  These routers have the most comprehensive and advanced settings I have seen.  Maybe the old ones were not as good, but these are very highly recommended.  Ask anyone that has these particular models.

Was looking at the AC1750 vs. the 4300... and it's only $100 on Newegg, and it's AC dualband vs. N dualband...

Reviews for both are mediocre on Newegg... but the specs look like they'd be more than I need... which means it'd be exactly what I need...

[strict]

I just got one of these this weekend:  http://www.engadget.com/products/asus/rt-n66u/
Seemed to be one of the best rated products at this price point ($150 Canadian) and is widely available.  Very impressed with the configuration.

Given that the old advice to just buy a Linksys no longer stands, looks like Asus is emerging as a strong choice in general, as far as my couple hours research went.

I picked up a refurbished n66u from Amazon for $80 about 2 months ago. I flashed Shibby's build of Tomato on to it and couldn't be happier. I get incredible wifi coverage and its as solid as a rock, I literally haven't touched it since the first day when I flashed tomato and got it configured how I like. I would highly recommend Tomato if for no other reason then being able to run pixelserv to do router level adblocking.

[Novus]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S9SGNNS/ref=amb_link_429169642_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=1KBD9G6KB1XJ167K24ZQ&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=2023189362&pf_rd_i=B00MPI5N7U

 )

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S9SGNNS/ref=amb_link_429169642_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=1KBD9G6KB1XJ167K24ZQ&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=2023189362&pf_rd_i=B00MPI5N7U

 )

lol

no

i'd rather spend all the money i save buying something more affordable on keyboards... or save it in da bank...

[SpAmRaY]

I'm going with this soon in the new place, router was $70 on sale can flash from ac1450 to ac1750.

http://advancedhomeserver.com/upgrade-a-netgear-ac1450-router-to-ac1750-r6300v2/

[tp4tissue]

I'm going with this soon in the new place, router was $70 on sale can flash from ac1450 to ac1750.

http://advancedhomeserver.com/upgrade-a-netgear-ac1450-router-to-ac1750-r6300v2/

/head scratch...

well alrite.. but.. dah... i prefer antennas you can move.. but if you don't need to go that far.. it should be fine.

[smknjoe]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S9SGNNS/ref=amb_link_429169642_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=1KBD9G6KB1XJ167K24ZQ&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=2023189362&pf_rd_i=B00MPI5N7U

 )

lol

no

i'd rather spend all the money i save buying something more affordable on keyboards... or save it in da bank...

Then, go with Ivan's suggestion. Just use any old PC with 2 NICs and a wireless adapter like the ones Alfa makes. You'll have something way better and way cheaper.

[tp4tissue]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S9SGNNS/ref=amb_link_429169642_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=1KBD9G6KB1XJ167K24ZQ&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=2023189362&pf_rd_i=B00MPI5N7U

 )

lol

no

i'd rather spend all the money i save buying something more affordable on keyboards... or save it in da bank...

Then, go with Ivan's suggestion. Just use any old PC with 2 NICs and a wireless adapter like the ones Alfa makes. You'll have something way better and way cheaper.

the ac3200 is a gimmick ...

netgear has the same thing the r8000,  you're essentially buying 2 routers bolted together..

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S9SGNNS/ref=amb_link_429169642_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=1KBD9G6KB1XJ167K24ZQ&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=2023189362&pf_rd_i=B00MPI5N7U

 )

lol

no

i'd rather spend all the money i save buying something more affordable on keyboards... or save it in da bank...

Then, go with Ivan's suggestion. Just use any old PC with 2 NICs and a wireless adapter like the ones Alfa makes. You'll have something way better and way cheaper.

the ac3200 is a gimmick ...

netgear has the same thing the r8000,  you're essentially buying 2 routers bolted together..

And your argument is that two is not better than one?

[tp4tissue]

At the moment, 2 is not better than 1.  It's very limited in its advantage..

Essentially you'd have to manually assign devices to "either" "router"  but not both.. 

And their current firmware is so buggy that often times, higher throughput is NOT realized when multiple devices are connected in this way,  even though that was "THE PLAN"..


ATM, You're better off getting 2x R7000 routers, than getting a single R8000..

[KHAANNN]

I still have a linksys in the box that is over 5 years old never used I am still using my first linksys. Just imagine how old that one is

I also had a spare linksys in the box like you do, recently switched to the spare one, the old one worked similar, yet I switched because of the backdoors linksys left in the older version

IMO, linksys is a pretty lousy router/modem, gets hogged really easily, QOS never works, if there is a ruthless leech in your network, you pretty much get hogged from access yourself

The OP's issue might be similar, are you sure you don't have a QOS upload limitation on your router? 0.5 might be a 4mbit upload throttle rule

(calling linksys's routers would probably be insult to router's in general, but as far as I see, other home solutions are no better)