[SOLVED] TP-Link Archer VR2100 vs ASUS DSL-AC68U , which one should I get?

[xxxbabyxxx]

Hello,

We're in need of a brand new DSL Router for gaming & one that will be decent with 10+ devices connected to it using wifi. (The gaming device will be done on Lan). Something that won't give you crazy packet loss.. latency.. etc.. we do have a wifi repeater incase the range isn't that far so that's not a problem.

TP Link Archer VR2100: https://www.tp-link.com/ae/home-networking/dsl-modem-router/archer-vr2100/
ASUS DSL-AC68U: https://www.asus.com/Networking-IoT-Servers/Modem-Routers/All-series/DSLAC68U/

I can get them pretty much for about the same price with TP Link being like ~$10 more expensive. I noticed that the ASUS one has video reviews of it dating back to 2016.. so I am not sure if it's outdated in any way, or if it's still better than the TP LINK one which seems to be 1-2 years old at most.

The internet speed currently is kinda horrible but that's due to the DSL ISP connection that we have which is around ~11Mb download, 0.5 Upload.. ALTHOUGH WE MIGHT GET FIBER soon!

Any replies/suggestions would be appreciated, thank you in advance ^^ 😊 ♥

 

[bill001g]

Technically both are "extremely?" outdated. Both use 802.11ac (ie wifi5). There is the newer wifi6 and newest wifi6e stuff.

Yours is hard choice when you have DSL but might get fiber in the future. DSL greatly limits your choice in devices and as you imply both are massive over kill when you connect it to only a 11mbps internet. You likely could get by with a router that has a 1200 number or even less. Not sure how much price difference there is.

This might be a case of buy the cheapest thing that will meet your needs now with the idea you discard it buy new when you get a fiber connection. Likely wifi6e stuff will be very common in a year or so even on end devices so you would be replacing your router anyway.

Note even if you had a fiber connection the router is only 1/2 the connection. If your end devices does not support stuff like 4x4 mimo (very very rare) the 2 devices are not much different. This is kinda like wifi6e routers where very few current devices support it.

 

[xxxbabyxxx]

Technically both are "extremely?" outdated. Both use 802.11ac (ie wifi5). There is the newer wifi6 and newest wifi6e stuff.

Yours is hard choice when you have DSL but might get fiber in the future. DSL greatly limits your choice in devices and as you imply both are massive over kill when you connect it to only a 11mbps internet. You likely could get by with a router that has a 1200 number or even less. Not sure how much price difference there is.

This might be a case of buy the cheapest thing that will meet your needs now with the idea you discard it buy new when you get a fiber connection. Likely wifi6e stuff will be very common in a year or so even on end devices so you would be replacing your router anyway.

Note even if you had a fiber connection the router is only 1/2 the connection. If your end devices does not support stuff like 4x4 mimo (very very rare) the 2 devices are not much different. This is kinda like wifi6e routers where very few current devices support it.

Thank you for replying, in a way we were thinking of going with one of these because what we have is TPLINK 300Mbps Wireless N ADSL2+ Modem Router TD-W8961N , but uhm incase we do get one of these new ones, and we do get fiber, would we need to upgrade the router again? or woul fiber work fine on one of these two that we're buying?

Unfortunately these are the 2 best that we can go for locally, the rest are like $350 $500+ or cheap ones like $20 $17 ones, so my options are kinda limited

If these won't function on Fiber then I'll probably skip on buying it and wait till I can get something Fiber compatible in future

 

[bill001g]

Like most modern dsl routers those two also can use a ethernet port to hook up another type of modem. This means these routers can more or less run any kind of internet connection. You are just paying a lot more because it also has a dsl modem in it. More or less it will perform the same as the routers with similar wifi numbers that do not have a dsl modem in it.

Now fiber is not always that simple. Some fiber providers hook the fiber directly to the router. That means you can not use the dsl router you have because it does not have a fiber port. In most these cases though the provider is actually providing the router so you don't actually need any router of your own. Some of these routers are top of the line units. For example the latest ATT device that can run 5gbit connections also has wifi6.

So it all depends on the ISP and how they offer the service. Some you have to use their router and others they put in a ONT to convert the fiber to ethernet and you can use your own router.

This is a hard choice and I guess it depends on how soon you think you can get the fiber. If it is say in a year then you likely will not have upgraded your end device before then. If it is say 2-3 years you likely will have replaced your end devices and you will be due to replace your router to support all the new stuff anyway.

 

[xxxbabyxxx]

Like most modern dsl routers those two also can use a ethernet port to hook up another type of modem. This means these routers can more or less run any kind of internet connection. You are just paying a lot more because it also has a dsl modem in it. More or less it will perform the same as the routers with similar wifi numbers that do not have a dsl modem in it.

Now fiber is not always that simple. Some fiber providers hook the fiber directly to the router. That means you can not use the dsl router you have because it does not have a fiber port. In most these cases though the provider is actually providing the router so you don't actually need any router of your own. Some of these routers are top of the line units. For example the latest ATT device that can run 5gbit connections also has wifi6.

So it all depends on the ISP and how they offer the service. Some you have to use their router and others they put in a ONT to convert the fiber to ethernet and you can use your own router.

This is a hard choice and I guess it depends on how soon you think you can get the fiber. If it is say in a year then you likely will not have upgraded your end device before then. If it is say 2-3 years you likely will have replaced your end devices and you will be due to replace your router to support all the new stuff anyway.

Thank you for replying 😊 I see I see, well then I'm kind of hesitating just waiting and sticking to my TPLINK 300Mbps Wireless N ADSL2+ Modem Router TD-W8961N router till I get answers on fiber, would there be any disadvantages in comparison to these 2 routers? or is it because my net speed being too low it isn't going to make that much of a difference if any?

 

[bill001g]

It likely won't matter even on gigabit internet.

To use the very fastest encoding that those routers support you would need to have 4 antenna to support things like 4x4 mimo. The vast majority of device only have 2. A small number more have 3 but pretty much only some very special nic cards that go into desktops have 4 antenna.
It is also one of those things that going from 1 to 2 overlapping feeds gives you a lot more of course not double. Going from 2 to 3 or 3 to 4 gives less and less increase. If it was magic like that they would just use 100 antenna.

Lately I tend to be wait until I actually can use something to buy it. You will see no advantage over your current router until you upgrade your internet connection. If the router broke for some reason and you had to replace it a somewhat never router with a 1200 number is likely the best recommendation. 1200 matches most end device and matches the speeds 2x2 mimo can get.

 

[xxxbabyxxx]

It likely won't matter even on gigabit internet.

To use the very fastest encoding that those routers support you would need to have 4 antenna to support things like 4x4 mimo. The vast majority of device only have 2. A small number more have 3 but pretty much only some very special nic cards that go into desktops have 4 antenna.
It is also one of those things that going from 1 to 2 overlapping feeds gives you a lot more of course not double. Going from 2 to 3 or 3 to 4 gives less and less increase. If it was magic like that they would just use 100 antenna.

Lately I tend to be wait until I actually can use something to buy it. You will see no advantage over your current router until you upgrade your internet connection. If the router broke for some reason and you had to replace it a somewhat never router with a 1200 number is likely the best recommendation. 1200 matches most end device and matches the speeds 2x2 mimo can get.

tyvm for the amazing details and replies ^^ <3