Thinking of buying a ASUS AC5300 Tri-Band WiFi Gaming Router is this a good choice for me?

[JOE.G]

Hi, I am looking for a router that fits my needs, I have the following items all on wireless.
6 Smart Tv's
6 Lap tops
PS3 and PS4
4 Ipads
4 I Pods
4 Cellphones
and a few other odds and ends.
Not all of these devices are running at the same time but There a good chance the kids may be gaming or streaming movies a few at a time.
My home is about 2,800 sq ft and I also have a Nano station hooked to teh router directing internet to a Net gear router and a receiving Nano station in my shop which is about 120 Ft from my house and primary router location . In the shop I have a smart tv and Lap top. Currently the upload and down load speeds are slow out there and the Nano stations are only 2.4 G

Currently I have a Modem and Separate router both supplied by spectrum.
I pay for teh 400 Gig wireless service.

I am looking for a capable router to handle the load I have and hopefully have good range. I would like to be able to by pass the Nano stations if I could. Also I would like a easy router to use and set up as I am not much up on this stuff , Thank you for your time.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0167HG1V6/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[microchip]

Get the RT-AC86U. That's 86, not 68

 

[JOE.G]

Why do you suggest the RT-AC86U over the AC5300? I was also looking at the RT-AC88U.

I believe this is the Modem I have.
https://www.amazon.com/Touchstone-TM...ct_top?ie=UTF8

All wiring in the house is new and I have no neighbors, Country life is great. I am thinking that the Supplied router is the choke point at the moment. But I am unsure.

The router I posted about is supposed to be a Mesh router which i guess allows me to add more routers to it to expand coverage, Do you think I could do this from my home to my shop ? Thanks

 

[thiggins]

A tri-band router has one 2.4 GHz radio and two 5 GHz radios. It can help handle the load of many devices IF the devices are properly spread among the radios.

"Proper spread" means slow devices are separated from fast ones. The "Smart connect" feature is supposed to do this automatically, but it doesn't work well. So you are better off assigning different SSIDs to each radio and manually assigning devices to radios.

I would not recommend trying to replace the pair of Nano stations with a direct link from the new routers out to the shop. That will likely be a slow (low link rate) connection, which will eat up bandwidth on the radio used to connect to the shop.

Keep the shop link separate. If you need more bandwidth upgrade to 5 GHz Nanostations or other bridges.

 

[JOE.G]

Are there any Nanostation type devices that are easy to use that you would recommend?

 

[thiggins]

Are there any Nanostation type devices that are easy to use that you would recommend?

Engenius has many inexpensive wireless bridges. Not the easiest to install, but no harder than Ubiquiti and they don't require a controller.

 

[JOE.G]

This stuff confuses me beyond belief, I lost the password so i cant even get into the Nano station to check the settings. Ill probably buy teh router in a couple weeks then I will worry about the nano stations I guess.

 

[avtella]

86U is probably the best bang for the buck, the older 88U (despite the higher model number) is using an older WiFi chipset and CPU, the 86U has better WiFi performance and significantly better VPN performance.

 

[JOE.G]

Avtella IS the 5300 still a good choice? Are you recommending the 86 U because the cost to perf ratio? Does it out perform the 5300 ?

 

[avtella]

86U uses the same WiFi chipset but 1 less 5Ghz radio and CPU wise is dual core vs quad core on the 5300. However VPN is single threaded so keep that in mind as single core performance will be the around the same between the two units. WiFi performance should be roughly equal, as Higgins mentioned the 5300 has the benefit of balancing more devices on 5Ghz due to the extra radio but its up to you to decide if you really need that. I certainly was speaking from a price to performance ratio. Honestly I think the 86U can handle your load.

 

[JOE.G]

Thank you Ill keep that in mind. I use VPN at work but why would I use it at home?

 

[psychopomp1]

Thank you Ill keep that in mind. I use VPN at work but why would I use it at home?

To keep your browsing activity hidden from the Gov't/FBI/NSA/GCHQ/MI5 and/or gain access to geographically restricted websites. If you have no intention of using VPN, I would go for the something like the Netgear R7800 which is pretty much the best router out there for wireless range. The R7800 should be able to handle your clients with ease.

 

[JOE.G]

That was one of the ones I was looking at, I just remember Netgear having terrible customer service, I am not sure if this has changed.

Is teh VPN something I need to turn on and set up or is it automatic? Sorry if my questions are basic. I am just lost with this stuff.

 

[microchip]

NETGEAR's customer service is no better or worse than others. They're very supportive in my experience and have also built a great community - others have had a horrible experience and end up being mad and avoiding NG products. It's their software engineering that sucks really really bad, which gets reflected in their terrible firmware

 

[JOE.G]

I am not stuck on the 5300, I just kind of want the best router I can get for under $300, I would like to be future proof at least for a little while. I want one that can do a lot of things just encase I need it but also want it to be easy to set up and use. I like the fact I can use it as a mesh set up if I need to ( Not really sure how but it says I can Lol ) . I am tired of my current router which I always have to restart and if to many people get on it bogs right down. I am not crazy how the 5300 looks, I do like the other routers posted in the looks dept much better as the Router is in my livingroom now.

 

[avtella]

In terms pure wireless performance the R7800 probably is still the top performing unit and has working MU-MIMO and HT160 (for double bandwidth on HT160 enabled laptops/phones), in reality you are limited to Ethernet limit so 100-114 MB/s aka 800-910 Mbps is what I get with my laptop that has an Intel 9260ac adapter in terms real world speeds when doing file transfers to my NAS one floor above. Hardware/stability wise it is a gem, probably the best WiFi chipset (QCA9984), firmware not so much in terms of advanced features, extra software features are usually buggy like device labeling, QoS priorities settings etc

If you want the same hardware with better firmware the Synology RT2600AC is the alternative.

Asus on the other hand has better firmware than Netgear and advanced options on the software side along with better updates. I’d say the 86U is a more well rounded package.

 

[JOE.G]

My internet company supplies this modem I believe ( Pretty sure this is the one I have )
Arris Touchstone TM1602A

Is this a limiting factor? I would really prefer not to change it if I don't have to.
The Synology RT2600AC seems like a real good choice also from the reading I have done.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N21Y832/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[psychopomp1]

The modem your ISP has given you *should* be compatible with any standalone router. The Synology is another excellent router, it has similar wifi performance to the Netgear R7800 but with better firmware.

 

[Poseidon]

The Arris TM1602A modems have the problematic Puma 6 chip. I would avoid using that modem and purchase your own. I highly recommend the Netgear CM600 modem. It's on the list of all the major ISP and it's one of the best non-Puma 6 modems currently out there.

As for the routers, go for the Synology RT2600AC. Been using it for a week now after being a long time Asus user and let's just say that I have no plans on ever going back to Asus again. Synology has amazing firmware and customer support and make superb routers.

 

[System Error Message]

note: a gaming router isnt particularly the best choice for gaming, its just called that because it looks like something a gamer would want.

The ac5300 from asus is outdated compared to the newer routers (wifi chip wise). You need to understand your priorities.

Firstly check that the router supports your WAN speeds with the features you plan to use. 2nd, get the newest and best wifi chips. Just because it says 5300 doesnt mean you'd get 5300Gb/s out of wifi. Wifi AC gives 50-60% of rated link speeds (of the client not router) practically, Wifi N and 2.4Ghz, about 30% at best. Theres really no substitute for cables yet.