Is there at least one good router out there?

[snb008]

Netgear R7000 and Asus RT-AC68U/87U were exactly the 2 models on my list. I finally picked an Asus because of its 3-year warranty and long-term firmware support. At the store, I discovered an RT-AC87U was only marginally more expensive than an RT-AC68U and so I chose the 87U.

I have no actual problem of overheating. But I do use a $3 USB fan to provide an extra peace of mind.
And I have no problem with the 5GHz 'disconnection' either. But I only had the router for less than a month and so my experience is limited.

 

[RMerlin]

thanks merlin. Looks like I can't get the Asus 3200 here now....my luck someone bought it. Only the X6 and 890 left. Maybe I'll order it my favorite BC store if its on sale tonight.

If you are in Canada then check out NCIX. They regularly have discounts on Asus routers (they change their weekly deals every Wednesday nights)

 

[Goofie Newfie]

yeah that would be my fav store in BC. I have a store credit too so it won't hurt so much.

 

[Trip]

If you really want greater reach but also want to preserve reliability, and do so in logical and economic order, then start with the best all-in-one purchased primarily on wireless performance, back-seating the rest of the so-called in-box features. If it holds up on all fronts, great, you're done. If range is still short, and you can't relocate, then you've confirmed you still need a second access point via wire, powerline, etc. If core routing falls short on features, performance or stability, then you simply drop in a more solid wired router to handle all of that and de-purpose the all-in-one to access point duty only. In all cases, you've proceeded logically, only invested as needed and didn't waste any purchases. Game, set, match.

 

[Goofie Newfie]

ordered the Asus 3200. Feel like I wasted probably $150 more then I needed, but my router is literally dying as I type. Had to stop messing around and just make a decision. Thanks for the help guys.

I like the idea of being able to manually assign things with the 3200, and over the next year I'll have more camera's, more smart things in house so hoping the 3200 makes more sense.

Update: I put a hold on the order for tonight. I may cancel this order tomorrow. Still wondering if the 87u would be better choice a year from now. The reality is the majority of my traffic are the cameras. They are 2.4ghz N. Half a dozen other things are AC. PC'S are all wired. So does an additional 5ghz radio really benefit me?

 

[stevech]

maybe you could buy an access point and set it up on a different channel and SSID. The cameras could use that. The wifi from the router would be for handhelds, etc and less encumbered.

 

[sfx2000]

maybe you could buy an access point and set it up on a different channel and SSID. The cameras could use that. The wifi from the router would be for handhelds, etc and less encumbered.

Good point - the inverse might also apply - when getting the new router, keep the old one, put it into AP mode with a different SSID, and park the wireless Cameras there...

 

[hizzo3]

There are a few power line AP's getting pretty decent speeds these days...

 

[thiggins]

There are a few power line AP's getting pretty decent speeds these days...

Which ones?

 

[Goofie Newfie]

I canceled the AC3200 ASus order from NCIX. Went and got the 87U locally. The 3200 is just crazy money for what it is and this being my first Asus I wasn't taking the leap ordering online. Much too early to decide if I am keeping it. But quick observations
1. it does run warm. Mind you we are going through a heat wave right now.
2. The 2.4GHz range is quite good and even covers my dead spot in the house which nothing else ever did.
3. 5GHz range is nowhere near as good, and often I can't even see it to connect to it even when close to it.
4. I am actually shocked people praise the Asus interface so much. It's just a random mess. There are so many design quirks. One area like DHCP reservation design is a total joke. Asus should be ashamed of it. Even my 8 yr old Dlink has computer names, and proper drop down list to add whatever MAC shows up on the router as a reservation. All nicely organized. Then those same names carry over throughout the entire interface so when you setup say MAC filter, your using friendly names, no MAC's. As far as I'm concerned, the Asus DHCP reservation page doesn't even work. Even with ALL my devices on,most do not show up, and if they do, some of them are names, some are MAC's, some are simply *....wtf? then that same problem carries over to everything else, QOS page, network map etc. This is very very basic interface stuff, and from I'm reading online, it's been an Asus problem for years. Shame on you Asus for such sloppy programming. When I have to put in reservations by printing out the reservation list from my 8 yr old router and manually put them into my new near $300 router....ASus, you have failed.

Is Merlins firmware any better?

AS for performance wise, still tweaking stuff. So no final verdict yet. I do like the QOS stuff....if it showed proper names. Probably only use it for troubleshooting though. Being someone that has managed BW devices for years, packetshapers, Procera's etc it is kinda cool to be able to see what devices are accessing what on a consumer device.

