Best 200$ router as of april 2011

[niemion]

Right now I'm using a Asus WL-520GU but it's maxing out at around 14Mbps (wireless) and with 3-4 clients connected that simply isn't enough.

I have been looking at WNDR4000, ASUS RT-N56U and Cisco Linksys E4200 and I'm kind of leaning towards the latter as it seems to get slightly better reviews.

What would be your pick?

 

[stevech]

me, I'd never spend more than $75 for a WiFi router. I buy a newer/better every year or so.

on the 15Mbps you mention... how does this relate to the speed provided by the ISP?

 

[niemion]

My ISP is providing 50/5 Mbps (in the coming months 111/11). If we're all 4 using wireless at the same time, each gets a speed at around 3 Mbps, far from acceptable. Accessing files from our NAS with that kind of speed is pretty lame when my NAS is able to serve content at 814,4 Mbps.

I researched the issue (14 Mbps wireless limit) and it seems to be related to a weak processor in the Asus WL-520GU.

 

[stevech]

processor in router can limit packets per second rate.
If a single active user can get over 20Mbps (11g) then I'd think that the sum of 3 active users can be about the same.
Of course, rate per user depends on each user's signal strength. If all three are simultaneously streaming video or doing speed tests, WiFi will falter as it is intended for less activity per user, to avoid collisions, need for RTS/CTS, hidden node CSMA/CA faults, etc. None of these happen for typical web browsing or lower data rate demands like VoIP.

 

[niemion]

Okay, thanks, but any recommendations (see #0)?

 

[stevech]

perhaps nothing wrong with what you have!
else
read newegg user reviews. Throw out the oddballs.

 

[niemion]

But something is wrong, cf. the first two lines of #0. I want (a lot) more juice in the wifi department.

Reading reviews? That's what I'm doing and how I've found some options (also mentioned in #0) But I know some of the users here have extensive knowledge when in comes to networking. And the forum is named 'Wireless Buying Advice'. Asking for recommendations here doesn't seem odd to me.

 

[stevech]

if you want 14Mbps per client, clients all streaming simultaneously, WiFi isn't the right medium.

 

[niemion]

I want more than 14 Mbps total. Wifi can do that.

 

[stevech]

Yes, 11g should support net, IP layer speeds of 22+Mbps with an ideal signal and not competition for air time from neighbors' WiFi or other 2.4GHz signals.

 

[niemion]

And 11n realistically?

 

[stevech]

And 11n realistically?

11n- in same 20MHz channel width as 11g, is faster only at very short range.
If your neighboring WiFi conditions permit use of the 40MHz mode (and your client devices can do so), almost double speed vs 11g is doable. But 40MHz is 2/3 of the entire crowded 2.4GHz band. Which is why speed demons are going to 40MHz in 5.8GHz band. Not much gear made for this, esp. client devices.

50-100Mbps and up is not a good place for wireless.

 

[thiggins]

I have been looking at WNDR4000, ASUS RT-N56U and Cisco Linksys E4200 and I'm kind of leaning towards the latter as it seems to get slightly better reviews.

You're going to see a big step up in throughput going from an 11g to any 11n router (except "150 Mbps") models.

Haven't seen the WNDR4000 yet and the other two have been reviewed. Any of them would probably work.

See SmallNetBuilder's Wireless FAQ: The Essentials #1 for a table of typical wireless speeds. You can also get a feel for N speeds by looking at the Wireless benchmarks in the new Router Chart.

 

[niemion]

Thanks, went for a Linksys E4200 and my wireless download speed increased to 50.25 Mbps.

That's not too bad considering the Asus WL-520GU only gave me ~14 Mbps.

 

[niemion]

I now have a wireless download speed of 84 Mbps with my new 111 Mbps connection. I begins to loo like a worthy upgrade from my previous router which capped me at 14 Mbps.

 

[stevech]

And your ISP's speed provided to you is?

 

[jstump]

Some annoying Very Senior Members here

Dude says he has a NAS and wants better wireless performance. How difficult is it to offer helpful advice? His ISP connection speed is irrelevant, though he has stated TWICE that he has 111mbs internet. But again, the fact that he has a NAS, which he also stated, makes his internet speed irrelevant. Basically no help was provided to him. On the contrary, his query was met only with words of discouragement.

So this dude basically totally ignores the doomsayer telling him he can't do any better than his measly 14mbs. Dude gets himself a new router and improves his performance by 6x in EXACTLY the performance metric he was looking to improve. And now it looks like that doomsayer is still reaching for a reason to tell dude that he didn't need it and should have stuck with his 14mbs router.

Wow! I came here looking for some router advice as well, as I've always liked the reviews/tests on this site and assumed that there would be some knowledgeable helpful folks in these forums. I had absolutely no intention to register or ask a question, just doing some research. I however couldn't help it, had to say something.

 

[niemion]

Turns out "50-100Mbps and up" actually IS a "good place for wireless".

I have to agree though, this site is great for in-depth reviews but the forum is a little silly.

 

[aphexacid]

Turns out "50-100Mbps and up" actually IS a "good place for wireless".

I have to agree though, this site is great for in-depth reviews but the forum is a little silly.

I was on the same boat as you a while back and got so many different responses from people it was crazy. All sorts of random info. It wasn't until i got up and bought the equipment myself that i could actually see what was what.

For me its even more difficult dealing with responses like "50-100Mbps and up is not a good place for wireless", because all i use i wireless. i have nothing in my home hooked up with an ethernet cable. My old router was limiting my current speed. And now i'm thinking of upgrading my speed again.

I am using the E4200 as well and havent had 1 problem out of it. USB is kind of slow it seems, and was even noted in the SNB review. But its rock solid stability and routing performace is what i need. USB is an added bonus. Hopefully they'll improve things with firmware.

I tried the netgears, and although they were decent when they worked, they both froze and disconnected too frequently.

My next move is to see if it would be worthwhile for me to upgrade to a better wireless card in my main windows laptop. Its an HP HDX 16. It has a 5100agn in it, and it seems like the signal isnt spectacular. My macbook sitting right next to it gets better throughput.

I dont see a 3rd antenna, so upgrading to a 3 antenna card seems out of the question. Unless i can use only 2 antennas, and get a better signal because the actual card is better itself.

Any input?

 

[niemion]

Hey aphexacid, thanks for checking in

I don't know much about wireless cards, but since you have the same router as I, I can tell you that I have a Broadcom 802.11n network adapter (how do I find more details about it?) in my Acer laptop. It's not 3x3 as far as I know, but I have tested it for up to 89 Mbit/s, so not too bad I guess