RT-AC66U vs. RT-N66U vs. ??

[Deleted member 30192]

Hey guys.

I'm about to buy a new router, and got my eyes on the RT-N66U.
Yet, today i received an offer to buy a RT-AC66U, for the same price as a RT-N66U.

As far as i can understand, these two routers are identical except for the AC capabilities of course. Is this true?
My thoughts about the AC router is, that because it's an early generation of AC router, it's maybe more "unstable" or untested than the N counter part. Or maybe i'm wrong, and theres no problems with the AC router?

If they have similar performance i will of course buy the AC router since I can get it for the same price as the N.

I'm of course also open for other alternatives, if anyone can recommend another router in the same price range as the RT-N66U

I don't have any AC clients to use at the moment, but down the road it will be useful.

What i need to hook up to the router:

1x desktop PC - wired
1x laptop - wireless
1x iphone - wireless
1x PS3 - wired
1x WD TV Live - wired
1x Synology NAS - wired

All wired connections will be gigabit.

I hope someone can help me decide

 

[microchip]

I haven't had a single problem with my AC66U, from the day I bought it. If you have such an offer, I'd suggest to jump on it and be a bit "future proof" in case you get an AC device at some point

I've never used the N66U so can't compare performance against the AC66U

 

[Deleted member 30192]

Thanks for the input

 

[CooCooCaChoo]

I haven't had a single problem with my AC66U, from the day I bought it. If you have such an offer, I'd suggest to jump on it and be a bit "future proof" in case you get an AC device at some point

I've never used the N66U so can't compare performance against the AC66U

IMHO, the only future proofing you would only need is IPv6. The numbers that Asus and all other manufacturers use to sell their routers to you are only possible to attain when every bit of hardware you have are also the latest and greatest and most expensive. So only if you have a lot of money burning a hole in your pocket. New technologies are always coming out and what you buy now is going to be obsolete someday anyway.

I have the N66 and its performance is good. Using Merlin's 35-4 SDK5 firmware, its stable and reliable as well. Its routing performance is more than enough for gigabit fibre if and when it ever arrives. I'll be keeping this router for a long time and will only replace it when it finally dies or a model with the features I want at an affordable price comes along.

 

[azazel1024]

Unless you actually need it, don't "future proof". The technologies change so rapidly. Just look at things, Wave 2 802.11ac products are just starting to ship and will be "mainstream" in probably 6-12 months. So buying a Wave 1 802.11ac product doesn't future proof, you'd be buying already outdated technology.

In general, you should only buy a new enough technology to support the devices you currently own, or possibly might own within the next few months.

If you want something inexpensive with excellent range and damn good performance, get the TP-Link WDR3600 or if you have any 3 stream devices, get the WDR4300. Both are inexpensive and are very good in my experience.