Wireless network routers

[Larry Browning]

I am doing some research to find a good economical wireless router for my home. I want to be able to stream high quality video (wired and wireless) as well as have multiple SSID's for various reasons. Having a good strong wireless range is also something I am looking for. I like the idea of the external antennas.
I have 2 on my short list, but one is quite a bit more expensive that the other.
ASUS RT-N66U ~$150
TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 ~$80

I think if it were not for the price difference I would want the ASUS. But I feel that my needs are pretty basic and I am not sure the ASUS would bring me $70 more in value. The TP-LINK gets very good reviews and I think it would probably serve me well. But on the other hand, I think the ASUS might produce a faster more reliable connection for both wired and wireless.
Does anyone have any experience with either of these 2 routers? I'm not married to either of these, so I would welcome any alternative suggestions within the $80 to $150 price range.

[Ralph Boumenot]

You could also go with the least expensive router and if needed, add access points. I don't play games but my girls tell me that their wireless routers are a bit slow at times when playing online.

[Larry Browning]

You could also go with the least expensive router and if needed, add access points. I don't play games but my girls tell me that their wireless routers are a bit slow at times when playing online.
I already have an access point in the only place needed (my shop). My current router reaches most of the house pretty well. It does drop off a little at the outside patio which is where we sometimes like to sit in the evenings.
I currently have a linksys E2000 but was hoping to upgrade a bit from that, plus it is over 3 years old and I think it is just a matter of time before it dies, even though it is not currently giving any trouble.
To be honest, I mainly just want to tinker around with a new toy and learn something new before it becomes a requirement. I am thinking I might want to convert it to DD-WRT at sometime in the future.

[Gordon Eyre]

I have a Lnksys 2500 and have been generally pleased with it. My house is on a single level and the distance from my computer to the master bedroom is quite a good distance but I am still able to bit stream Netflix with no problems. I have an Ethernet cable from my computer to my entertainment center and that is rock solid. The signal level does fall off some to the back bedroom but it still works well. Also, I have no problem to the iPad and iPod anywhere in the house nor does anyone else that visits. I have used an extender at one time but it caused problems with the audio for Netflix so I have disconnected it.

[Brian Elfert]

I have an Apple Airport Extreme. Expensive, but it just works. This is the only Apple product I own.

[Larry Browning]

Brian, I just can't bring myself to give apple any of my money. Its not that I have some philosophical problem with them, I just don't like them.

[Chris Parks]

I have always looked at this problem from the other end. If I have a very strong signal then unless I lived in a remote area doesn't that give more people the chance of using it? The encryption on the average router is simply not that good.

[Larry Browning]

I have always looked at this problem from the other end. If I have a very strong signal then unless I lived in a remote area doesn't that give more people the chance of using it? The encryption on the average router is simply not that good.

Well, I do live in a remote area with my closest neighbor about 100 yards away and also about 100 yards from the road.

[paul cottingham]

I hardwired my house for this very reason. I finally had to concede and put in a wireless router for my daughters iPad. All the computers connected to it run Linux, so I don't worry about my data being compromised.

[Ole Anderson]

Cisco Linksys E2500

[Michael Schneider]

Couple of questions.

What wireless adapters do you use today?

Would you buy a new one for more speed?

I am mostly hardwired, but have the asus 56U and like it quite a bit. My next jump will be to the ac router. I have been very happy with Asus, and use their motherboards in the computers that I put together. Their sound cards are very nice also.

You will likely want N or the new AC protocol. (if you are buying new, I would buy the best router, it will work with you current systems, and you can add a new adapter if you want more speed on a computer. I do programming for a living, so I do spend some money to keep current).

I go to this site for networking reviews http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/

Good luck, there are many good choices out there,
Michael

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on AC, you get MUCH faster throughput.

I bought the Netgear R6300 which was expensive, but a breeze to set up.

Note that your streaming devices will only take full advantage of the new protocol if
they can detect more than one 802.1 band.

