If you had to replace your router today which unit would you buy?

[Gregory Phillips]

Lately I've been thinking about this very question but would like to hear from you guys as to which unit you would buy if forced to do so today and why. I know that whatever I would buy must have 8 ports and dual wan.

I would also be looking for 2.5gb ports on the wan and lan with future proofing in mind. My cable modem was the fastest Motorola unit available at the time of purchase, MB8611, so I would want my router to be able to handle that level of throughput across the network as ISP network speeds continue to improve.

Thanks for participating.

 

[L&LD]

GT-AX6000 with a $20 8 Port switch.

 

[SeriousFamily]

Wi-Fi Buying Advice

Not sure which wireless router or card to buy? Ask for advice here.

www.snbforums.com

 

[Smokindog]

Lately I've been thinking about this very question but would like to hear from you guys as to which unit you would buy if forced to do so today and why. I know that whatever I would buy must have 8 ports and dual wan.

I would also be looking for 2.5gb ports on the wan and lan with future proofing in mind. My cable modem was the fastest Motorola unit available at the time of purchase, MB8611, so I would want my router to be able to handle that level of throughput across the network as ISP network speeds continue to improve.

Thanks for participating.

It depends and there's not enough info here to provide an answer. Would need to know more about your environment, your devices, your expectations, your budget .... IMO there is no one sized fits all "best".

I by your signature you've got an AX88. That's a pretty solid router to begin with.

I recently put an AX86S in a friends house and it was ideal for their small isolated space. Plus it was on sale for $175. Perfect and BEST, .... for them!

I added an AX86S to my network as an AP. It was the BEST for that particular use. I also repurposed an AC3100 as an AP and IT was perfect.

Only thing I know for sure is I'd never let the number of ports on the router be a limiting factor. Stand alone switches are reliable and inexpensive. Plus most 8 port routers are integrated "gangs of 4 port switches" so there's no argument on "adding a switch" to the network.

I know, not much to answering your Q but IMO most "which is best" type questions are impossible to answer.

PS - I use nothing but wired backhaul to APs and you couldn't pay me to use AIMess

 

[OzarkEdge]

Lately I've been thinking about this very question but would like to hear from you guys as to which unit you would buy if forced to do so today and why. I know that whatever I would buy must have 8 ports and dual wan.

I would also be looking for 2.5gb ports on the wan and lan with future proofing in mind. My cable modem was the fastest Motorola unit available at the time of purchase, MB8611, so I would want my router to be able to handle that level of throughput across the network as ISP network speeds continue to improve.

Thanks for participating.

Given wired AiMesh; no pressing near-term need for tri-band/6GHz band (if ever) and multi-gigabit networking; not a fan of the ROG/GT look and the flat footprint; and ignoring current sale pricing on the older GT-AX6000... I'd consider the AX86U Pro, time permitting thanks to backup routers on hand.

OE

 

[Gregory Phillips]

Right now my switches are 1gb so upgrading would require new units if running off a single router 2.5gb port. Don't get me wrong they are fine ATM but once the WAN passes that speed I'll be looking for that upgrade.

 

[bbunge]

My guess is that most homes do not need LAN bandwidth over 1 GB. Those that think they do seldom if ever use the full LAN bandwidth.

Stability, security, reliability and used features are much more important to me than higher bandwidth. With that said I feel that Asus fills the bill for me on all those. I have used Asus since my RT-N66U and if I had to, because of the failure of my RT-AX86U, would go back to the RT-AC66U_B1 until I got another AX router (AX86U Pro?). I recently purchased a refurbished RT-AX58U to use as an AiMesh node but it performed worse than the RT-AC66U_B1. So I sent it back and invested in a new Synology NAS.

 

[keefrto]

Am debating getting the ax5700 gundam edition on sale at visions.ca for $269 to add to my newly purchased rt-ax86u. Decisions decisions