Best 5GHz Range

[vaiogeodon]

I know 2.4 GHz is better than 5 in range alone, but what commercial router has the best range as far as 5GHz goes. Thank you.

 

[remixedcat]

Well Amped Wireless just released the RTA15 and it has twin turbos for 5Ghz!! (2 stage amps) So far the range for 5Ghz is better then the R20000G is. Netflix streams from a greater distance then the other one did for 5Ghz. Sig str on the streaming device was stronger as well.

 

[thiggins]

Use this chart
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/113-5-ghz-dn-c?see=P_D

 

[vaiogeodon]

Well Amped Wireless just released the RTA15 and it has twin turbos for 5Ghz!! (2 stage amps) So far the range for 5Ghz is better then the R20000G is. Netflix streams from a greater distance then the other one did for 5Ghz. Sig str on the streaming device was stronger as well.

Hey RemixedCat. You've left a review for the RTA15 on bestbuy's site, two reviews on newegg, amazon, and you posted the same rhetoric on this thread. I'm going to go ahead and assume you work for Amped Wireless as no one loves a product that much. You also posted the same exact verbage and it sounds like marketing speak. Haha


Thiggins,

Do regular N clients gain any benefit from going with an AC router especially regarding range?

 

[remixedcat]

I don't work there. I just really love it! LOL. The "two" newegg reviews was newegg derping up. I have allready contacted newegg to get the duplicate removed becuase of a site error and am awaiting them to act on it.

it really is awesome though. I am RARELY excited about much these days and I am very hard on many companies and most companies really don't know what they're doing anymore. so when I actually find something that works good for once instead of being a thrown together POS I want everyone to know that!!! I am the same with Jriver Media Jukebox media player.... Jriver really knows what they are doing with it and it's better then ANY OTHER MEDIA SOFTWARE OUT THERE! Other media players suck. WMP has a terrible new UI that makes it a pain to access the EQ, zune has no sound options for EQ, surround processing, etc., winamp is dated looking and a mess of an interface, and I can go on about the other media players...

 

[thiggins]

Thiggins,

Do regular N clients gain any benefit from going with an AC router especially regarding range?

No. N clients look like N clients to an AC router.

The only benefit would come if a router (N or AC) uses higher gain antennas or includes transmit and/or receive amplification.

 

[vaiogeodon]

Thiggins,

I guess my issue is that those charts show throughput... which doesn't necessarily indicate range. I'm assuming those AC routers are tested with AC clients. I basically just want a router with the furthest 5GHz range to N clients in general if that makes sense.

 

[thiggins]

That Chart shows throughput at the lowest signal location tested. This is an indirect measure of range.

It is not perfect, but probably the best information you are going to get on a wide range of products.

 

[vaiogeodon]

Thiggins,

Since wireless AC would serve no advantage (Yet give the highest throughput results on that chart) should I assume then that I should look for the highest throughput N900 router on that chart? That would seem to be the Asus 66u. I guess the question is I can't really tell what the N throughput would be on those AC routers since they are tested with AC clients thus giving the highest throughput making it an even more indirect measurement of range.

 

[thiggins]

AC clients actually support 11a/b/g/n as well. So the standard ASUS 3x3 AC client I use looks like an N900 client to an N900 router, an N600 client to an N600 class routers, etc.

How Fast Can Your Wi-Fi Go? explains this.

The only benefit using a N900 router with N300/N600 class clients is if has a better RF design that provides better range. Range should be improved, although the actual throughput will be lower because of the lower maximum link rates supported by the client.

 

[vaiogeodon]

What I mean though is that the AC client appears as such to the AC routers. So I can't tell how an N client would appear to those AC routers regarding the range, If I'm using the throughput to determine range

 

[thiggins]

If you had an AC client that you could set to N mode, it would have the same relative throughput performance, just lower absolute throughput readings.

Say an AC client produced throughput of 100, 80, 60 and 20 Mbps
at four test locations. That same client set to N mode might produce 50, 40, 30 and 10 Mbps. The % change among locations would be the same.

 

[stevech]

Be sure to clarify whether "Mbps" is the WiFi raw (burst) bit rate, or the real IP layer throughput. The two, of course, differ greatly, due to signal strengths, error correction codes, retransmissions, and so on.

Too many marketing/sales people, and popular press writers say Mbps at WiFi's bit rate and buyers get taken advantage of.