[Larry Browning]

None of my devices are ac nor do I see me getting an ac device anytime soon. Is there a reason to get an ac router even though I don't have any ac devices?
Also, I am mostly wired. Do some routers do better than others for wired access (assuming gigabit connection)

[Curt Harms]

None of my devices are ac nor do I see me getting an ac device anytime soon. Is there a reason to get an ac router even though I don't have any ac devices?
Also, I am mostly wired. Do some routers do better than others for wired access (assuming gigabit connection)

I have a 25/5 Mb. broadband connection. As long as my network connection has 2x or 3x my WAN capacity, why do I need more? How demanding is a home media server? I don't have one so don't know. That's the only use I could think of that could choke a typical home network. One feature I haven't seen mentioned is the USB connected server function integrated into many routers today. I have a USB flash drive plugged into the USB port and can access it using file managers in Windows & Linux. It's a useful way to move files between machines and partitions without enabling file sharing, a potential security issue. It's also a convenient way to backup files locally to guard against disk failure.

[Jacob Muldowney]

I recommend getting something you can flash with an aftermarket firmware. DD-WRT, OpenWRT, or Tomato. IP stacks on routers have gotten better over the years, but still not great. In most cases you just need to log in and upload the open-source firmware just like it is a factory update. This will turn a $60 into a $600 router in the options you will gain. Not to mention your router will run better in general and be faster. I use DD-WRT and have for something close to 7 years or so. I don't buy routers that dont support something other than stock. Many companies like Asus and Buffalo ship with dd-wrt now too.

There might be a bit more than you need or want in the options after you flash but will work better even if you just leverage the basic options. If you want to utilize the more advanced features there are plenty of resources to show you how also.

Don't let the price tags on some routers fool you. You dont need to spend $150 on a good router. I look for cpu speed, the amount of ram, flash they have. A good starting point. Then do my homework and make sure the antenna is good. As far as 10/100 routers this one is a great buy
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320088

If you are looking for 10/100/1000 or gigabit wired network speeds

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320038

Keep in mind unless you are doing a lot of file transfers across networks you most likely will not need gigabit. If you are just streaming media and using the internet the first one will be a great choice. Hope this helps.

[Larry Browning]

Jacob,
I am a tinkerer so I really want something I can tinker around with, so getting a router that can be flashed with DD-WRT is pretty much a requirement for me. The access point I have in the shop is actually an old Linksys WRT160N that I was able to flash with DD-WRT. Not only did I have fun doing that, I really learned a lot about it. I think I learned just enough to also learn that I have a lot more to learn about routers and networking.

Like I said before, my current router (Linksys E2000) is working fine. But SWMBO will not tolerate the internet being down for more than a day or so. Therefore if the current router dies, I will not have the time to research to find the optimum router and then tinker with it like I would want to do.

BTW: I also have a linux media/file server that I use to stream local content to my TV and tablets. The Main TV has a Boxee Box which is hard wired to the network (100mb) The linux server and my main windows computer are hard wired (1000mb), and of course the access point in the shop is also hard wired (100mb). Everything else is wireless, SWMBO's laptop(N), 2 phones(probably N), a 1st gen Kindle Fire(G I think) and a Nexus 7 tablet(N).
Future plans include media players for 2 more TV's which will probably be wireless N.

[Jacob Muldowney]

Excellent. This is how I shop for one lol. I hit newegg or amazon and see what is on sale then head to the router database on ddwrt. I try to straddle the line on price/performance. That said I try to find what is on sale with the best specs. Like I mentioned cpu/ram/flash.

Most routers are really just repackaged versions of the same basic hardware. Once and a while a new platform will come along but really still basic. I used to use a lot of buffalos for their price and performance, then they had an injuction and stopped selling for awhile. In that time asus hit the scene and I switched to those. Right now I actually am using a netgear as I too was told by SWMBO that she needed internet asap when my last buffalo died. So I scoured Best Buy while having the router database open on my phone to find the best deal in a pinch lol. The Netgear was on sale local for $50. It was my first experience personally with setting a Netgear up with ddwrt. I have configed and installed plenty of them for people over the years but all bone stock. Must say I am pretty impressed with it.

I actually am in IT and so I get a lot of people that come to me for this sort of thing in my personal life. That said I am bit of electronics nut also so I tinker a lot with this sort of thing. I actually used to add ram to routers back when they didn't ship with as much as they do these days. That was a delicate matter of soldering. The other nice feature in the newer routers is most come with usb which makes nas a lot easier for most people. Like you I run a dedicated media server so I don't have much use for it. I have my main rig, and media server running on gigabit. Then I have my smart samsung tv, roku 3 (on the bedroom tv,) Ouya running on 10/100. Two laptops running on wireless N. And an android tab and two android phones on G. I wired the garage when I wired the rest of my condo, but have yet to actually put anything permanent out there. Which I should...I am out there enough lol.

