upgrading from Netgear WNDR3300. Help me choose :(

[jjstyles]

ok so i need a new budget router and it comes down to these 4. Im hearing this beamforming thing is overrated and i have only 1 device capable of AC band wifi, unless xbox one can handle it. I care about range but all routers with internal antennas seem to be crap. Help me decide which one is less crappy for my budget $$
1. LINKSYS EA6500- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008I21EA2/?tag=snbforums-20

2.NETGEAR R6300-http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EM5UFP4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&smid=A93AI4F0OLBDD

3.NETGEAR WNDRN4500- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HEX851C/?tag=snbforums-20

4.TREND NET
TEW-812DRU -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B0CQCCC/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[netwrks]

The first AC router I ever bought (and still have) is the R6300 - mine is a V1. All Broadcom chips. Never had an issue with it. Ran .N and .AC clients on it with no problems. I would pick the R6300. But like anything in this world, YMMV..

 

[TheManFromUncle]

Small appartment? Many walls?

 

[stevech]

ASUS

 

[L&LD]

I would agree with stevech. I would be looking for an Asus router (for many reasons).

• Firmware updated frequently and for a long time after the model's introduction
• Firmware based on much newer (and therefore more secure) code
• More features, more stable and more capable (even if you don't need them at all initially).

In the $100 price point you're looking at, the RT-AC56U may surprise you with the right firmware and it's internal antennae.

In the closer to the $200 price point, the RT-AC68U is the best bang for the buck today. Particularly if you get the latest version with the dual core 1GHz processor.


http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ra...e-routers-cripple-security.29893/#post-232348

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-378-55-3_hgg-final-mod.26524/page-2#post-199549


Routers from other manufacturers seem to be plagued with; issue firmware for three to six months or less from release of new models, then drop support (new features not needed, but fixing new security issues as they arise should be at the top of any manufacturer's list for a device that is protecting the 'digital front door' of the end user.

Other issues as already mentioned is the releasing of these routers with old and ancient components with known security risks.

With the least important being the fresh look of the Asus gui (which is also constantly updated by Asus for all current and many older models too).

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/router-ui-emulators.30552/

When spending the same or a bit higher money for the 2 to 4 years or more most people keep a router for, buying anything less than the current 'best' is not something I can understand, all else being equal (availability, etc.).

 

[htismaqe]

Please tell me you didn't just call the Asus GUI "fresh"...

 

[L&LD]

Please tell me you didn't just call the Asus GUI "fresh"...

Yes, as in a breath of fresh air.

Clearly laid out, option settings clearly visible and easy to navigate and read.

Other manufacturers may be close, but the ones that have garish colors, and layouts from 1980 are indicative of an gui that seems to offer many options (yet doesn't) and from a simple readability aspect, they fail (at least for me).

Are they all usable for setting up a router in a basic mode? Sure.

But with added features (like an Asus model offers) setting just the basics and then forgetting about the gui is a thing of the past for anyone I've introduced an Asus router to.

 

[htismaqe]

Interesting. I find the Asus GUI to be quite awful, especially the color and layout.

 

[L&LD]

Interesting. I find the Asus GUI to be quite awful, especially the color and layout.

Interesting! What gui from the link to the demos (last link in post 5 above) would you find pleasing?

Readability is the #1 thing I look for in a gui (or os). If it doesn't have that functionality, I don't care how pretty it may or may not be.

 

[htismaqe]

For me, readability comes down to one thing: black letters on a white background. There's a reason we've been printing that way for 600 years. I prefer the old WRT interface which is pretty much what DD-WRT looks like now. Asus' firmware is simply too dark. I don't find it very legible at all.

As for layout, sidebar or tabs. Pick one. Netgear uses sidebar. DD-WRT uses tabs. Asus tries to use BOTH and the result is a mess.

 

[L&LD]

For me, readability comes down to one thing: black letters on a white background. There's a reason we've been printing that way for 600 years. I prefer the old WRT interface which is pretty much what DD-WRT looks like now. Asus' firmware is simply too dark. I don't find it very legible at all.

As for layout, sidebar or tabs. Pick one. Netgear uses sidebar. DD-WRT uses tabs. Asus tries to use BOTH and the result is a mess.

Black letters on a white background are great for paper and ink/pencil.

Horrible on a 300+ nit screen.

