Wireless AC Router for Gigabit Internet

[GreenSlime96]

Hey SMB!

TOP EDIT I would like a Wireless Router that would give me near 1gbps IPv4 with NAT

Been lurking for a bit here and now I have a question to ask. I've recently moved to University and have a LAN cable in my room which connects to the Internet at a whooping 1gbps (when via cable).

I didn't expect such high speeds so I brought with me my Apple Airport Express 2012 to use as a wireless router as Eduroam doesn't reach my room properly. With this configuration I am getting no more than 50Mbps connected over WiFi. This is unbelievable (and out of topic, is this because of the NAT overhead? An extra 50Mbps loss due to overhead is crazy).

So right now I'm looking for a better alternative. My primary devices support Wireless AC, so I think for long-term investment a Wireless AC router is preferred. The brands I'm inclined towards are ASUS and NETGear. My ceiling would probably be AC1900 as my MacBook supports up to 1300Mbps.

I have a budget of US$300

There seems to be a lot of competition between the ASUS AC68 and the NETGear R7000, and I would be open to alternatives. Coverage required is just my room really and I don't need tons of fancy features. At home I use TomatoUSB as well as DDWRT so familiarity would be nice.

I read a thread where they suggest using a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite with a UniFi WAP but the overall cost for a 802.11ac system is higher than consumer routers.

Also I don't mind getting my hands dirty as I'm tech savvy.

Thanks for reading <3

EDIT tl;dr: I want a router which supports 802.11ac and allows me to utilise my 1gbps Internet connection on my MacBook Pro. Budget is US$300 and coverage should be enough for a room but the larger the better. Also TomatoUSB and DDWRT.

 

[sfx2000]

The ASUS RT-AC68U, with current FW is getting good reviews - probably best if you're looking at thirdparty SW tweaking.

Netgear R7000 was a bit unstable at first, but more recently, seems like they've worked the bugs out

Consider the Linksys WRT1900AC, which, after a rough start (and the whole OpenWRT fiasco), is pretty well sorted - not as tweakable as the Asus, but fast and reliable.

Also consider the Apple Airport Extreme AC - not as tweakable or feature rich as the others I've mentioned, but extremely stable and reasonably fast. They're going for $169USD on the Apple Refurb Store with free shipping, which is a decent deal.

sfx

 

[GreenSlime96]

Hiyya sfx

Thanks for your suggestions. Currently on an AirPort Express which has a WAN-to-LAN throughput of only 50Mbps which I find very lacking.

Considering I use mostly Apple this would make a lot of sense though I still think Apple is overpriced for their quality.

Will look into Linksys too.

EDIT: not too sure I'll consider Apple as their LAN-to-WAN (and vice-versa) seem really bad... my Internet connection is 1gbps so I would probably lose 600Mbps in routing :/

 

[Trip]

Hi Slime. I would buy the all-in-one with the best AC wifi performance, whichever one that may be at the moment. Then, if the routing still leaves a bit to be desired, you can grab an edgerouter lite, etc. and simply use the wifi router as an access point. That way you don't overspend right away, but you can effectively "swap in" replacement routing firepower, should you need it. Keep in mind, all-in-ones are general attempts to kill a bunch of birds with one stone -- if you want to get serious in any area, be it firewall, router or wifi, you'll need to step up to a dedicated appliance specifically designed for the job.

 

[thiggins]

There is NO product that will give you a Gigabit wireless connection. Best you'll get is 500 Mbps or so with a 3x3 AC client sitting in the same room as the router.

Any of the current AC1750 or higher routers should be able to give you as much as you're going to get from an Ethernet Gigabit connection. Due to overhead and bus limitations, this will typically be 600 - 700 Mbps.

 

[GreenSlime96]

There is NO product that will give you a Gigabit wireless connection. Best you'll get is 500 Mbps or so with a 3x3 AC client sitting in the same room as the router.

Any of the current AC1750 or higher routers should be able to give you as much as you're going to get from an Ethernet Gigabit connection. Due to overhead and bus limitations, this will typically be 600 - 700 Mbps.

Woah the man has replied to me!!! :O

Haha, I'm considering that as an alternate option Trip. Thanks for your input

@thiggins:

Yeah I don't expect gigabit with wireless (yet) despite the 1900mbps claim haha. My only concerns are getting near my 1gbps connection with wired, gigabit Internet. Since you're here I've been really confused lately about this post on DD-WRT which says that the R7000 can only reach a maximum of 450mbps WAN-to-LAN on Stock firmware whereas on your reviews they hit 900++mbps on wired.

Thanks for your assurance again! Still stranded between the AC68u (for the slim design and cheaper UK price) and the R7000 (for the higher specs).

 

[thiggins]

Since you're here I've been really confused lately about this post on DD-WRT which says that the R7000 can only reach a maximum of 450mbps WAN-to-LAN on Stock firmware whereas on your reviews they hit 900++mbps on wired.

The IxChariot tool I use for throughput measurement has very little overhead. The post you linked doesn't state a measurement technique.

Be aware that I measure routing throughput with a plain ol' dynamic IP type connection. PPTP, L2TP and other encrypted connection types will have lower throughput.

 

[azazel1024]

The IxChariot tool I use for throughput measurement has very little overhead. The post you linked doesn't state a measurement technique.

Be aware that I measure routing throughput with a plain ol' dynamic IP type connection. PPTP, L2TP and other encrypted connection types will have lower throughput.

As well PPPoE (which is vaguely common for fiber connections, my Verizon FIOS is PPPoE. It is pretty much the standard for DSL). That is, higher overhead.

Could be other things going on. Might not be straight NAT. Could have some firewalling, packet inspection, etc going on.

 

[GreenSlime96]

The IxChariot tool I use for throughput measurement has very little overhead. The post you linked doesn't state a measurement technique.

Be aware that I measure routing throughput with a plain ol' dynamic IP type connection. PPTP, L2TP and other encrypted connection types will have lower throughput.

My router's arrived today and I put it to the test. Without router and direct connection to modem: 700Mbps. With router and direct connection to the router: 500Mbps. There seems to be a huge cutoff here.

http://imgur.com/GZB86yH this is the direct connection

http://imgur.com/3AZol6w this is through the router