What version of Linux do you run on your media server? Also do you run any clients like plex or all samba shares?

[Larry Browning]

It was a while back that I setup my Linux server, but I think it has Ubuntu 10.04. I only have the one media player Boxee Box, which really doesn't require a media server like Plex. I did set up Samba on it and a couple of other things. I built it under the tutelage of this web site: http://www.havetheknowhow.com/ This guy lives in the UK and really seems to know his stuff. I really enjoyed setting it up and I know that I have just scratched the surface with what all can be done with it.
I discovered Plex a few months back and installed it on my Windows computer just out of curiosity since my Boxee Box doesn't have a Plex client available. I really liked though. I turned on a co-worker who has a Roku to it and he liked it so much he is considering dropping cable because of all the extra content he now has access to.

I really can't decide which way to go on the new router. The Tim Taylor in me says to get the ASUS new AC router. It's got all the bells and whistles and is the latest and greatest. But it is also $190. The Jack Benny in me tells me to get the TP-Link N900 because it has just about every feature I want for $100 less. What I really would like is for somebody to give me some great reason to get the ASUS over the TP-LINK so I would feel better about spending the extra money. I have the money to spend, I just don't want to part with it unless there is a "good" reason. It's just like spending extra on a Festool sander over a DeWalt. Both work, but one is just better. BTW: I don't have any Festool products.

Is there any advantage to the AC routers over the N routers for someone who doesn't have any AC devices?

[Bill Cunningham]

+1 on AC, you get MUCH faster throughput.

I bought the Netgear R6300 which was expensive, but a breeze to set up.

Note that your streaming devices will only take full advantage of the new protocol if
they can detect more than one 802.1 band.

I have the R6200 which also works well.. There is a separate 'guest access' and at one time I have had my Sony internet player, two computers, and three daughters w/smartphones, and four grandchildren with smatphones all connected to my network at the same time, and all working it would seem. I had a linksys, but when everyone went home, I had to reboot the router just to get it working again.. No problems with the netgear router at all

[John Huds0n]

If you like to tinker with routers - then you should definitely give the RT-N66U a hard look. I have had mine for several months now, stepping up from a Linksys E3200 and have been very happy with it.

You mentioned DD-WRT which I have tried on both routers, but I really prefer Tomato. Another nice feature of the ASUS is that it is practically impossible to 'brick' the router while flashing. The RT-N66U has a recovery mode. You boot the router into recovery mode, and then using their utility, you can flash the new firmware or even go back to the stock firmware

I am using the Shibby variant of tomato, but there are a couple of others available. Here is a link where you can see some actual screen shots
http://tomato.groov.pl/?page_id=31

Here are some pretty decent tutorials about it

http://moonlightknighthk.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/install-tomato-firmware-on-asus-router/

http://www.shadowandy.net/2012/03/asus-rt-n66u-tomatousb-firmware-flashing-guide.htm

Regarding the new AC standard - Keep in mind that technically they have not even finalized yet and *hopefully* anything you would buy today would work when they do which is going to be sometime in the spring

[Brian Elfert]

Is there any advantage to the AC routers over the N routers for someone who doesn't have any AC devices?

The advantage would be longer lifespan for the router. If you don't intend to have the router long term then I wouldn't worry about it. The 802.11AC standard won't even be finalized until early 2014 so you need to be sure any AC router you buy can be upgraded to the final specification. 802.11AC devices aren't expected to become widespread until 2015.

[Michael Schneider]

Larry,

I sounds like you want to buy one soon, and would need one if your system died, but don't need one now.

Electronics are great black Friday items, and many stores will be doing black Friday sooner than normal with the slow economy.

If I was in your shoes, I would keep an eye out for an Asus on/around Black Friday.

Take care,
Mike

[Larry Browning]

Larry,

I sounds like you want to buy one soon, and would need one if your system died, but don't need one now.

Electronics are great black Friday items, and many stores will be doing black Friday sooner than normal with the slow economy.

If I was in your shoes, I would keep an eye out for an Asus on/around Black Friday.

Take care,
Mike
Good Point. Actually my situation is changing in that money is becoming an issue due to some unforeseen developments. A new router is pretty much at the top of the cut back list. Maybe by black Friday time things will have improved.