a router that works

[popejustice]

I have a now 4 year old Asus RT-N15 and before that i was at the mercy of my parents bottom of the line Netgear. The Asus is falling apart and I'd really like a new router. Currently I live in a household with 3 heavy internet user, but i'm about to move to KC where i might (fingers crossed) be getting some google fiber. I was thinking of getting an AC router, but don't really want to blow a huge amount of money if it's not worth it. For routers where does the performance/cost ratio start to drop off? I'm so tired of issues while gaming that I'm tempted to go out and buy the nicest one, which isn't really wise. Any suggestions on particular routers? I game and stream often. Also any recommended price range? Thanks. Also i'll be living in an apartment soon so extreme range isn't a huge factor for me. AC would be nice but the only thing that's a must is gigabit ethernet ports.

 

[dustinhunt78]

Hands down the best router on the market right now is the Asus RT-AC68U. http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC68U-Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00FB45SI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394831806&sr=8-1&keywords=rt-ac68u
I own the RT-AC66U, which was the predecessor to the AC68U. I absolutely love it! And the AC68U is supposed to be even better. It is also wireless-AC, 3 times the speed of your current wireless-N. Granted, you'll need wireless-AC adapters on your components to take advantage of this, but it is also the fastest N router out there too. You can't go wrong with it. For wireless streaming, this router is the top of class.

 

[popejustice]

Hands down the best router on the market right now is the Asus RT-AC68U. http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC68U-Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00FB45SI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394831806&sr=8-1&keywords=rt-ac68u
I own the RT-AC66U, which was the predecessor to the AC68U. I absolutely love it! And the AC68U is supposed to be even better. It is also wireless-AC, 3 times the speed of your current wireless-N. Granted, you'll need wireless-AC adapters on your components to take advantage of this, but it is also the fastest N router out there too. You can't go wrong with it. For wireless streaming, this router is the top of class.

Ya I've looked at the RT-AC68U and don't get me wrong it looks pretty friggin awesome...but it's also 220 bucks and offers a lot of features that while cool...I probably won't use. Is there anything out there that's maybe a bit cheaper, but still reliable maybe in the 150 range? My goal was to find something that suited me rather than just buying the bleeding edge router and calling it good.

 

[bill001g]

Then look at the tp-link archer c7 it is also a well liked 802.11ac device and only costs $99.

You can get both asus and tplink routers in the $50 range that will work well also. Key here is a lot of asus and tplink routers you can load dd-wrt on so if you need advanced features they do not offer it is a pretty simple firmware upgrade.

 

[HyNrgy]

sorry i am not recommending a specific router right this moment. I advise to really think of what you want the router to do. What I mean here is that some routers can do the following and some can do all

1) Has a hard drive inside for network storage
2) Has USB ports to attach external HDs for network storage
3) Some can limit percentage of bandwith on certain ip's connected
4) if going to be in an apartment will you really need AC? if just one or two games going at same time N will suffice. and if going to be in apartment for say 3 years....who knows....AD or whatever might be out then.
5) What speed will you be getting 50 meg, 100 meg?

if in apartment IMHO I do not think the super 5 mile lamborgini router will be of worth. You can get some for right about 100 like bill001g said and save the other 100 for the next newest bad boy on the block 3 years down the road

 

[dustinhunt78]

Hands down the best router on the market right now is the Asus RT-AC68U. http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC68U-Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00FB45SI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394831806&sr=8-1&keywords=rt-ac68u
I own the RT-AC66U, which was the predecessor to the AC68U. I absolutely love it! And the AC68U is supposed to be even better. It is also wireless-AC, 3 times the speed of your current wireless-N. Granted, you'll need wireless-AC adapters on your components to take advantage of this, but it is also the fastest N router out there too. You can't go wrong with it. For wireless streaming, this router is the top of class.

Ya I've looked at the RT-AC68U and don't get me wrong it looks pretty friggin awesome...but it's also 220 bucks and offers a lot of features that while cool...I probably won't use. Is there anything out there that's maybe a bit cheaper, but still reliable maybe in the 150 range? My goal was to find something that suited me rather than just buying the bleeding edge router and calling it good.

Here is one that is still very capable, just not all the bells and whistles. It is also wireless N instead of AC.

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Dual-Band-Wireless-N-Router-RT-N56U/dp/B0049YQVHE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395075592&sr=8-2&keywords=RT-N65U

 

[HyNrgy]

also, if you have not done port forwarding on your current router you may have to on the new router. Some of the newer routers are set up now more with security inside. I remember older routers you could just set up and play and now some routers you have to port forward for the games and streaming. So if the router you get does not play well at first, you may have to go through that.

I say this because a friend of mine had an older router and modem which gamed and streamed easily. She wanted a gateway (modem and router together (1st to save monthly rental and 2nd she didn't want to have separate devices and 3rd didn't want to have to worry about them syncing together). New router portion of the gateway had to have portforwarding set up to stream local media...Plex Home Theater/Server and etc.). At first she thought it was broken until I showed her about port forwarding, now all works fine.

If you are apprehensive about just getting one without seeing it in action you may have to spend a little more and reduce options by going to local computer store that allows returns. If this is the case let us know what stores are around you and we may be able to help pick one out from there.