Help! Trying to figure this WiFi thing out...

[LeeTaisho]

Hey All,
Here's the deal... I have 150Mbps cable internet service. Speed tests show me realizing speeds of close to 200Mbps, so I am good there. I am trying to get off of Comcast rental equipment. Got a compatible modem capable of speeds at 300Mbps. Tested it and it works great with speed tests getting to and above the 150Mbps. Here is the rub... What router should I get? I am going back and forth and reading article after article. There seems to be a bunch of contradicting advice. Some say go for the new 802.11ac, others say ,meh, you can get as good a speed and range or better with a solid and less costly 802.11n router depending on your set up. Who is right? I have 5 people in basically a rowhouse with plaster walls. We all have laptops and smartphones, as well as there being 2 FireTV sticks, an HP laser printer and a PS3 & PS4. The smart phones and FireTV sticks are capable of 5mhz reception, everything else needs to be at 2.4mhz.The laser printer and the PS4 are hardwired but everything else needs to work on WiFi. Right now we have the Comcast gateway and are getting acceptable speeds throughout the house. In the farthest room from the gateway, I am realizing speeds of 15-20 Mbps on my laptop. I'm happy with the speed at the distance. How do I keep or increase the throughput from the modem to the router to the signal without compromising range or stability? Do I need ac, or is n sufficient? Looking at the TP-Link Archer C5 and a few different n class routers. What's my play here? Thanks in advance, great site!

 

[thiggins]

Of course you get conflicting advice! This is the Internet after all.
AC1900 class is the sweet spot for price/performance. Newer radio design and faster processor will improve performance over N routers with non-AC devices.

Router Ranker provides performance rankings for a quick way to home in on top performers.

 

[LeeTaisho]

See, now that's what I need. Straightforward. Thank you! So essentially, skip the c5 since its 1200 (though from what I read it has 1750 guts that firmware may be able to unleash)? OK, now I have to start over at the AC1900 level. At least I know where to begin now. Again, than you very much for the educated and clear answer.

 

[pete y testing]

(though from what I read it has 1750 guts that firmware may be able to unleash)

not quite right as it only has 2 antennas / streams so will only ever be 300M/867M , in comparason the asus below is 600M/1300M with 2 antennas/streams

now I have to start over at the AC1900 level.

and stay there as its all you need or can utilize at this stage , prob look at the asus rt-ac68u as the best choice in the class

 

[KenZ71]

If your rental equipment is giving acceptable performance why not simply purchase similar equipment?

 

[LeeTaisho]

That's exactly what I did, but the WiFi signal is nowhere near as strong for some reason, so I'm putting it in bridge mode and doing a separate router. Plus I could make use of some of the guest network and other features that the gateway just doesn't offer.

 

[LeeTaisho]

not quite right as it only has 2 antennas / streams so will only ever be 300M/867M , in comparason the asus below is 600M/1300M with 2 antennas/streams


and stay there as its all you need or can utilize at this stage , prob look at the asus rt-ac68u as the best choice in the class

Thanks for the info and advice. Budget is a consideration (this is my bit of tax refund mad money which is about $100), so I will see what the ac68u is priced at