Router
 

Hey guys, looking at the ASUS RT-N66U to replace the SH3 as i've seen it recommended a few times on here, however I noticed on Amazon they have the RT-AC1200G which has (on the face of it) faster wifi, but Amazon have it cheaper than the N66U, and I can't see any reason why not to get the 1200G over the N66U?

Does anyone know why the N66U would be priced higher, or I should get it over the 1200G?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Router
 

Basically, the N66-U has more antennae than the AC1200 - the AC1200 has 2x2 (2 upstream and 2 downstream) whereas the N66 has 3x3. Both multiplex their speeds, but the AC has faster speeds for each antennae.

What does this mean for you?

Well, that depends. If you have an AC device, you'll probably get more speed from the AC router. If you have an N device, you might get more speed from the N66-U but only if it has the matching number of antennae - most laptops are 2x2 at best anyway. A 2x2 laptop will be just as fast on the AC as it is on the N. Your phone will not be 3x3.

Having less antennae means you can have less guest networks as well. If that's a concern to you, then the N66 might be better.

I'd go for the AC device. Unless you've got a chunky wireless card that can multiplex 3 channels, you'll not see any benefit with the N66. If you suddenly decide that you'd really like to have the extra antennae, go for a 3x3 AC device instead.

EDIT: To clarify something - the "number of antennae" isn't the physical things sticking out of the devices, but the number of streams for the 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands.

Re: Router
 

Cheers for the detailed reply Kush, appreciate that :)

Yep I'm with you on the "number" of antennae, it'll mostly be used with N stuff apart from my pixel and the girlfriend's 6S which are both AC but i'm looking to future proof rather than get insane speeds on our phones.

Not too fussed about guest networks, not sure I'll even need to use that feature at all, but if I do then it'll be 1 at max.

So, I think I'll be better off with the AC, I suspect firmware / feature wise they'll both be the same, VPN is the main "advanced" feature I'd use to connect up from work or my mobile if need be.

EDIT: Tried to rep you for that post but apparently I've already given you too much! Haha.

Re: Router
 

Did it for you and it deserved it.;)

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Cheers ;)

I repped your post in return for repping for me, which then let me rep Kush for his original post :erm:

So yeah, thanks Kush :D

Re: Router
 

All the rep! You're welcome :)

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Don't get too excited Kush!

Re: Router
 

funny we are having this conversation actually. I had a bit of a tidy up of my desk yesterday and got rid of many external hard drives which have been sitting there for donkeys years (anything between 60gb -250gb) and decided to replace them with one 5TB hdd. I have bought myself a new colour mfp laser printer and while I was at it I decided I was going to get myself a new router so I am future proofed for the new 500mbit tier and ever increasing wireless standards.

I spent hours yesterday looking at router charts and reviews for all the Asus and Linksys models and there didn't seem to be one model which was kick ass on everything. Models which have excellent wireless performance had slower wan to lan throughput or they were mentioned as having buggy firmware and high wan to lan throughput had slower wireless. I wanted to edge towards Linksys as I have done in the past but the only one which seems to tick all the boxes is the EA9500 but I didn't want to pay £280 for a router atm because I wouldn't benefit from a lot of the features.

In the end I settled on (drum roll) the Asus AC68U. It is the first time I have bought a non-Linksys router and I hope I don't regret it. I really wanted to go for the AC88u but again didn't want to spend £250 on a router atm because there are more things I want to buy. I think I have made a good choice though and I am very excited about the 68u, it looks like it is going to be kick ass and be a massive improvement over what I have got atm. The wan to lan throughput is something like 940mbits and the wireless performance is excellent as well and will last me for a long time.

Re: Router
 

Max, I guarantee you're going to love it the second you log into the router control panel.

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yeah, I google'd the gui yesterday to make sure it had the features I wanted and although I couldn't see everything, the screen shots I saw and videos did look very impressive.

Re: Router
 

What features are you curious on? I'm sure it'll have them, but I can confirm for you to put your mind at ease.

Re: Router
 

the three big ones for me which I am sure are run of the mill are subnet configuration, dhcp reservation list and static dns servers. I am sure there are plenty of other features that I will have fun with and benefit from but those three are an absolute must.

Re: Router
 

Definitely has all 3! I have my subnet set so I can put my raspberry pi on 192.168.3.14 without disrupting anything else.

DHCP reservation as well, all my main devices are reserved so they don't move around because to hell with static IPs.

And of course yes, you can configure 3(!) DNS servers.

Re: Router
 

same for me, I have the static hardware such as NAS servers, printers, Sky boxes, TV's, blu rays players etc at the end of the subnet and the clients we use such as pcs, laptops, phones and tablets at the beginning.

Re: Router
 

I should have my Asus next week, if anyone has any questions about it!