I need some advise and help figure out which to pick or order.

[Tech9]

What about if I have 300/20 plan

For 300/20 plan you'll be fine with any modern budget category dual-band router around $100.

More devices can use faster upload speeds at the same time.

All the devices will share exactly the same 300/20 plan no matter how many 5GHz radios they use.

 

[MEner]

For 300/20 plan you'll be fine with any modern budget category dual-band router around $100.



All the devices will share exactly the same 300/20 plan no matter how many 5GHz radios they use.

I get it but in case of tri band routers each band will have 300/20 (each channel of 5ghz band) For example 20mbps upload bandwidth will be on each band so more devices can upload at a higher speeds at the same time? Am I missing something?

 

[Tech9]

Am I missing something?

The fact ALL the devices share exactly the same 300/20 ISP line. Single Wi-Fi 5 (AC) radio on a home router can do about 500Mbps up/down and can serve about 30 wireless devices. Over 10-years old now RT-AC68U can work pretty well with 300/20 ISP.

 

[MEner]

The fact ALL the devices share exactly the same 300/20 ISP line. Single Wi-Fi 5 (AC) radio on a home router can do about 500Mbps up/down and can serve about 30 wireless devices. Over 10-years old now RT-AC68U can work pretty well with 300/20 ISP.

so the 300/20 isp will be splitted between 5GHz-1 and 5GHz-2 as 150/10 and 150/10?

 

[Tech9]

so the 300/20 isp will be splitted between 5GHz-1 and 5GHz-2 as 150/10 and 150/10?

No, you get ISP line shared between active devices no matter where they are connected. Single active device will get full 300/20. Total bandwidth for all active devices won't exceed your ISP line. This is valid for WAN-LAN traffic. Tri-band router may help with your LAN-LAN traffic and can support more connected devices split between different radios. With 300/20 ISP line and 20-30 typical home use devices (5-6 active at a time) you're good with dual-band router. Save your money. If you have IoT obsession with 100+ devices on 2.4GHz band - home router is not the best option. You may need something better from small business category and with few High-Density Access Points spread around (supporting more clients per radio).

 

[MEner]

No, you get ISP line shared between active devices no matter where they are connected. Single active device will get full 300/20. Total bandwidth for all active devices won't exceed your ISP line. This is valid for WAN-LAN traffic. Tri-band router may help with your LAN-LAN traffic and can support more connected devices split between different radios. With 300/20 ISP line and 20-30 typical home use devices (5-6 active at a time) you're good with dual-band router. Save your money. If you have IoT obsession with 100+ devices on 2.4GHz band - home router is not the best option. You may need something better from small business category and with few High-Density Access Points spread around (supporting more clients per radio).

Thank you for the explanation. I was thinking that if I need file sharing or live streaming simultaneously with like 3-4 devices (wirelessly), it would be better to split them between two 5GHz channels than sucking 20Mbps from one 5GHz channel for all devices. I tested dual band router with two devices connected to one band and uploading at the same time while testing the speed and it was down to 10Mbps. So I'm not sure if there will be some room left for other devices in case of dual band.

 

[Tech9]

So I'm not sure if there will be some room left for other devices in case of dual band.

Again, dual-band router can do much higher upload than 20Mbps. Your limitation is ISP upload speed. If you need faster upload from more devices simultaneously you need to upgrade the ISP line, not the router. Tri-band router may help when transferring files between local devices connected to different radios, but you'll be paying more for specific use case and you'll end up with spider looking device taking much more space.

two devices connected... it was down to 10Mbps.

Indeed, 2 x 10Mbps = 20Mbps, your ISP upload speed. Four devices uploading simultaneously will be 4 x 5Mbps = 20Mbps, etc. The same situation with your download speed - 300Mbps will be shared between all devices doing downloads simultaneously. This happens automatically and changes dynamically, you don't have to do anything. What you can do is apply QoS so torrent downloads have less priority than more important VoIP.

