Question Which is the best Wifi+Ethernet router for my family?

ReveurGAM

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My current router, the Linksys03509, isn't' up to the task, I think. It throttles each device at 100 Mbps even if it's the only device online. I have the 300/10 Mbps Spectrum cable connection and would like to look at what might be more useful router options. A Spectrum tech said I should replace it (last year) but failed to provide a reason why. Maybe he was just trying to sell a Spectrum product to get a bonus. The new computers did wonders for removing the bottlenecks caused by our old laptops, so browsing is MUCH faster.

Aside from 3 mobile phones and 2 tablets, we have 3 computers:
1) Custom PC: Corsair iCUE 5000x RGB case, Intel i7-12700k, ASUS Tuf Gaming H670 Pro wifi D4, 64GB 3600MHz Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 RAM, 1TB PCIe NVMe Team Group T-Create Classic SSD, 6 TB SATA HDD.

2) Custom PC: Corsair iCUE 5000x RGB case, Intel i5-12500k, ASUS Tuf Gaming B660-M wifi D4 32GB 3400 MHz Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 RAM, 1TB PCIe NVMe Team Group T-Create Classic SSD

3) Laptop: HP Pavilion 15-eg0xxx

We currently live in a 1200 square foot apartment with internal frame walls, although I'm hoping to get a house soon. I would really like it if the max transmission speed matches the max speed for #2 by ethernet or wifi.

The computers are new and significantly faster than what we used to have. I am a YouTuber, and we all play games, so it will likely make a difference, especially for uploading, which is not much increased with the new computers unless I'm the only one awake. I'm not looking to spend over ~$200 at this time, unless there's a really compelling reason.

Someone has suggested that I wait for Wifi 7 to come out, but I'd imagine that'd probably be outside of my price range...?

Could someone explain, briefly and somewhat technically (but not high level), the difference between the major types of routers that offer both wifi and ethernet (and USB)? I'd ask other questions but I don't know enough about routers to do so. I'm not familiar with current tech in this area, so I don't know what mesh means, or whether I'd need 2 or more linked devices (I've seen them sold as sets), or much of anything else other than the blazing fast max speed of our mobos (2 Gbps?) wifi and ethernet. I appreciate your input.

Thanks!
 

kanewolf

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My current router, the Linksys03509, isn't' up to the task, I think. It throttles each device at 100 Mbps even if it's the only device online. I have the 300/10 Mbps Spectrum cable connection and would like to look at what might be more useful router options. A Spectrum tech said I should replace it (last year) but failed to provide a reason why. Maybe he was just trying to sell a Spectrum product to get a bonus. The new computers did wonders for removing the bottlenecks caused by our old laptops, so browsing is MUCH faster.

Aside from 3 mobile phones and 2 tablets, we have 3 computers:
1) Custom PC: Corsair iCUE 5000x RGB case, Intel i7-12700k, ASUS Tuf Gaming H670 Pro wifi D4, 64GB 3600MHz Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 RAM, 1TB PCIe NVMe Team Group T-Create Classic SSD, 6 TB SATA HDD.

2) Custom PC: Corsair iCUE 5000x RGB case, Intel i5-12500k, ASUS Tuf Gaming B660-M wifi D4 32GB 3400 MHz Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 RAM, 1TB PCIe NVMe Team Group T-Create Classic SSD

3) Laptop: HP Pavilion 15-eg0xxx

We currently live in a 1200 square foot apartment with internal frame walls, although I'm hoping to get a house soon. I would really like it if the max transmission speed matches the max speed for #2 by ethernet or wifi.

The computers are new and significantly faster than what we used to have. I am a YouTuber, and we all play games, so it will likely make a difference, especially for uploading, which is not much increased with the new computers unless I'm the only one awake. I'm not looking to spend over ~$200 at this time, unless there's a really compelling reason.

Someone has suggested that I wait for Wifi 7 to come out, but I'd imagine that'd probably be outside of my price range...?

