Want to upgrade WNDR3700, N66U vs WNDR4500 vs EA4500

[saurin13]

Hi all. I wanted some advice on picking a router for my home. Thanks in advance!

My current set-up

• WNDR3700 (v1)
• Multiple devices (TV, xbox, appletv, popbox, ps3, nas) on gigabit lan for streaming HD content from my media server and nas
• Media server is a LAN connected Windows 7 machine
• ipads, kindles, smartphones, laptops all accessing wifi throughout the house. About 5 devices at any given time, mostly web surfing or watching video
• ~2000 sq ft house (two floor)
• My wifi device sits roughly in the middle of the second floor.

WNDR3700 has been giving me no issues except that it does not seem to play nice with my 2011 MacBook Air, which seems to have wifi issues every now and then. My friend with exact same router and also macbook air is experience the same problem. My Macbook Air has no issues on other routers so far. (basically every now and then, it seems to not be able to resolve DNS and I have to turn off wifi and turn it back on on the laptop).

Also my WNDR3700 gives terrible reception in my backyard (i just need to move a few feet into the backyard and the wifi signal is gone).

I want strong gigabit lan performance and solid wifi performance, ability to go to the backyard.

The routers I was considering are:

• Asus N56U
• Asus N66U
• WNDR4500
• EA4500

What are your thoughts? Other router I should go with other than the ones listed above?

Thanks!

 

[saurin13]

Hi everyone. Your help is much appreciated. Long-time reader, first time poster ;-)

 

[thetoad30]

First, and foremost, do you have the latest firmware on the router?

Second, do you have aluminum siding or are you in a newer house that has metallic insulation or vapor barrier? If so, going outside will not get much better with any other router inside your house.

Finally, what frequency band are you using for wireless? 5GHz or 2.4GHz?

I don't believe you're going to get much better than the WNDR3700 in terms of wireless signal performance for the price you're going to pay for a newer router. I've looked into upgrading to an ASUS model, but realistically my WNDR3700v2 with OpenWRT on it is giving me all that I need. Sure I don't have three-stream 5GHz, but what I do have is a pretty stable platform, a pretty powerful router both in performance and in features (I am a power user), and something I can mess around with without worrying about breaking it.

In short, I guess what I'm saying is for the things you're trying to solve, you might be better off spending money in a different area; mainly for outside wireless getting an outdoor AP or putting something in your attic for that use.

 

[saurin13]

I have the latest firmware from Netgear. I am not using any opensource or non Netgear firmware (should I?)

My house is 30+ years old - I dont think it has aluminum siding or anything. BTW my old router (Dlink-655) used to work fine with my being outside.

Also the main issue I am looking to solve is my Macbook Air dropping/losing signal (or ability to resolve DNS) with this router.

 

[thiggins]

Go to the Router Charts and select the 2.4 GHz downlink benchmark and select Location D and F instead of Average to compare the low signal performance.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/58-2_4-ghz-dn?see=P_F

 

[saurin13]

i took a look at the charts, and it seems that the WNDR4000 seems to be pretty strong. What about the LAN performance?

 

[Daybreak]

WNDR3700 has been giving me no issues except that it does not seem to play nice with my 2011 MacBook Air, which seems to have wifi issues every now and then. My friend with exact same router and also macbook air is experience the same problem. My Macbook Air has no issues on other routers so far. (basically every now and then, it seems to not be able to resolve DNS and I have to turn off wifi and turn it back on on the laptop).

Howdy,
Try contacting apple and have them fix your mac.

As others have stated, the WNDR3700 does have good signal range.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
I quit using Linksys stuffs after Cisco bought them. I used both Netgear and Asus also. At least from these three I liked N66U best. Now I am using
ZyXel USG 20W.

 

[saurin13]

LOL There is a known macbook air issue with the WNDR3700 for some reason... its really quite annoying.

Howdy,
Try contacting apple and have them fix your mac.

As others have stated, the WNDR3700 does have good signal range.

 

[saurin13]

one more thing I have the v1 of WNDR3700 (its the WNDR3700v1) not v2

 

[Daybreak]

LOL There is a known macbook air issue with the WNDR3700 for some reason... its really quite annoying.

Howdy,
at least you understood my dig, you have at least researched and understand the situation. The same thing goes for access points and bridges, from same manufacturer always works better than from multiple vendors.

I am bias, I have the Asus RT-N66U working great here.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
Have you tried third party f/w like OpenWrt for your WNDR3700? There is ready to install f/w not needing anything like compiling for V1 or V2.

 

[stevech]

2000 sq ft, two stories... I'd suggest one WiFi router and one WiFi access point, where the latter can be a re-purposed WiFi router (See FAQ here).

 

[saurin13]

Where is the FAQ link?

2000 sq ft, two stories... I'd suggest one WiFi router and one WiFi access point, where the latter can be a re-purposed WiFi router (See FAQ here).

 

[saurin13]

I have not tried OpenWRT. I know about it, but have always been nervous about non-mfg software.

Hi,
Have you tried third party f/w like OpenWrt for your WNDR3700? There is ready to install f/w not needing anything like compiling for V1 or V2.

 

[saurin13]

I like Apple products, but am not a fanboy. It not working with my wifi, when every other laptop I've had works, point to lack of QA IMO.

Howdy,
at least you understood my dig, you have at least researched and understand the situation. The same thing goes for access points and bridges, from same manufacturer always works better than from multiple vendors.

I am bias, I have the Asus RT-N66U working great here.