Router recommendations for gigabit internet

[Mb11]

Hi. I'm currently looking into options to replace my ISP's router. My subscription plan is 1000/100 Mb/s and I would like to utilize as much as I can on my wireless devices. I bought Asus RT-AX68U few days ago for 100$, and while it is somewhat better than my ISP's modem/router, I reach ~500Mb/s standing few meters away from router. Also, having my PC connected to the router (by ethernet cable) it seems like I cannot reach the speeds I had before (usually got 950-1050 Mb/s download, now I'm reaching 600-800 max.)
I'm having second thoughts whether this investment was best bang for the buck or not. Would you go for anything else? I still have time to return the product and buy something else. The routers I considered to be possible options are RT-AX92U, RT-AX86U and RT-AX82U. Any recommendations, suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Few information for consideration:

• There are always 15-20 devices connected in total (5g+2.4G)
  • These include few iphones, few android phones, Amazon dots, 2 newer laptops, 3 older laptops
• In future I would like to set up additional router as AP (wired backhaul) in ground floor, which will sort of overlap with main router. (Currently I use old 2.4G capable TP-Link as an AP which also connects to TV by wire, but this AP will surely be replaced in near future)
• I would like to squeeze as much speed as possible from ISP via wifi.
• I'm willing to spend up to ~200$, but surely, best bang for the buck

 

[BreakingDad]

RT-AX86U, the choice of champions.

 

[Mb11]

RT-AX86U, the choice of champions.

But since I have RT-AX68U, is it worth upgrading to RT-AX86U?

 

[L&LD]

Best bang for the buck, for 1Gbps ISP speeds, in descending order and assuming you're not going to be upgrading the router again unless you need to.

GT-AX6000, RT-AX86U, RT-AX88U, RT-AX68U.

The first two are easy recommendations today. The last one mentioned is also very, very, very good (I would rate it higher than the RT-AX88U, but not for 1Gbps speeds).

If you're not seeing expected results from any of these routers, you've probably set it up incorrectly for the environment it's in.

 

[Tech Junky]

In future I would like to set up additional router as AP (wired backhaul)

Then use an AP and NOT a router. They're ~$150 and work better than a hobbled router.

If you put this in the ideal location you'll have complete coverage and better speeds. Leave the main router configured for WIFI in the basement and put the AP in the middle of the location to provide coverage.

I'm using a NWA210AX and AX411 (client) and getting 1.5gbps on the LAN over wifi. The NWA210AX provides corner to corner coverage in 1300sq ft and has room beyond that depending on construction of the interior walls / exterior.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Also, having my PC connected to the router (by ethernet cable) it seems like I cannot reach the speeds I had before (usually got 950-1050 Mb/s download, now I'm reaching 600-800 max.)

That's usually because you have enabled some of the TrendMicro features, like AiProtection. Go to Administration > Privacy and see if you have the option to "Withdraw" from the TrendMicro licence agreement.

 

[Mb11]

Best bang for the buck, for 1Gbps ISP speeds, in descending order and assuming you're not going to be upgrading the router again unless you need to.

GT-AX6000, RT-AX86U, RT-AX88U, RT-AX68U.

The first two are easy recommendations today. The last one mentioned is also very, very, very good (I would rate it higher than the RT-AX88U, but not for 1Gbps speeds).

If you're not seeing expected results from any of these routers, you've probably set it up incorrectly for the environment it's in.

Thank you for this! I just placed an order for AX86U as some of you recommended. Will see whether I'll return AX68U or I'll use it as an AP.

Then use an AP and NOT a router. They're ~$150 and work better than a hobbled router.

If you put this in the ideal location you'll have complete coverage and better speeds. Leave the main router configured for WIFI in the basement and put the AP in the middle of the location to provide coverage.

I'm using a NWA210AX and AX411 (client) and getting 1.5gbps on the LAN over wifi. The NWA210AX provides corner to corner coverage in 1300sq ft and has room beyond that depending on construction of the interior walls / exterior.

I thought since I already bought AX68U for 100€, that I might use it as AP. Would a dedicated AP for ~100€ work better?

That's usually because you have enabled some of the TrendMicro features, like AiProtection. Go to Administration > Privacy and see if you have the option to "Withdraw" from the TrendMicro licence agreement.

