Question Which Modem/Router?

bilal_3715

Distinguished
Nov 15, 2014
6
0
18,510
Hi Guys, I am upgrading my broadband speed from 1gbps to 2.5gbps but the
modem/router they provide only has one 2.5gbps wan port, one 2.5gbps Lan port and three 1gbps Lan ports.

Currently I have 4 direct connections to the current virgin hub as these 4 are used hard wired and want to benefit the full 2.5gbps of speed when it's upgraded as well.

I am looking at the current TP-Link BE9300 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router which offers 1 2.5gbps wan port with 4 additional 2.5gbps Lan ports so this way we can have the maximum speed wired (priced at £250).

We have a very large house so with the current virgin hub 5 the Wi-Fi coverage doesn't cover the whole house to a good standard and some part of the house would hardly get any signals so not even usable.

Would the above router provide a much better coverage compared to the Hub 5 as it's WiFi 7 as well but just not sure about the coverage.

Would this be the best option or is there be a better alternative way to achieve what I want
to?

Are 2.5gbps switches all usable at the same time and provide the maximum speed without any loss of speed if I was to go down this route?

Also, any budge router with a minimum of 2.5gbps ports which you would recommend also?
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Hi Guys, I am upgrading my broadband speed from 1gbps to 2.5gbps but the
modem/router they provide only has one 2.5gbps wan port, one 2.5gbps Lan port and three 1gbps Lan ports.

Currently I have 4 direct connections to the current virgin hub as these 4 are used hard wired and want to benefit the full 2.5gbps of speed when it's upgraded as well.

I am looking at the current TP-Link BE9300 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router which offers 1 2.5gbps wan port with 4 additional 2.5gbps Lan ports so this way we can have the maximum speed wired (priced at £250).

We have a very large house so with the current virgin hub 5 the Wi-Fi coverage doesn't cover the whole house to a good standard and some part of the house would hardly get any signals so not even usable.

Would the above router provide a much better coverage compared to the Hub 5 as it's WiFi 7 as well but just not sure about the coverage.

Would this be the best option or is there be a better alternative way to achieve what I want
to?

Are 2.5gbps switches all usable at the same time and provide the maximum speed without any loss of speed if I was to go down this route?

Also, any budge router with a minimum of 2.5gbps ports which you would recommend also?
Get a 2.5GE ethernet switch. Single uplink to the router.
 
Just because wifi7 has a bigger number does not mean it has better coverage.

They key difference is wifi6e and wifi7 support 6ghz radio band. This for most people has less coverage because the signal is more easily absorbed. The thing that makes this messy though is 6ghz signals even though they are weaker might be faster because there tends to be less interference. At least for now as it gets more popular all your neighbors will have routers that can run on 6ghz and interfere with you all over again.

You have to be very careful to not start to look at bandwidth/transfer rates as "coverage".

In general the only way to get better wifi coverage is to run some kind of wire to the remote rooms and then use a second wifi source like a AP.

Wifi routers with multiple 2.5g lan ports are outrageously expensive. You are better off buying a small switch that has multiple 2.5g ports.

Now it really depends on what you plan to do with 2.5g. Your internet connection is still limited to 2.5g total. So even though 2 device might each have 2.5g ports they are still limited to 2.5g total not 5g. To really use more that 2.5g total you would need some kind of communication inside your house between machines or servers.

The secret that ISP don't want you to know is you won't really be able to use 2.5g for much. That is why they are so happy to sell it to you for not much more than 1gbit.
Sure you might sometimes be able to download a game from steam at faster rates...not always though steam can be very strange. Any other application even say 4k netflix does not work any different on 2.5 or 1 or even 100mbps. It uses about 30mbps and will not use more even if it is available. Pretty much high bandwidth only helps for large downloads. You need to see how often per month you do that and then look at the extra monthly cost. Only you can say how much you are willing to pay to save a few minutes of download time a month.
 
As bill said, 2.4ghz still gives the best coverage and you're limited by the maximum transmit power the FCC(british equivalent) allows. Also limited by the transmit power of your client devices(like your phone). There are small differences in better radio transciever components inside the router, which allow for a lower noise floor and better dynamic range, but you're still limited in power.

The best way to cover your house is with hardwired access points spread around. If you have cable coax lines in other rooms of the house, you can use MOCA to hardwire a backhaul to the extra wifi access points.