Next router is going to be ASUS w/Merlin FW, which one to get?

[TheRealMaxey]

I've been running Buffalo routers for a while because of the great support of DD-WRT. That being said, I have had trouble with hardware reliability and I'm on my 4th Buffalo in 5 years.

As far as what I need, and before anyone wonders why I have so many devices, I have 6 kids.

So, I was looking for opinions in what would be best for the following scenario:

- 3600sq/ft single level home and 3/4 acre-ish yard
- 7 laptops
- 7 tablets
- 3 Xbox Ones
- 8 phones
- Most of the laptops are equipped with the Intel or Killer AC-capable wireless adapters.
- Verizon FIOS 150/150 Internet
- QoS is essential, as well as some level of parental control and/or logging
- VPN is also essential
- Ad Blocking at the router would be nice (sometimes inappropriate ads make it through parental filters)

I was drawn to the upcoming RT-AC5300 due to the range and ability to spread the load across the spectrum that is being advertised, but wondered if anyone has thoughts/opinions on the other currently available models that may be a better fit.

Thanks!

 

[RMerlin]

With so many devices and a mixture of slow and fast clients, the RT-AC5300 is probably a good choice, so you'll be able to split your slower clients from the faster ones.

The RT-AC3200 would be another good alternative, if the RT-AC5300 is too expensive, or isn't available quickly enough (there's no announced release date yet).