I have just withdrawed from it. However I had factory reset my router, installed Merlin firmware, and now withdrew from TrendMicro licence agreement, however I don't know which of these actually helped to boost my speed to 850Mb/s now. Still not quite happy, as I know I always reached 900+ before I bought router. Is it possible that the modem/router from ISP I had to put to bridge mode is doing its job poorly, hence the lower speed?

 

[Tech Junky]

I thought since I already bought AX68U for 100€, that I might use it as AP. Would a dedicated AP for ~100€ work better?

I don't know what you can get for ~100€. I do know that an AP w/o the router components typically performs better due to running cooler, mor ram, and better RF radios / antennas.

Using an AX AP though is where you need to be if you're making a one time investment and want it to keep up with devices as you replace them over time with newer tech embedded in them.

Look beyond the regular suspects in the consumer market though. Zyxel isn't something someone typically knows of because they're not usually sold in the big box stores. Looking at the SMB minded gear is where you'll find better options. There is the NWA110AX which is a 2x2 radio setup that is cheaper but, they're also making different models now compared to just 2 years ago when I picked up the NWA210AX.

nwa90az - 1ge port / ~$100

Zyxel NWA90AX WiFi 6 Access Point review

Manageable WiFi 6 for business customers

www.techradar.com

nwa50ax - same / $75
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09924QS1T/?tag=snbforums-20

If you want faster than 1GE speeds though you need to up your budget a bit. Having a 2.5GE port is what gets you faster speeds on your LAN and WAN if your ISP plan supports beyond 1GE speeds.

 

[Gary_Dexter]

Your ISP router/modem needs to be in bridge mode otherwise you'll be running into issues like double-nat etc.

 

[Tech Junky]

double-nat

This isn't a big issue for most I'm basically running triple nat after adding a VPN to the mix and everything works just fine.

 

[Tech9]

No issues in Double NAT, if the user has access to ISP modem/router settings. To simplify port forwarding the secondary router IP can be placed in DMZ. Newer stock Asuswrt firmware has DDNS external IP detection as well. Only Instant Guard doesn't work in Double NAT - it requires external WAN IP. It can be replaced easily with OpenVPN server. All my test Asus routers are in Double NAT behind my firewall.

 

[Keenan]

If not proper for this thread I'll start a new one, but could someone explain how the WAN port aggregation works on the AX6000? The product page indicates that combining the 2.5 GbE port and the 1 GbE port will provide 3.5 GbE WAN speed. How does the work physically as far as connections go, or is it only useful for WiFi connections? I'm guessing it's the latter but wanted to be sure. Thanks

Also, I read in another thread I think, that this model(GT-AX6000) has a bug with symmetrical download/upload speeds. Is that still an issue?

 

[Tech9]

How does the work physically as far as connections go

Your modem has to support 802.3ad, otherwise it won't work. Most likely you'll get 2x Gigabit connections and not 1x Gigabit + 1 x 2.5GbE. For GT-AX6000 is better to get a modem with 2.5GbE port. This is only needed/useful if your ISP speed is >Gigabit.

 

[Keenan]

Your modem has to support 802.3ad, otherwise it won't work. Most likely you'll get 2x Gigabit connections and not 1x Gigabit + 1 x 2.5GbE. For GT-AX6000 is better to get a modem with 2.5GbE port. This is only needed/useful if your ISP speed is >Gigabit.

I have an AdTran 622v ONT with Sonic Internet on a 10GbE service, so I was looking to maximize the capabilities of the AX6000. Ideally, I'd go for a router with a 10GbE WAN port but the associated equipment needed to utilize that speed is still somewhat expensive in the consumer area. I could get some used 10GbE NICs, but the switches are rather expensive. At the end of the day, I have no specific need for all the bandwidth(some large file transfers for work), just that it would be nice to get beyond that 940 Mb/s barrier on a 1Gbe connection.

The ONT does have a 10GbE and a 1Gbe port but Sonic indicates that the 1 GbE port is inactive.

https://help.sonic.com/hc/en-us/articles/7636761061655-AdTran-622v

Thanks

 

[Tech Junky]

@Keenan if the ont supports multi gig then there might be a workaround for getting better than gig speeds. According to the first Google result it supports 2.5/10GE. So in theory you should be able to connect at 2.5 at least.

If you went diy you could do a 10ge nic for $100 or less and then at least do a multi port 5ge for $200. Dual port 10ge could get you in/out 10ge speeds and then it's a matter of figuring out the lan needs.

