looking for a new wifi router - considering ASUS RT-N66U

[mlody]

Hi I am currently using Netgear WNDR3700v2 and it is slowly starting to choke with all the connections we have. I have Comcast 50/10 service - speed tests (over wired connection) go as high as 57/13, but most of the wifi devices (iPhones/iPads) barely can get half that (download). I tried 5.0 Ghz and things aren't that much better.
Can someone recommend a decent replacement for my router? I am not really looking for AC standard as I do not have any AC devices at this time and I am not sure how soon I would have, so AC is not something I want/need today. If it means, that in general AC routers are better performing, I guess it would be no brainer to get one, but if that isn't the case, I would rather get a great performing N router and call it a day. For instance, is ASUS RT-N66U a good performing router? Any other good alternatives? I appreciate any info.

Thanks

 

[smitbret]

Hi I am currently using Netgear WNDR3700v2 and it is slowly starting to choke with all the connections we have. I have Comcast 50/10 service - speed tests (over wired connection) go as high as 57/13, but most of the wifi devices (iPhones/iPads) barely can get half that (download). I tried 5.0 Ghz and things aren't that much better.
Can someone recommend a decent replacement for my router? I am not really looking for AC standard as I do not have any AC devices at this time and I am not sure how soon I would have, so AC is not something I want/need today. If it means, that in general AC routers are better performing, I guess it would be no brainer to get one, but if that isn't the case, I would rather get a great performing N router and call it a day. For instance, is ASUS RT-N66U a good performing router? Any other good alternatives? I appreciate any info.

Thanks

What exactly is starting to choke? I am guessing that you mean too many wireless devices are connecting at the same time and slowing the connection down for everyone. And are we talking about the network connection or just the internet? A lot of that depends on circumstances other than the router. Distance and obstructions make a huge difference. Different mobile devices will max out at different levels, too. For instance, my BlackBerry phone maxes out under 30mbps no matter how strong my connection is. My tablets can all connect closer to 50mbps.

That router is an n600, which means it has 2 bands at a connection speed of 300mbps on each band. In real life, no router will put out more than 40% of that and that is assuming that the wireless adapter on the receiving end is also n300 which is unlikely for mist mobile devices. Most likely they are n150 and will max out about 60-70mbps when it is the only device and in perfect conditions. Add more devices and the bandwidth had to be shared.

Based on the information you've provided, I doubt there's anything a new router could fix. There are some with slightly better range or throughput but nothing more than a few mbps or a few more feet of range. You might get some benefit from splitting up duty between both bands or maybe add another AP at a remote location to share duties at hard to reach places.

 

[mlody]

What exactly is starting to choke? I am guessing that you mean too many wireless devices are connecting at the same time and slowing the connection down for everyone. And are we talking about the network connection or just the internet? A lot of that depends on circumstances other than the router. Distance and obstructions make a huge difference. Different mobile devices will max out at different levels, too. For instance, my BlackBerry phone maxes out under 30mbps no matter how strong my connection is. My tablets can all connect closer to 50mbps.

That router is an n600, which means it has 2 bands at a connection speed of 300mbps on each band. In real life, no router will put out more than 40% of that and that is assuming that the wireless adapter on the receiving end is also n300 which is unlikely for mist mobile devices. Most likely they are n150 and will max out about 60-70mbps when it is the only device and in perfect conditions. Add more devices and the bandwidth had to be shared.

Based on the information you've provided, I doubt there's anything a new router could fix. There are some with slightly better range or throughput but nothing more than a few mbps or a few more feet of range. You might get some benefit from splitting up duty between both bands or maybe add another AP at a remote location to share duties at hard to reach places.

The choke point is the Wi-Fi itself I believe. We have about 12 wifi devices, but only half of them are used most of the time/concurrently. My wired connection, is super reliable and consistent - I can do 5-10 speed tests in the row and I will be within 1mb on all of them, but when I do the same on my wifi devices they are all over the board. It does not matter if I only have 1 wifi device on at the time or all of them.
We live in an apartment, so the wifi signal is congested a bit as I am picking up at least 20 other access points where I am - could that be the factor? I also know that most of my iDevices are capable of higher than 20mbps speeds on either 2.4 or 5.0 frequencies, so definitely there is something wrong with my wifi router.
I might just pick up something locally and test it out before I make a decision for %100. I am pretty sure that my router is kind of getting long in the tooth.

 

[smitbret]

The choke point is the Wi-Fi itself I believe. We have about 12 wifi devices, but only half of them are used most of the time/concurrently. My wired connection, is super reliable and consistent - I can do 5-10 speed tests in the row and I will be within 1mb on all of them, but when I do the same on my wifi devices they are all over the board. It does not matter if I only have 1 wifi device on at the time or all of them.
We live in an apartment, so the wifi signal is congested a bit as I am picking up at least 20 other access points where I am - could that be the factor? I also know that most of my iDevices are capable of higher than 20mbps speeds on either 2.4 or 5.0 frequencies, so definitely there is something wrong with my wifi router.
I might just pick up something locally and test it out before I make a decision for %100. I am pretty sure that my router is kind of getting long in the tooth.

What kind of performance are you expecting? Have you had better performance in the past?

That many access points nearby could definitely be a factor. You should get a lot more clearance on the 5GHz band but if you move to the next room, the wall will cut your connection about twice as much as if you were on 2.4GHz.