Which router to get? My Asus Ac87u has been a complete mess, thinking about the synology ac1900

[whatsupdude]

I've had nothing but problems with my asus ac87u, so I want to replace it.

Things that are important to me:
- MU-MIMO, I need a router that supports it, I already have a phone that works with it
- 5ghz Wifi, I don't care much for 2.4ghz (there are 23 other 2.4 ghz routers around me, so it's a lost cause anyway), but I want a stable 5ghz wifi with a high throughput. I don't need the biggest coverage since I live in a 50sqm flat.
- Getting full gigabit ethernet speed
- Being able to prioritize traffic (Gaming>voip>netflix>file downloads for example)
- Wifi ac
- Having a fully open source firmware (that actually works and supports all features) would be a big plus
- I need to be able to connect a single usb printer
- The router must support the higher 5ghz wifi bands, not only 36-48).

Things that are not:
- 2.4ghz wifi
- Having more than a single 2.4ghz and a single 5ghz network at the same time (so no 3200 devices for me)
- Link aggregation

This is what my network looks like:
Desktop pc -> gigabit lan
synology ds415+ -> gigabit lan
samsung tv -> gigabit lan
nexus6p -> 5ghz wifi (2x2 mimo)
laptop -> 5ghz wifi (no mimo afaik)
On top of that, there might be somewhere between 1-4 other devices on my wifi (both 2.4ghz and 5ghz) from family, friends etc. 5ghz wifi is pretty free here, there are 3 routers on bands 36-48, but not a single one higher than that, so I think I should be able to get pretty nice speed on the higher end of the spectrum).

I found the synology ac1900 which seems to be what I'd like, but I'm not sure if it's actually 2nd wave ac (as in it supports mimo and all that) or not. Depending on where you look, you have people saying it supports mimo or it's wave 1. I've also taken a look at the asus ac88u, which would probably also suit me, but after the disaster with the ac87u I'd prefer to not take any risks.

So, is the synology ac1900 actually wave 2 and supports mimo or not? What other alternatives do you see, based on what I'm looking for? I've been looking at a lot of routers, but I can't really see much of a difference between the different companies or even models.

Thank you for your time.

 

[joegreat]

Which router to get? My Asus Ac87u has been a complete mess, thinking about the synology ac1900

My advice: Do not replace one mess with another (even bigger one)!

Unfortunately Asus (and others) are know for bringing new device to market which are not always as mature as they should be. If you go for new thing you need to be patient to allow them to mature: the hardware is typically OK, but the software/firmware need mature and need constant updating.

My suggestion: I still recommend to stay with Asus but buy mature products (see my footer for two of them) and install the even more mature firmware from Merlin!

With kind regards
Joe

 

[pege63]

Synology AC1900 has no Mu-Mimo
Linksys EA8500, ASUS RT-AC88U, Netgear R8500, TP-Link Archer C2600 they have and supports Mu-Mimo

 

[thiggins]

All 802.11ac routers support MIMO. If you mean MU-MIMO, AC1900 does not support that. However, to get any benefit from MU-MIMO, you need two MU-MIMO enabled devices. Good luck finding those unless you live in China. It will be around a year before MU-MIMO devices are available.

That said, I agree with Joe. Why would you want to buy the first router from a company that has not been in that business?

 

[Trip]

Continuing from joe's post, most of your concerns center on poor wifi, with a few routing caveats that should be covered by most any competent wired router. Jumping to yet a different all-in-one might improve some things slightly, but often compromises other areas, so why not just separate routing from wifi altogether and be done with it? To shore up as many bugs as possible, load the latest version of Merlin on the the 87U, then relegate it to access point duty only (I hope it would at least be able to handle that?!...), then drop in a wired router to fill in the layer 3 gaps. Should be doable for as little as $50 -- AdvancedTomato or OpenWRT on commodity hardware, or UBNT/Mikrotik for the more technically inclined. Wire into your AP, and you're set. Or, if the 87U really sh*ts the bed, replace with whatever gear does wifi and only wifi best.

Separate parts, each with a specialty, better performance all around. Done.

 

[whatsupdude]

Wow, thank you all for your answers.

@joegreat Thank you for the suggestion, but the ac68u does not seem to have mu-mimo either, does it?

@pege63 Thank you for the suggestions. But honestly, what is the difference between them? They all seem to do the same thing. Is there any way to find out what actually separates these devices? Other than having 100Mb/s less here, and another usb port there?

@thiggins The reason I'm thinking about buying synology, is that I've had their NAS systems for years, and I've never had anything but a great experience using their products. I'm hoping it would be the same with a router, the tests I've seen so far seem to indicate it's pretty good. Also thanks for clearing up the confusion between mimo and mu-mimo. The reason for wanting a mu-mimo capable router, is that I'm looking for something that's gonna last me 3+ years. I'd hate having to buy a new router next year.

@Trip I can just rma the ac87u and get my 200€ back, so that's no problem. I've thought about separating things, and while I agree that it's probably the "best" solution, I feel like it'd probably be too much fiddling around for my taste and needs.

 

[System Error Message]

the ac86U doesnt have mu-mimo, if you want it, go with the next gen variant that has the wifi attached to switch instead of through CPU. The AC87U has serious bottlenecks and problems with its architecture or could be poorly designed.

a router's NAS speed is limited. a dedicated NAS would have full speed and between x86 or ARM depends on what you run on it such as media server or compression or encryption. some include software solutions with their NAS for additional features.

 

[whatsupdude]

@System Error Message Sorry for the confusion, but I already have a dedicated synology NAS. I'm not looking to hook up some hard disk to the router or anything like that, I only need the router for, well, routing and nothing else.

 

[pege63]

Linksys EA8500, TP-Link Archer C2600 would do that for you and for some bucks less so will the ASUS RT-AC68U, Netgear R7000, all this will give you value for money.

 

[whatsupdude]

I've decided to got with the tp-link archer c2600. Thank you all for the advice and help.

 

[jgebel]

In case you still are keeping your 87u, I have relegated mine to a media bridge and has been stable for over 3 weeks using the latest Asus stock firmware(3.0.0.4.378.9313)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Trip]

@whatsupdude - Understandable. Hope the C2600 ticks all the boxes and is reliable for you! Otherwise, we'll see you soon for the next replacement all-in-one recommendation. Just joking (hopefully!).

 

[whatsupdude]

@Trip

Thank man. The c2600 has arrived today and while I haven't had that long to test yet, the 5ghz wifi problems are definitely gone. The speed and range is also a lot better than on the ac87u.