Please recommend wifi router

[fruminous]

Please recommend a router for these conditions:

- apartment with over 20 APs nearby

- router would be on the other side of a wall that reduces the signal strength. Some nearby APs have higher signal strength. Almost all of these APs are on 2.4ghz.

- all devices would either be wired or N

- internet connection speed is 25Mb, which I often hit according to speedtest.net

I was thinking of http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ Is there something better or less expensive?
Thanks!

 

[kbp]

That would be a very good choice. Try and get everything you can up on the 5ghz band. Asus has a decent USB 5ghz stick. (N-53)

 

[JackMDS]

Only less expensive alternative might be this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833162070

 

[fruminous]

That would be a very good choice. Try and get everything you can up on the 5ghz band. Asus has a decent USB 5ghz stick. (N-53)

My main concern with the 5ghz band is that the router would mainly be on the other side of a signal strength reducing wall and I was under the impression 5ghz got reduced even more then 2.4ghz.

Is 5ghz N enough better than 2.4ghz G that I shouldn't be concerned, especially considering a lot of 2.4 traffic but almost no 5 traffic nearby?

 

[fruminous]

Only less expensive alternative might be this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833162070

That's a lot less expensive. Is the Asus that much better? How would you recommend deciding between the two?

 

[JackMDS]

In most cases the Buffalo would be just as Good as the Asus.

In some cases when there is many Wireless clients and heavy load, the Asus might have slight advantage.

 

[fruminous]

Jack, are you basing that on published reviews (if so, which), personal testing or something else?

thanks

 

[VirtualLarry]

My main concern with the 5ghz band is that the router would mainly be on the other side of a signal strength reducing wall and I was under the impression 5ghz got reduced even more then 2.4ghz.

Is 5ghz N enough better than 2.4ghz G that I shouldn't be concerned, especially considering a lot of 2.4 traffic but almost no 5 traffic nearby?

I'm in an apt building, and there are TONS of FIOS routers (2.4Ghz) nearby.

I finally had to switch from 2.4Ghz to 5Ghz myself.

From one room to the other, using E2500 refurb routers, configured as a 5Ghz wireless bridge using Tomato, I get roughly 40Mbits/sec. I'm a little bit disappointed I don't get higher speeds, but that's pretty good for sharing internet.

I dislike dealing with USB wifi adapters most of the time, so instead of using them, I simply purchased more routers, and configured them as wireless bridges. It's simple enough using Tomato (or DD-WRT), but it may not even be possible with the factory firmware on many routers.

Btw, I got the E2500 refurb routers from homestore.cisco.com , for $35 + ship ea.

 

[JackMDS]

Jack, are you basing that on published reviews (if so, which), personal testing or something else?

thanks

I own both the Asus and the Buffalo.

 

[fruminous]

Sounds like a good basis for judging.

Just to be clear, will the Buffalo work well on 5ghz through a wall and connect to devices about 15' to 20' away.

Will it stay up without rebooting for many months?

We usually only have two or three wireless devices active, usually just surfing the web, so not "many Wireless clients and heavy load".

 

[kbp]

I use the 5ghz all over my condo (USB Stick/Lenovo Laptop). 2-3 walls is just fine. I even go outside on the deck most of the time.

 

[fruminous]

I see that some of you are using USB adapters. I have an intel N 6205 with two (or perhaps three) antennas in my Lenovo X220. Is that sufficient?

 

[kbp]

USB adapters mainly for getting the 5ghz band. Lenovo's (wireless) "white lists" so you can not change the wireless adapter to get. It's really a SHAME.

 

[PrelateBishop]

Please recommend a router for these conditions...

I was thinking of http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-B...dp/B006QB1RPY/ Is there something better or less expensive?
Thanks!

I was JUST about to ask this same question; your timing is impeccable.

I own both the Asus and the Buffalo.

So the BUFFALO WZR-600DHP is a much cheaper alternative to the ASUS RT-N66U...I like that. I do have some follow-up questions:

- What firmware is recommended for the Buffalo WZR-600DHP, stock or is there something like Tomato that's preferred?
- Buffalo makes different options for USB adapters, such as the $13 AirStation N150 and the $34 AirStation N450; given the OP's original conditions, which one is better? Is there a non-Buffalo option that makes even more sense?
- One difference I have versus the OP is that my Internet connection is 50Mbps; does this change anything?

Thanks for the help.

 

[jhansman]

Dual band is great if you have devices that can use it. I had my Netgear WNDR3700 for over a year before I finally got one that could use the 5 GHz band (Roku 3), but it's been stellar in handling all our 2.4 GHz traffic since I got it. Great firmware, rock solid signal all over the house (2500 sq. ft, one floor) and affordable.