Have 2 routers to choose from

[Antec800]

so I recently got 1000mbps fiber from att, and I just purchased a nighthawk x4s and the new ASUS rt-3100 apparently it replaced the old ac3200, I’ve done back to back tests both routers seem the same speed wise and range btw I’m maxing our 550mbps download and upload over WiFi sitting next to router, anyway to get higher speeds? So which one should I keep

 

[MichaelCG]

What client are you using (what is the radio specs)? What is your speed use case and expectation?

 

[Antec800]

Just a couple old smart TVs that and laptop that use 2.4 ghz total about 4-5 clients. Then about 6-7 clients using 5ghz. I do a lot of wireless gaming on the laptop and Xbox and usually have get together a once a week with 10 or so people all connecting to the WiFi so I don’t want any slowdown. Pretty much snb rates the x4s better then the 3100 but every other website shows the x4s not doing as well in tests, so I’m pretty confused both routers cost pretty much the same so price is not a big deal.

 

[MichaelCG]

The 2.4 clients...don't expect more than 30-50Mbps. The 5GHz clients...it really depends on the WiFi specs of the client which you didn't provide. A 2x2 radio which is the best most general clients have...I would be pretty happy with 500Mpbs. Also to note that single client performance speeds do not translate directly to mutli-client performance speeds. If you are going to have 10 simultaneous heavy WiFi users connected to a single AP, expect things to slow down and latency to go up. That is just the nature of the beast when dealing with a shared medium like WiFi. But for gaming, you should care less about your max speeds and focus more on latency and jitter. Very few games will require more than a couple Mbps to function....but latency and jitter can cause all kinds of fun.

I have no opinion on which specific router is better. Without knowing the details of your client's radio capabilities and your specific WiFi settings (channel width mostly), we have no idea what your max theoretical speeds are. If I am remembering correctly, a 2x2 AC client on a 80MHz channel has a max link of I think 866Mbps...so getting anything over 400Mbps real world speed is pretty good.

EDIT: Found a small and simple max link speed chart:

 

[Antec800]

I’m guessing most of the clients I have are 2x2 and some 3x3, I’m doing more reading and it looks like on snb that the x4s is one of the best routers on the market currently, I’m not even seeing the 3100 on the rank list

 

[sfx2000]

The 2.4 clients...don't expect more than 30-50Mbps.

2.4GHz in 20MHz channels should be good for about 30Mbps per stream at the TCP layer with an 11n adapter.

The Max Link Speed chart mentioned about is for 11ac - with 11n, it's obviously going to be lower

 

[Antec800]

After back to back tests the ASUS performed better then the net gear especially in 5ghz range and speed

 

[System Error Message]

Acer ac3100 has faster CPU than AC3200. AC3200 has better range and handling (2 5Ghz radios).

 

[Antec800]

Everyone on the forums have said the rtac88u/3100 outperform the older ac3200

 

[RMerlin]

Acer ac3100 has faster CPU than AC3200. AC3200 has better range and handling (2 5Ghz radios).

Did you just call Asus "Acer"? Ouch.

 

[System Error Message]

Did you just call Asus "Acer"? Ouch.

lol was sleepy

 

[avtella]

Acer/HP two brands with I always tell people not to buy laptops from lol (terrible QC/reliability) even if they offer you the best deals.