 

[RogerSC]

I canceled the AC3200 ASus order from NCIX. Went and got the 87U locally. The 3200 is just crazy money for what it is and this being my first Asus I wasn't taking the leap ordering online. Much too early to decide if I am keeping it. But quick observations
1. it does run warm. Mind you we are going through a heat wave right now.
2. The 2.4GHz range is quite good and even covers my dead spot in the house which nothing else ever did.
3. 5GHz range is nowhere near as good, and often I can't even see it to connect to it even when close to it.
4. I am actually shocked people praise the Asus interface so much. It's just a random mess. There are so many design quirks. One area like DHCP reservation design is a total joke. Asus should be ashamed of it. Even my 8 yr old Dlink has computer names, and proper drop down list to add whatever MAC shows up on the router as a reservation. All nicely organized. Then those same names carry over throughout the entire interface so when you setup say MAC filter, your using friendly names, no MAC's. As far as I'm concerned, the Asus DHCP reservation page doesn't even work. Even with ALL my devices on,most do not show up, and if they do, some of them are names, some are MAC's, some are simply *....wtf? then that same problem carries over to everything else, QOS page, network map etc. This is very very basic interface stuff, and from I'm reading online, it's been an Asus problem for years. Shame on you Asus for such sloppy programming. When I have to put in reservations by printing out the reservation list from my 8 yr old router and manually put them into my new near $300 router....ASus, you have failed.

Is Merlins firmware any better?

AS for performance wise, still tweaking stuff. So no final verdict yet. I do like the QOS stuff....if it showed proper names. Probably only use it for troubleshooting though. Being someone that has managed BW devices for years, packetshapers, Procera's etc it is kinda cool to be able to see what devices are accessing what on a consumer device.

So what firmware have you seen that you like the web admin interface for? That would be helpful to hear. Personally, I find RMerlin's interface to be fine. Also, I'm using the RT-AC68P, and it is performing really well here. It's less than a year old, so I'd be surprised to see Asus support for it go away soon. I don't know if you can get it directly, though. I'd also be surprised to see support for the Netgear R7000 go away very soon. But, if it does, it is being supported by DD-WRT, Tomato, and a newer port of RMerlin's firmware by XVortex.

Anyways, there are some good choices out there...personally I wouldn't have an RT-AC87U. You're paying for 4 channel technology, but not getting it (even if you could get clients for it).

Anyways, I have the WRT1900AC, the RT-AC68P, and the R7000. Of those, I'd recommend the R7000 and the RT-AC68P. Both of these have good third-party firmware support, as well as being currently supported by the OEM's. I'm not happy at the moment with the firmware available for the WRT1900AC, although that could change if DD-WRT gets stabilized.

 

[Goofie Newfie]

I think I'll try Merlins next. I'm not sure what I'm giving up with his? Just wanted to try stock first and see how stable it is. 2.4ghz is fine. Range is stable and excellent. 5ghz I see no massive drops yet with BF off. Want to leave router on a few days though. I'm seeing cpu temps around 72C under load. With a laptop cooler CPU stays between 60-65C

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Cloud200]

With Merlin's you give up nothing.
It's the same code as stock asus but modified slightly for bug fixes and extra options. The credo of the firmware is stability over features.

 

[Goofie Newfie]

So I put Merlin's on tonight. Certainly a step in the right direction. His added features are nice. Lets see how stable it is now. Got 1 week before I decide to keep this thing or return it.

 

[hizzo3]

Which ones?

Netgear xavb5201 is one.
Tpl-410ap is another.

 

[Goofie Newfie]

1 week in. No real major issues on the 87u. No drops on the 5gig channel. 2.4 range is superb and it is handling my cameras fine. But I did have the dhcp issue once with my isp where the router did not renew ip address and I had to reboot it in order for Internet to work again. Cpu temp seems stable at 60 to 64c on a hot day with a very junky targus laptop cooler.

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

 

[sm00thpapa]

At this time I would still have to recommend an AC1900 router. IMO AC2400 and AC3200 routers are still in BETA form.

 

[psychopomp1]

At this time I would still have to recommend an AC1900 router. IMO AC2400 and AC3200 routers are still in BETA form.

Oh really? I think you're judging all routers based on the instability of the Quantenna based routers. I suggest you try the Linksys EA8500 (Qualcomm basded), unlike the Asus AC87R, its rock solid despite being relatively new.

 

[sm00thpapa]

Oh really? I think you're judging all routers based on the instability of the Quantenna based routers. I suggest you try the Linksys EA8500 (Qualcomm basded), unlike the Asus AC87R, its rock solid despite being relatively new.

Yes Really! When there is no 4x4 wireless adapters readily availble for it yes it is still beta. Linksys had to ship a special laptop with built in 4x4 to tester's along with the router. Does Linksys sell a 4x4 adapter yet? None that I know of. Go ahead you spend $300.00 on a beta router that will you will never get to use to it's full potential until years from now.

 

[thiggins]

Linksys had to ship a special laptop with built in 4x4 to tester's along with the router.

This is incorrect. The laptops Linksys shipped with the EA8500 and Xiomi phones Amped Wireless shipped with the RTA2600 had QCA 1x1 adapters for MU-MIMO testing.

Manufacturers ship a second router, to be configured as a bridge, to test 4x4 maximum throughput.