 

[MEner]

Again, dual-band router can do much higher upload than 20Mbps. Your limitation is ISP upload speed. If you need faster upload from more devices simultaneously you need to upgrade the ISP line, not the router. Tri-band router may help when transferring files between local devices connected to different radios, but you'll be paying more for specific use case and you'll end up with spider looking device taking much more space.



Indeed, 2 x 10Mbps = 20Mbps, your ISP upload speed. Four devices uploading simultaneously will be 4 x 5Mbps = 20Mbps, etc.

I can't get more from isp now. That's why I'm trying to figure out how can I get the most from my current speeds, especially upload.

 

[Tech9]

As I said any modern router in budget category around $100 will do 300/20 ISP with few active devices just fine. Few active devices because a typical family can use so much at the same time. You may have 20-30 clients connected, but how many download, play video or browse at the same time? Your ISP is just fine and will do whatever you guys need. Don't overspend on hardware you can't use or don't need. Don't overspend for futureproofing.

 

[MEner]

Indeed, 2 x 10Mbps = 20Mbps, your ISP upload speed. Four devices uploading simultaneously will be 4 x 5Mbps = 20Mbps, etc. The same situation with your download speed - 300Mbps will be shared between all devices doing downloads simultaneously. This happens automatically and changes dynamically, you don't have to do anything. What you can do is apply QoS so torrent downloads have less priority than more important VoIP.

Or 2x 5GHz channel = two 20Mbps channels = more devices

 

[MEner]

As I said any modern router in budget category around $100 will do 300/20 ISP with few active devices just fine. Few active devices because a typical family can use so much at the same time. You may have 20-30 clients connected, but how many download, play video or browse at the same time? Your ISP is just fine and will do whatever you guys need. Don't overspend on hardware you can't use or don't need. Don't overspend for futureproofing.

Thanks I will think about that

 

[Tech9]

two 20Mbps channels

You have ONE 20Mbps "channel" - your ISP upload limit. I can't explain it any better.

Thanks I will think about that

What home router do you currently have? You perhaps don't need an upgrade at all.

 

[MEner]

You have ONE 20Mbps "channel" - your ISP upload limit. I can't explain it any better.

What home router do you currently have? You perhaps don't need an upgrade at all.

I don't know why but I thought that each band provide full bandwidth no matter how much load is on other bands. But as I can see, I didn't understand it.

I have Archer AX55 (I'm in return window) but I would like to get some Asus. Now as I learnt bands works differently I'm looking for RT-AX88U Pro.

 

[Tech9]

Your Archer AX55 is more than capable of handling 300/20 ISP, perhaps all you need at the moment. I understand sometimes "the itch" is in play, something new to play with. You can replace it with whatever makes you happy, but your Internet experience perhaps won't change much. All RT-AX86U Pro, RT-AX88U Pro and GT-AX6000 are similar models and popular around. Just get the cheaper one and only if you really want a new toy.

 

[MEner]

Your Archer AX55 is more than capable of handling 300/20 ISP, perhaps all you need at the moment. I understand sometimes "the itch" is in play, something new to play with. You can replace it with whatever makes you happy, but your Internet experience perhaps won't change much. All RT-AX86U Pro, RT-AX88U Pro and GT-AX6000 are similar models and popular around. Just get the cheaper one and only if you really want a new toy.

Thank you, you made things clear to me. I finally ordered RT-AX88U Pro.

 

[Tech9]

Enjoy your new router, but make sure it works properly first:

Seeking advice on Asus RTAX88U Pro setup of 5G wifi

I purchased a new Asus RTAX88U Pro to replace my failed RTAX86U (see separate thread https://www.snbforums.com/threads/asus-rt-ax86u-no-start-seek-troubleshooting-help.90540/). I installed the Merlin software, set it up with separate SSIDs for 2.4 and 5.0 wifi, and had some problems with WiFi...

www.snbforums.com

This is not the first report about RT-AX88U Pro going back. Perhaps manufacturing QC issues.