[SOLVED] Which router to choose?

Ziadul87

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I am getting a broadband WiFi service with 20mbps speed limit(might change to upto 30mbps). I have heard of the benefits of dual band routers. But my question is,

  1. Will the difference be noticeable if my bandwidth is only 20-30mbps?
  2. What is the difference between concurrent and simultaneous dual band routers?
  3. Do the concurrent/simultaneous dual band routers have long ranges like single 2.4ghz routers?(They should as they also have 2.4ghz running simultaneously)
  4. Concurrent: https://www.ryanscomputers.com/detail/d-link-dir-816-750-mbps-dual-band-wireless-router
Smart Concurrent: https://www.ryanscomputers.com/detail/tenda-ac5-ac1200-smart-dual-band-wifi-router
What makes the Smart Concurrent a better deal?

Additional Information:
I'll be running 2 smartphones, 1 laptop and a desktop. Only the desktop is single band at 2.4ghz. I'll play games and browse media files. And my brothers will take/attend live classes/seminars.

Which of the routers will be good enough?
Or just a 2.4ghz single band router is enough for low bandwidth connections(20-30mbps)?
 
Solution
It I guess depends on if you can get 20-30mbps on your current router. You can test it by copying files from wifi to a machine plugged into a ethernet port. You can see the speeds on the resource manager network tab. Be careful some rates are in bytes and others in bits.

2.4g connection do not get much more than 30-50mbps unless you are very close to the router.

It has been a very long times since I saw a router that was playing the stupid "non-concurent" trick. Was in the days when wifi chipset were expensive and they only put one in the router rather than 2 so you had to choose between.

If you play games you really want to connect via ethernet. All wifi is susceptible to interference and you can get lag.

Be careful...
It I guess depends on if you can get 20-30mbps on your current router. You can test it by copying files from wifi to a machine plugged into a ethernet port. You can see the speeds on the resource manager network tab. Be careful some rates are in bytes and others in bits.

2.4g connection do not get much more than 30-50mbps unless you are very close to the router.

It has been a very long times since I saw a router that was playing the stupid "non-concurent" trick. Was in the days when wifi chipset were expensive and they only put one in the router rather than 2 so you had to choose between.

If you play games you really want to connect via ethernet. All wifi is susceptible to interference and you can get lag.

Be careful some of the older routers are actaully more expensive than more modern ones. Even though they likely are not manufactured any more they still sell old model routers based on the original cost of the part to make them.

I generally don't recommended tenda brand but it appears you have a issue with pricing. TPlink would cost you about $10 more for similar routers. The routers from tenda likely function identacal to other brands since all manufacture buy the chipsets from one of the same 3 common chipset vendors. The risk you take is it will be harder to get customer support if you have a hardware issue and they tend to not update the software as often but 802.11ac is actually old technology so the router images are very stable. Wifi6 is still got lots of bugs so that one buying a large name brand is important.
 
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Solution

Ziadul87

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It I guess depends on if you can get 20-30mbps on your current router. You can test it by copying files from wifi to a machine plugged into a ethernet port. You can see the speeds on the resource manager network tab. Be careful some rates are in bytes and others in bits.

2.4g connection do not get much more than 30-50mbps unless you are very close to the router.

It has been a very long times since I saw a router that was playing the stupid "non-concurent" trick. Was in the days when wifi chipset were expensive and they only put one in the router rather than 2 so you had to choose between.

If you play games you really want to connect via ethernet. All wifi is susceptible to interference and you can get lag.

Be careful some of the older routers are actaully more expensive than more modern ones. Even though they likely are not manufactured any more they still sell old model routers based on the original cost of the part to make them.

I generally don't recommended tenda brand but it appears you have a issue with pricing. TPlink would cost you about $10 more for similar routers. The routers from tenda likely function identacal to other brands since all manufacture buy the chipsets from one of the same 3 common chipset vendors. The risk you take is it will be harder to get customer support if you have a hardware issue and they tend to not update the software as often but 802.11ac is actually old technology so the router images are very stable. Wifi6 is still got lots of bugs so that one buying a large name brand is important.
I had another question, should I be concerned about the number of antennas? and about features like MU-MIMO?
 
Not really. Both the router and the end device must have extra antenna to use them. Most device have only 2 so you can only run 2x2 mimo. The 1200 routers you have listed are 2x2 mimo. Buying a router that has 3x3 mimo does not help becuase the end device only has 2 and it will drop back to 2x2.

Mu-mimo it extremely hard to say what if any advantage it has in real life installations. You can show a advantage in a lab install but people who have tried to test it themselves don't seem to see much difference. It likely is very narrow case that it helps with.

Again if your end device does not also have mu-mimo support it won't be used.
 
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Ziadul87

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Not really. Both the router and the end device must have extra antenna to use them. Most device have only 2 so you can only run 2x2 mimo. The 1200 routers you have listed are 2x2 mimo. Buying a router that has 3x3 mimo does not help becuase the end device only has 2 and it will drop back to 2x2.

Mu-mimo it extremely hard to say what if any advantage it has in real life installations. You can show a advantage in a lab install but people who have tried to test it themselves don't seem to see much difference. It likely is very narrow case that it helps with.

Again if your end device does not also have mu-mimo support it won't be used.
Thanks for your help.