 

[Keenan]

@Keenan if the ont supports multi gig then there might be a workaround for getting better than gig speeds. According to the first Google result it supports 2.5/10GE. So in theory you should be able to connect at 2.5 at least.

If you went diy you could do a 10ge nic for $100 or less and then at least do a multi port 5ge for $200. Dual port 10ge could get you in/out 10ge speeds and then it's a matter of figuring out the lan needs.

Yes, the ONT does provide multi-gig speed, the tech who installed ran several speed tests with a laptop and a box he was using inline with the connection, I don't recall what it was, but we were seeing 6500 Mb/s and even an 8000 Mb/s reading so the ONT has all the speed I could possibly use.

I've seen some of the used 10GbE NICs at reasonable prices, these are older Intel X540 NICs but I haven't seen any switches that seemed affordable though $200 is in the realm of being given some serious thought. I hate to go all 2.5GbE now and wish I had gone 10GbE down the road when more consumer equipment becomes available. I was looking at the RYT-AX89, but I understand that to be a Qualcomm-powered device and not supported by Merlin so that idea was shelved.

Might I ask where you've seen those $200 switches?
Thanks

 

[Tech Junky]

@Keenan
Well, it's not a switch it's a NIC 4-port 5GE / QXG-5G4T-111C. I use one in my DIY setup for lan/wan and can switch the port use from either as needed by changing the interface file. I went this route because I like LAN speed but also my AP runs @ 2.5GE and the 2.5GE NIC price difference wasn't that much different than going up to double the speed for ~$50 IIRC. I use it as a switch though for the few things plugged into it as everything else is wireless.

 

[Keenan]

@Keenan
Well, it's not a switch it's a NIC 4-port 5GE / QXG-5G4T-111C. I use one in my DIY setup for lan/wan and can switch the port use from either as needed by changing the interface file. I went this route because I like LAN speed but also my AP runs @ 2.5GE and the 2.5GE NIC price difference wasn't that much different than going up to double the speed for ~$50 IIRC. I use it as a switch though for the few things plugged into it as everything else is wireless.

Okay, that's an interesting approach; I wasn't aware that was possible. So, it acts as a normal NIC for the actual computer it's in and also operates as a switch for other computers/devices plugged into it?

 

[Tech Junky]

@Keenan
It's just like anything else where you tell it what you want it to do and it does it.

So, I configure 2 ports to the "WAN" side and 2 to the "LAN" and devices connected to the LAN side work just as they would on a switch as things like DHCP are handled by the DHCP server I have setup on the DIY box. If I plug in an Ethernet cable to my laptop I'm connected at 5GE and move files around at that speed using a USB 5GE adapter.

auto br0
iface br0 inet manual
bridge_ports enp5s0 enp6s0 enp10s0 wlp0s20f3

auto bo0
iface bo0 inet manual
bond-slaves enp8s0 enp9s0

So, 5&6 are the 5GE ports I allocated to be used on the LAN. 10 is a 2.5 on the MOBO and the Wireless I'm playing with as an AP. Still ironing out the details on the config side since it's an Intel AX411 but, it's up and working on 5Ghz @ 40mhz bandwidth which is kind of slow but, better than traditional Intel adapters only doing 2.4ghz. Anyway... So, I can move ports into / out of the BR0 (LAN) just by changing the config file. If you took a full ATX case w/ 6-7 slots you could come up with your own allocations if you needed a couple of dual 10GE cards for 4 ports and a single 5G4T for some additional 5GE LAN ports you could do it. Obviously you need a working PC to do this but, you can pick up a used / cheap one and throw the cards into it and make some configuration files to get it up and working for cheaper than most pre-built switches. If you want to use it as a router you can like I am.

When I started out with a cable modem / 1gig plan I wanted to make sure I got all of the bandwidth from the ISP and took a 4 port 1GE NIC to put two ports into a LACP bundle and got 1200-1500mbps for the same price by getting beyond that 1GE port limitation ~960mbps. Those 1gig cards are a lot cheaper though at $50.

If you're willing to put a little work into things you can save some money and get better performance out of things. Not to mention you have the ability to control and monitor things better. Sure, it's not the most efficient thing to do but, it works better than stuff off the shelf and is significantly cheaper than SMB/Enterprise devices.

If you wanted to or needed higher bandwidth there are even cards that do 100GE. It all depends on the needs and how much flexibility you want to have over your data.

 

[Keenan]

Thanks for the info!