dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
view:
topics flat nest 
Comments on news posted 2014-01-09 08:47:08: Back in 2012 hardware vendor executives openly admitted that initial versions of 802.11ac may not be worth it for users, but that later incarnations of hardware will prove to be significantly better. First-generation 802. ..


ddg4005
Premium Member
join:2001-08-22
Bronx, NY

ddg4005

Premium Member

PCWorld's best AC router list

I bought Asus's AT-AC68R back in October and I've been very happy with it (the 'R' means it's sold at retailers such as Best Buy while the 'U' model is available at e-tailers and stores like Micro Center).

Camelot One
MVM
join:2001-11-21
Bloomington, IN

Camelot One

MVM

Re: PCWorld's best AC router list

I've had the AT-AC66U (predecessor for the AC68U) running at a few locations for over 6 months, and I've been quite happy with them. My one and only complaint is the lack of support for USB drives over 2TB. I had hoped the next version would get around that, but the manual says the 68U has the same limitation.
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

1 recommendation

ke4pym

Premium Member

Spoiler alert

Thank you for that.

7 pages of muck to wade through. Yikes!

MxxCon
join:1999-11-19
Brooklyn, NY
ARRIS TM822
Actiontec MI424WR Rev. I

MxxCon

Member

How relevant?

I question if the results of this test are applicable to many users.
He tested in a pretty large single floor, wooden house. I live in a large cinder-block apartment building with 40-50 other visible AP. I imagine these routers behave differently in a quiet vs extremely noisy environments...

I also hope that D-Link device is an exception. We don't need any more black aluminum "cans".

BimmerE38FN
join:2002-09-15
Boise, ID

BimmerE38FN

Member

Re: How relevant?

Actually the cylinder style cases work very well. I have 4 of them and enjoy the coverage in my 2200sq ft wooden home, both up and down. Placement of any WiFi router is critical for good coverage. Unfortunately, living in a concrete apt complete effects any Wifi router. There are some steps to help with WiFi congestion as well.

Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC

Corehhi

Member

Re: How relevant?

Why on earth do you have 4 routers in a 2200 sg ft home????

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium Member
join:2005-06-29
Florence, SC

hayabusa3303

Premium Member

Re: How relevant?

I think he is using them as ap not routers..

BimmerE38FN
join:2002-09-15
Boise, ID

BimmerE38FN to Corehhi

Member

to Corehhi
I test them one at a time people...and ya, I can use them as APs too...I have more than 4 routers BTW.

michieru
Premium Member
join:2009-07-25
Denver, CO

2 recommendations

michieru

Premium Member

Nope

Won't buy AC until I find an actual use for it internally. I would rather have three 802.11N AP's spread across the house rather than a single 802.11ac AP.

YukonHawk
join:2001-01-07
Patterson, NY

1 recommendation

YukonHawk

Member

Re: Nope

I agree with you. As the adoption rates increase for the AC standard and the AC clients play catch up to the rest of the industry I am waiting on the side lines myself. I don't doubt they are great routers, for me it would be a waste of money.

Chris 313
Because It's Geekier
Premium Member
join:2004-07-18
Houma, LA
·AT&T FTTP
·Comcast XFINITY

Chris 313 to michieru

Premium Member

to michieru
I agree. My reasons is that the standard isn't finished, the Asus N router I bought isn't even a year old, so it has legs, even if the model is a year or so old. And the fact is I don't plan to have any AC devices for 2 to 3 years. By that time, the standard will be finished, true AC routers out and seasoned and I'll have equipment to use it for.
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym

Premium Member

Re: Nope

Seems like no one remembers how many eons it took 802.11n to get approved by the IEEE.

Router vendors were very upset that it took so long. I think n devices had been on the market 2 or 3 years before the standard was ratified.

MxxCon
join:1999-11-19
Brooklyn, NY

MxxCon

Member

Re: Nope

802.11ac was finalized 2 days ago. I'm sure none of these tested devices were built with that final spec.

R7000
@comcast.net

R7000

Anon

Re: Nope

said by MxxCon:

802.11ac was finalized 2 days ago. I'm sure none of these tested devices were built with that final spec.

Ever hear of firmware upgrades?

MxxCon
join:1999-11-19
Brooklyn, NY
ARRIS TM822
Actiontec MI424WR Rev. I

MxxCon

Member

Re: Nope

said by R7000 :

said by MxxCon:

802.11ac was finalized 2 days ago. I'm sure none of these tested devices were built with that final spec.

Ever hear of firmware upgrades?

IF hardware is compatible with the final spec.
You might not be aware but a lot of draft-N devices has upgradable firmware but hardware was not compatible.

