Advice on new router, worth upgrading from an old Linksys? Asus n or ac?

[photodave]

I am considering getting a new router and would like your advice.

I presently have a Linksys WRT61ON ver2 router that is still working but I find that when both my wife and I are streaming YouTube etc, we frequently get pauses and long delays. (I have changed channels on it to less crowded channels, but I find our neighbors signal in the adjoining non-attached house to be as strong as ours.)

We have two desktops that are directly connected to the router, but we use WiFi for our 2 cellphones, 2 tablets, a Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro laptop, as well as our new Samsung smart TV. Our logitech harmony remote and DVD player also use WiFi. (Hoping to add a NAS device at one point.) (Our internet speed is 30 Mbps)

Non of my devices I believe uses the new AC standard.

Since I do not have any AC devices at present, I was considering the asus rt-n66u.

I do not mind paying more, and if something like the asus rt-ac68u would give me a better, stronger more reliable signal, then I do not mind paying the premium.

My concerns with the rt-n66u are that some reviews(Amazon, Newegg) mentions that it runs hot, and several have said that while it worked fine at first, after a year some had problems with the router. My old router has been robust and reliable for years.

While I do not have a big house, range/strength of signal is a bit of a concern. We have a split level home, with the router in the upstairs office with the computers while our TV is in the basement. With my old router, I do get the range, albeit with a weaker signal.

Will I see a difference getting a new router compared to my old Linksys?

Would a newer AC router be better than a newer N router?

Your advice and guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thank you everyone

 

[abailey]

I don't think you will see much difference with a new router. You may see a little but not a night and day difference. They all transmit at the max allowable strength. Some have a little better antenna design but it is usually a small difference. Your main problem is most likely interference. Make sure you have your 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz using different SSID's. Put all your devices that can use 5Ghz on 5Ghz (unless they can't get signal). A weak 5Ghz signal that is clear of interference will almost always beat a 2.4Ghz channel with interference. Ok on the 2.4Ghz. The only true non-overlapping channels are channel 1, 6, and 11. Channels 1, and 11 have the least chance of having interference. I would try those 3 channels to see which is the best for you. Also, make sure the channel width on the 2.4Ghz is set to 20Mhz, not auto or 40Mhz. On the 5Ghz band you can set the channel to Auto and it should be fine.
You should try to wire anything that can be wired back to your router. This is a good rule even if you have no interference as all your wireless devices share the bandwidth of the wireless they are on. Also if you have several wireless items close to each other that do have Ethernet ports but you are not able to get a cable to them, then consider putting in a wireless media bridge. That way you have one wireless communication going on for several devices.

 

[photodave]

Thank you for your reply.

I do change the change the channels between 1,6 and 11 every so often depending on what is least busy, and our two desktops are wired to the router. Thank you for the advice about setting the 2.4Ghz to 20Mhz, and being sure that my devices use the 5Ghz band if they can.

I had hoped that with newer processors and three external antennae that a newer router would perform better particular when my wife and I each use our tablets to stream video.

Thank you once again for your speedy response.

 

[shure]

You shouldn't be getting buffering with 30Mbps internet, even with the number of devices you have. I only very occasionally get buffering when watching YouTube and I'm on an 8Mb line.

I can't speak for your Linksys but after I changed to an Asus RT-N66u I had noticeable improvements. Blackspots in my house disappeared, when my son was streaming everything else didn't grind to a halt and when I went on Skype it didn't look like I was filming an episode of Thunderbirds. I haven't had it all that long, though, so can't vouch for its reliability yet. As for heat: I use the supplied stand to make it upright and I can't say it's noticeably hot. It has a large heatsink built in and I find it runs fine. The DSL version (DSL-N66u), which has a modem built in, does run very warm as it has to pack a lot more in the same space.

Range and signal strength also improved considerably. I live in an old (Victorian) house with extremely thick walls and this was a challenge for my previous router. Not so with the Asus. I have a much improved signal. Dual band also means my channels are less crowded, while the built in print server and USB slots are a bonus.

Having said all that, if you do a lot of streaming, particularly in HD, and money is no object then you might find an ac compatible router suits you better. AC is not simply faster, it has wider channels which HD streaming can take advantage of. I know I'm going to sound like an Asus rep but they've just released the first of their second generation ac routers, the RT-AC68u, which is one of the fastest out there today. You can buy ac cards for whichever equipment you stream YouTube to, while the rest of your equipment can carry on using 802.11n (and I don't know what phones you have, but e.g. the Samsung Galaxy S4 and above supports ac).

But before you consider changing your router you might want to try a simple test (if you haven't already). You say two desktops are hard-wired to the router. Do they also suffer from buffering? If so then it's not your wireless that is an issue (conversely, if they don't then it is). If the desktops also have issues then you might need to talk to your ISP as you may have a line fault. As I said, 30Mbps should be absolutely fine for streaming.

 

[shure]

Question: is it just YouTube? Because a bit of research suggests that it may have nothing to do with your router at all. If your internet in general buffers then maybe but you might want to have a read before splashing out on new hardware unnecessarily

 

[photodave]

Thank you Shure for your response.

Our two computers wired to the router do not have problems streaming, so it is a WiFi issue.

An issue that I hoped that a newer router would address.

Abailey's advice is great to be sure that my router is optimized as best as possible, but you now suggest a newer router might help.

Money is not an issue per se, but I would not get any AC cards as what we stream most is to our tablets (Nexus 10 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2). No doubt our next set of tablets and cellphones will support AC.

But without any AC devices at present, would a newer AC router like the Asus RT-AC68u given me better performance?

If I did get an AC router, would my "N" devices be able to use the 5 Ghz band? or is the 5 Ghz band all taken up by "AC?"

If a new AC router would give me better performance over an N router like Asus RT-n66u with my present devices, I would happily pay the added cost.

Once again I ask your advice and the community, as I feel I have now come full circle with my question and would
appreciate your guidance.

Thank you all for your time and help.

 

[shure]

All AC routers are backwards compatible. You will also be able to use the 5Ghz band with "n" equipment, no problem, although of course you won't get the same throughput as when you have AC clients. However, it's also worth bearing in mind that the 5GHz band tends to have much more trouble with walls etc, so if you are moving around the house then you might find the 2.4Ghz band gives you a more stable connection anyway. And range is much better with 2.4GHz. In short, 5Ghz tends to work better the closer (and less obstructed) you are to the router. Beam forming in AC goes some way to compensate this but of course won't be useful with "n" clients.

If you are looking to upgrade your tablets in the next 18 months or so then it would probably make sense to get an AC router now, as most new devices will support it. There's a good group test of the three best ones here which might interest you. One quote:

"At £189.99 we’d give it (Netgear Nighthawk) the edge over the identically priced Asus RT-AC68U as it delivers faster speeds in eight out of our eleven speed measurements. That said, the two it does lose are significant: speed at 15m behind two solid walls at both 802.11ac and 802.11n 2.4GHz. For those focused on range the AC-68U could be the better bet. "
and:

"The Netgear R7000 Nighthawk has the fastest peak throughput of any router we’ve ever tested and its USB performance blows even its AC1900 rivals away. However its key rivals, the Linksys EA6900 and Asus RT-AC68U, have the R7000’s number at range in two out of three tests. Overall, we’d have Linksys edge Netgear into second place."

It might be worth checking out the three in the review. All would definitely be a step up from what you have now.