Could someone explain, briefly and somewhat technically (but not high level), the difference between the major types of routers that offer both wifi and ethernet (and USB)? I'd ask other questions but I don't know enough about routers to do so. I'm not familiar with current tech in this area, so I don't know what mesh means, or whether I'd need 2 or more linked devices (I've seen them sold as sets), or much of anything else other than the blazing fast max speed of our mobos (2 Gbps?) wifi and ethernet. I appreciate your input.

Thanks!
First problem will be WIFI in an apartment. There are probably 10 to 40 competing WIFI signals. WIFI will most likely suck.
Your "Linksys03509" doesn't help identify the model you have. BUT, it if throttles at 100Mbit, then it may have 100Mbit ethernet ports. Any newer router will have gigabit ports, so that your wired connectivity can reach your internet package rates.

Can you get ethernet to your custom PCs? You only need a single cable. You can put a switch in the room if the PCs are in the same room.
I would recommend an Asus, but NOT a real expensive one. Get a router that is supported by Merlin firmware -- https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/
The AX58U would be a good choice -- https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-RT-AX3000-802-11ax-Lifetime-Whole-Home/dp/B084BNH26P/
 
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Games you really want to be on a ethernet connection if there is anyway possible.

When you say upload is slow how does the speed you get relate to the 10mbps you pay for. Most wifi should easily get that rate. You are not going to even get more than that and you share the bandwidth with other devices in the house and a new router is not really going to have much impact on that either.

What you might consider is powerline networks. For upload rates you should easily be able to get the 10mbps you pay for and it will be much more stable than any wifi connection. If you are really lucky you can get 300mbps with the units that have a 1000 or 2000 number but something like 150mbps is much more common.

As mentioned by kanewolf you likely being limited by a 100mbps port but you also have to remember that faster speed really only helps with say game downloads. Having more bandwidth does not make games run better or faster they only need about 1mbps. This is also true for something like netflix which might use 20-25mbps for 4k movies. The router he recommended should get you the full speed you pay for but I would still not depend on it to play games especially when you live in a apartment. There is just too much interfering signals coming in that will cause random lag in games.
 
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ReveurGAM

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Thank you, @kanewolf and @bill001g. Helpful answers!

So now I need to consider what else I might buy with the $216 in Capital One Shopping Rewards, since it doesn't really seem like getting a better router is going to help. I'll probably go for a bigger SSD, since my videos swamp my 1 TB SSD too fast. Or, maybe I'll get a new monitor since this OLD Dell 25" probably cannot display the full power of my XFX Speedster Swift 319 Radeon RX 6800 XT. And some more fans for my case.

Bill, what do you mean by powerline networks?

My router is right next to the two custom computers.
 
If the router is right next to the computers you do not need powerline networks. Powerline networks are a pair of boxes you plug into a electrical outlet that in a way makes the electical wires in the house act as a ethernet cable between rooms you would have trouble running a actual ethernet cable.

You should be able to just run a ethernet cable directly between the machines and the router. This is always the best option both for speed and reliability. This is even more true if you are playing games. Even though games need very little bandwidth they need quality connections. Wifi is very bad for playing games because of interference damaging data.

What exact router do you have. Generally unless the router is very old or you buy extremely cheap routers they have gigabit ports. You want to do all your testing using ethernet cables to start. You can see the speed the port connects at if you dig around the status page for the ethernet port on your machine. You can also tell by the lights on some routers if the port is running at 100 or 1gbit.

If the router is 1gbit and your tests are still only 100mbps then maybe there is a issue with a cable, maybe the one between the router and the modem.
 
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ReveurGAM

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It's a Linksys EA6350 v4 I bought in 2020, and it was cheap because that was all I could afford at the time. It does NOT have gigabit capability. I've plugged in the ethernet cable, thanks to the info here.
 

kanewolf

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It's a Linksys EA6350 v4 I bought in 2020, and it was cheap because that was all I could afford at the time. It does NOT have gigabit capability. I've plugged in the ethernet cable, thanks to the info here.
The specs for that model router show that it does have gigabit ethernet ports. It is also a dual band router. It is not that dissimilar from the above recommended Asus.
This page shows that even the V2 version has gigabit ports -- https://www.linksys.com/support-article?articleNum=316757 Although black on a blue background is hard to read....
 
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ReveurGAM

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