BimmerE38FN
join:2002-09-15
Boise, ID

BimmerE38FN to Chris 313

Member

to Chris 313
Its been reported that the standard for AC has been finished...
»www.smallnetbuilder.com/ ··· is-final
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

1 recommendation

ke4pym to michieru

Premium Member

to michieru
And I'd rather have 1 (which is why I went with a Cisco enterprise class AP). I don't want 3 devices to manage or suck power from the wall.

michieru
Premium Member
join:2009-07-25
Denver, CO

michieru

Premium Member

Re: Nope

Beamforming won't save you. Coverage is just that and with more nodes in a given area I could handle more clients at higher rates across all rooms rather than have one centralized point of congestion. Airtime efficiency between sending and receiving will drastically reduce any AP depending on the amount of clients which are trying to communicate with the node.

Also there is controller based AP's that have one interface and central point of management which can scale. As for power I wouldn't even bother looking into it because the tradeoff's are real full home coverage and higher data rates for all clients as they roam between each AP.

P.S 802.11ac is a standard. You could of gone with a device that's half the price and still got the same result. Way to go Crisco.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt to michieru

Premium Member

to michieru
The big advantage for AC is beamforming...unfortunately to use it both ends must be replaced with compatible equipment, meaning a full network hardware refresh for best results, an expense option for most networks.
Even if replaced a piece at a time and $200 per compatible node, with no instant bang for the buck, adoption is going to be a long, slow, road.

BimmerE38FN
join:2002-09-15
Boise, ID

BimmerE38FN

Member

Re: Nope

I've actually upgraded my PCs to AC using AC bridges and USB adapters...it's not that hard and not that expensive either. For those wanting some upgrade ability, PCs with LAN NICS can be connected to AC bridges or use AC USB WiFi adapters too. This would be only for non native devices that have the ability to be upgraded to faster connections. Ya phones and pads will have to wait. There are already devices natively supporting AC now days too. I don't see the processing being that slow since AC first appeared back in late 2012.

justsayin
@wideopenwest.com

justsayin to michieru

Anon

to michieru
I live in a 2 story (not including basement) 4000sq ft house. With my AT-AC66U, have no need to admin additional routers/AP's in the house just for signal strength. It has MANY features that are useful (like the built in FTP/Torrent ability. Ability to fire out half dozen sids (sure others can do this but my last 802.11n dLink could not). And scores of others. I have a roku at the FAR end of the house and couldn't be any further away from my Asus and it streams HD without any buffering. I think people avoid one box vs several because they don't know what they are doing in setting them up. Just sayin..
said by michieru:

Won't buy AC until I find an actual use for it internally. I would rather have three 802.11N AP's spread across the house rather than a single 802.11ac AP.


michieru
Premium Member
join:2009-07-25
Denver, CO

michieru

Premium Member

Re: Nope

A single AP can cover a 600ft radius which are most homes unless you live in a mansion. However yes I do agree most people don't have a clue over what they buy or say. They assume that because they can stream HD without buffering the same applies for everyone. Forget different building materials, RF environment in that area, or amount of devices attempting to communicate towards that device at any given time.

BimmerE38FN
join:2002-09-15
Boise, ID

BimmerE38FN

Member

Re: Nope

Amen to that.
weedb0y
join:2013-04-29
L6Y 0W3

weedb0y to michieru

Member

to michieru
How would you manage three APs?
remixedcat
join:2014-01-14
Parkersburg, WV

remixedcat

Member

Re: Nope

WLAN controllers or if You use Cisco Meraki they are cloud managed. Really cool stuff.

PhoenixDown
FIOS is Awesome
Premium Member
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY

PhoenixDown

Premium Member

Apple Router?

I heard good things about Apple's AC router. Anyone know how that stacks upa gainst some of these?
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

1 recommendation

MaynardKrebs

Premium Member

Re: Apple Router?

said by PhoenixDown:

I heard good things about Apple's AC router. Anyone know how that stacks upa gainst some of these?

No idea how it compares to these but I installed a new Airport Extreme router last month in a 2200 sq. ft. condo that has lots of concrete partition walls. The condo is rectangular in shape (about 40x55) and the router had to be installed literally in the SW corner of the condo - on a shelf about 2' from the ceiling & 2' from the SW corner. The signal is excellent *everywhere* in the condo, even in rooms/walk-in closets with many concrete walls between them and the router. I've not experienced any dropouts.

PhoenixDown
FIOS is Awesome
Premium Member
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY

PhoenixDown

Premium Member

Re: Apple Router?

Thanks!
tennisman94
join:2010-02-18
Palm Harbor, FL

tennisman94

Member

Where's TP-Link?

I'm surprised that the TP link Archer C7 was left out; small net builder has it rated as #2 right behind the ASUS.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: Where's TP-Link?

