In the market for a new router ... which one of theses?

[tdpol]

New to the forums and have been reading a lot of the Asus routers (Rt-N66u and RT-AC66u and AC68u) and which ones to buy. Or Nighthawk Ac1900.

I'm currently running a e3200 router on tomato and am running into a ton of issues, specifically in my 1400sq ft rancher, and wifi connections. 15ft away and I can barely get 10Mb running speedtest.net on a 50/15 connection. When I'm 5ft from the router, that's when I can finally get a decent speed 30Mb. The 5Ghz band is non-existent on the router, so i'd like to buck up some money and get something with good range, and where I can run PIA hard coded to one port (for my amazon fire tv) which I heard is better on the AC66u for CPU requirements.

Requirements:
- Run one port for AFTV dedicated to PIA
- Strong Wifi in entire house 1400sq ft and out on deck
- Stable (dont feel like rebooting the router tons)

Network has:
- 2 ipads
- 2 iphones
- 2 laptops
- Amazon Fire Tv (wired)
- LG NAS
- No "AC" devices at this time.

My questions are ... for both models ...
1 - I've heard the stock firmware is better than what Asus has been releasing. Is that still the case?
1b) Should I bother upgrading to a merlin build or asus's newer build when speeds are known to be better for out of the box routers?
2 - Are people still experiencing devices dropping off the network with certain builds? There seem to be a lot of Amazon reviews of people having that issue. Not sure what build they're on, but that's the last thing I need (or want to hear about from the wife!)
3 - Lastly...which would would suit my needs better for my setup? N66u VS. Ac66u ?

Thanks. Tom.

 

[enr00ted]

I think AC is better future-proof, but it all depends on your budget, even if you don't have compatible AC hardware at the moment, it is backward compatible and all your devices will connect just fine. I am not very pleased with my RT-N66U (if that is what you are refering to) in terms of coverage that I bought when it was released or around that date. I think they screwed up things in the recent firmwares and everything is somehow capped (you can't actually adjust transmission power, and maybe other things that we will never know of). I hope to be corrected if I am wrong, but during this years I saw this router going from better to worse, but it might be because of wearing or lifecycle . Can't comment on the other model. Asus routers never need a reboot, unless there is a serios bug or problem, even if they run very hot (I can make a barbeque on mine ).

Anyway I found a discusion around here (I'll look for it) regarding FCC regulation in the USA that I think will afect future Asus firmware/hardware and possibly other brands also regarding the ability of the user to tinker with a router's settings.

Regarding Merlin builds, you should flash only if you need that extra functionaly it provides. Sometimes it patches bugs way before Asus does, for being in touch with the community and can sometimes solve your problem way faster then Asus support

I have on mine:
- 3 laptops (2 wired, 1 wifi)
- 4 smartphones (wifi)
- 1 ipad (wifi)
- 1 tv (wired)
- 1 printer (wired)
- 1 Synology NAS (wired)
- 1 Managed switch (wired)

 

[tdpol]

Thanks for the reply. Just curious if you're running a merlin build? Perhaps that'll help your wireless signal strength? Isn't the signal strength customizable with Merlin (over 80Mhz)?

I actually just bought the RT-N66U today and am going to pick it up at staples, unless I can be persuaded to get the AC model or the Netgear router instead.

Budget isn't a concern, I can spend $200 on a router, but I also don't want it to die in the next 6-12 months ; like I've read many times on amazon and other forums.

 

[enr00ted]

Yes I run Merlin, latest, but to be honest I see no difference over the stock in terms of signal. I remember Merlin saying that it can't do much as the driver is locked by the provider. I haven't done an extensive test anyway just pure observation. Thing is I have a sausage type of apartment and my router can only be on one end because there are the wall plugs, tv, nas etc. - living room (stupid design and architecture). Asus has some directional antennas but where I live (Spain) it's impossible to get and quite expensive to buy on Ebay from the US.

Mine is 2 years old already and I even opened the case and installed an SD card (it has a hidden slot) and has seen a lot. Still working, so it might depend on how lucky you are in getting a functional unit.

And I've read also on amazon and stuff but I think the people there are just complete noobs. I've bought some repeaters from Asus that everyone said were trash, not working etc. They worked perfectly till I finally sold them because I did not need them anymore.

 

[tdpol]

Yes that's true - many noobs on amazon for sure. I'm leaning towards the nighthawk router right now, and running DD-WRT and PIA (as much as I'd prefer the interface of Merlin). Seems as though connectivity and range is far greater with that router with "AC" mode, even with "N" only devices.

 

[enr00ted]

Ok. Whatever your final choise let me know what you've got and how it works. I am too loking for an upgrade in the near future .

 

[tdpol]

FYI ... I retuned the N66U and the R7000 and bought the AC66U.

 

[jegesq]

FYI ... I retuned the N66U and the R7000 and bought the AC66U.

Great choice. I have two of them (one as router the other as a repeater, along with another wireless bridge to another area of my home). But if I were buying again today, I'd get the RT-AC68P. Why the P? Because it has a faster processor than the 68R or 68U. The 68PP is only available for now at Best Buy in the U.S., but for only $30 more than the 66R/U, it's faster. But if you're going to stick with the 66U for now, you'll like it. It will easily handle your list of client devices with no problems.

 

[huotg01]

FYI ... I retuned the N66U and the R7000 and bought the AC66U.

I have a ac68U. If I would buy again, I would still go with it because it is a better balanced router for AC, having 2 processors.

Other comments:
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=22099
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?p=160366#post160366

 

[TonyH]

Yes that's true - many noobs on amazon for sure. I'm leaning towards the nighthawk router right now, and running DD-WRT and PIA (as much as I'd prefer the interface of Merlin). Seems as though connectivity and range is far greater with that router with "AC" mode, even with "N" only devices.

Hi,
It fits your budget. I guess it comes down to which f/w you prefer. dd-wrt vs.
Merlin. I liked both when I played with RT-AC68U or R7000. R7000
runs cool even if OC'd. Only thing, if you like to use SSH or Putty, you have to
choose ASUS.