Sidebar and Tabs are integrated seamlessly, imo, in the Asus firmware. Easier navigation, easier to add new features to the relevant main choices (Sidebars) and allows for each screen to be only for the control intended. Very logical, I say.

Does anyone else find Asus' gui as bad as htismaqe indicates?

 

[stevech]

after initial setup, on my (ASUS) router, I use the Admin GUI so infrequently, that what I care about is how few screens it has!

 

[htismaqe]

Does anyone else find Asus' gui as bad as htismaqe indicates?

Not really a fair question given the sheer number of Asus users here (due to RMerlin's presence).

 

[L&LD]

Not really a fair question given the sheer number of Asus users here (due to RMerlin's presence).

This isn't a contest (really).

Just a genuine question to see if the gui is 'good' or 'not' for most here. Particularly for people that have used other gui's (like you and I) before.

 

[htismaqe]

I know it's not a contest. I'm merely suggesting you're going to get a predictably one-sided response because this forum is populated with a high number of Asus enthusiasts.

 

[sfx2000]

ok so i need a new budget router and it comes down to these 4. Im hearing this beamforming thing is overrated and i have only 1 device capable of AC band wifi, unless xbox one can handle it. I care about range but all routers with internal antennas seem to be crap.

Are you sure you need a new router? If the current one is working fine, and is reasonably stable, you're probably good where you're presently at...

That being said - since you're currently a Netgear user, and if the Netgear UI works for you - the recommendation would be to stay where you're at with regards to the vendor, and look for special deals - probably the best AC-class recommendation would be the R7000, and watch for sales - folks have commented on this board that sometimes they're available for around $130USD, which is a great price for an AC1900 class device.

Also might consider adding the TP-Link Archers to your list - heard good feedback across the boards on a couple of the models there - not fancy or full of frills, but for basic Router/AP/Firewall duties on a budget, they're worth consideration.

 

[sfx2000]

Does anyone else find Asus' gui as bad as htismaqe indicates?

It's serviceable - but suffers many of the same issues that other vendors also have - creeping features have complicated the UI workflow a bit.

While the color choices seem a bit odd - they're actually somewhat friendly for folks who are color challenged like me, which is always a plus...

 

[Nullity]

Black letters on a white background are great for paper and ink/pencil.

Horrible on a 300+ nit screen.

Sidebar and Tabs are integrated seamlessly, imo, in the Asus firmware. Easier navigation, easier to add new features to the relevant main choices (Sidebars) and allows for each screen to be only for the control intended. Very logical, I say.

Does anyone else find Asus' gui as bad as htismaqe indicates?

I like Asus' "pretty" GUI. In my opinion, from a usability perspective, most GUIs are crap, so... if I must see it, at least make it pretty. For a few, common quick & dirty things the GUI is more convenient, but for most power-user tasks, CLI is my first-choice.

I mean, I can more or less sit at any Mac OS X, Linux/GNU, *BSD, and run a ton of portable CLI commands. But if I had to run the same activities through the GUI, I would most likely be lost...

The Asus GUI does seem to unintuitively categorize some functions, but there are so few pages, it's not much of a problem (though, I use AP mode, so I may not be seeing the whole picture...).

 

[RMerlin]

I would recommend going for an AC router. You can get some AC-capable models for close or even under 100$ these days. Even if you have no AC-enabled devices now, Tim's tests showed that those routers tend to still provide improvements over previous generation routers even with 802.11n clients.

 

[RogerSC]

Black letters on a white background are great for paper and ink/pencil.

Horrible on a 300+ nit screen.

Sidebar and Tabs are integrated seamlessly, imo, in the Asus firmware. Easier navigation, easier to add new features to the relevant main choices (Sidebars) and allows for each screen to be only for the control intended. Very logical, I say.

Does anyone else find Asus' gui as bad as htismaqe indicates?

I don't find it bad, I'm just real tired of "the black knight" theme. And I do like black on a slightly off-white background as well. That's what I'm looking at right now, and it's fine, and readable for me. Although my main criteria for a router doesn't include the color scheme of the GUI, more about functionality being what I need. And having the tools to help me find and fix problems in my home network. If I were choosing between two routers that met my criteria for functionality, then I might look at the color scheme of the GUI. Of course, if the GUI was unreadable, then it wouldn't fit my functionality criteria, since I couldn't read the controls...