TP-link is not a paid advertiser in the PC world family of publications.
Going to have a hard time gaining 'air time' in their reviews

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

1 recommendation

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Internet connection limits

A router is only as good as the internet connection that feeds it. I just bought a new router and settled on the Netgear N600.

You can buy an ASUS RT-AC68U but if "Ma Bell" Comcast limits your speed to 50 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up, then that is all you are going to get.

It's like buying a formula one race car but the speed limit on the Mass Pike is throttled at 65 mph.

Maybe those who can get the faster speeds offered by Google Fiber or Verizon FiOS could use a faster router but those of us stuck on cable or DSL shouldn't waste our money on expensive routers.

•••••••••

odog
Minister of internet doohickies
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Atlanta, GA

1 edit

odog

Premium Member

Where are the *mini PCIe 3x3 dual band AC cards? *edit

I just wish you could get these cards. I've seen a few OEM cards with chips that support those stats but nothing that supports windows.(only linux)

Until then I'll have to stick with 3x3N, and the Netgear WNDR4500.

•••••••••

R7000
@comcast.net

R7000

Anon

Netgear Nighthawk R7000 works very well for me

I have the Netgear Nighthawk R7000. It works very well, especially with the 2 devices that have 802.11AC capability(Samsung Galaxy S4, & a Edimax AC1200 USB stick for my laptop). But even my 802.11n devices have seen stronger signal strength at longer distances. But one of the bigger advantages to the router is more powerful processors that has shown lower latency for data flowing thru the router. This more powerful router can really move the data from port to port and from the internet.

Word of warning - the Trendnet TEW812-DRU is a piece of crap with no support. But many will consider it because it is the cheapest of the bunch. I had it for 3 days and returned it. Its support for IPV6 is awful and does not support DHCPV6(used by Comcast and other US ISPs to do IPV6). Support staff said they had no plans to upgrade firmware to support DHCPV6.

••••
NeoandGeo
join:2003-05-10
Harrison, TN

NeoandGeo

Member

.

I like my Asus RT-AC66U but I do have to reboot it every few weeks to couple months due to it slowing down something awful for no apparent reason. Had the same issue with the N66U, but it's not enough to not recommend this router. Speeds are very good and consistent the vast majority of the time.

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

amarryat

Member

Re: .

Do you have firmware 3.0.0.4.374_979 installed? Mine is rock solid. I have it in AP mode (so it's not actually doing much) attached to the FIOS router which has its wifi disabled.
mingkee27
join:2013-06-21
Brooklyn, NY

mingkee27

Member

dual band is more practical

AC isn't really practical due to limited hardware support. However, 5GHz can help releasing 2.4GHz traffic and less interference.
Dual band gigabit routers and APs are more affordable local wireless solutions.
shmerl
join:2013-10-21

shmerl

Member

Anything that works well on Linux?

Are there WiFi cards (PCI or USB) which work on Linux in 802.11ac mode? Preferably out of the box with standard kernel drivers.
PowerMac
join:2011-03-02
Anaheim, CA

PowerMac

Member

..

I still want Linksys WRT1900AC!!!
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT
·Frontier FiberOp..
Asus RT-AC68

BiggA

Premium Member

Most people don't need them yet

Most users don't have a need for that bandwidth yet. I'm a technie of sorts, and I'm perfectly happy with Wifi N for now. Eventually I'll probably get AC, but even with 55mbps Comcast internet, wireless N has enough headroom for me with 3 stream N running on 5ghz.
Enlightener
join:2006-01-28
Cedar Park, TX

Enlightener

Member

Upgrade Dilemma

I currently have a gigabit LAN with a TW/RR 30/5 WAN connection. I do have a server at home and on occasion move large files. I'll usually plug a cable in for that but it'd be nice if I didn't have to.

I have 3 different 802.11N routers and 2 laptops with N150 support. However, I've never seen greater then 65MB connections over 802.11N. I've tried all kinds of router configurations but never got anything above that.

ATT Uverse GigaPower is now available to me. Initial speeds will be 300/300 with a promise of upgrade to 1000/1000 this summer. I don't know what the real world throughputs will be though.

I'm trying to figure out how I can improve my wifi for this. I don't relish the idea having usb wifi adapters hanging off my laptops. One of my laptops (asus) might be upgradable but I don't think the other (HP) is due to bios whitelist restrictions.

Maybe 65/65 over a 300/300 connection is good enough? The laptops have RealTek chips in them that claim they support 150.... if I could only make it work maybe 150/150 would be good enough. Maybe an 80211.AC router upgrade could facilitate that and then upgrade to new laptops down the road?

Wisdom and experience welcome!