Reddit mentions of ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router

Currently in a house with 5 gamers total

I live in house with 3 other guys and a buddy of ours has been crashing on our couch for the past month (long story, but he's cool and contributes to cooking, cleaning, and utilities) We all play League of Legends, a handful of us play BF3, a few others play Tera, and then various other games such as CS:GO and TF2, and other console games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart.

We have been here for about 1.5 months, below are some issues that we encountered:

• Bandwidth: we have a 105Mbps down/ 20Mbps up pipe provided by Comcast. The Router that comcast provided sucked, constant latency spikes, no QOS, terrible admin console. I ended up going out and buying my own modem and Router. I got the Motorola SB6121 and an Asus-RT-N66U Router (I could have paid an additional $30 and got an AC router, but honetly, none of us use the wireless for our computers, and any wireless device we do use which include phones, tablets, laptops, Apple TV, Ouya, PS3 etc, do not support 802.11AC and even if they did, none of them even saturate 802.11N) This completely solved our issues with lag spikes, and by far was the most frustrating issue we dealt with thus far.
  
  
• Electricity: I don't know where you guys are living, but being in Texas the A/C was on constantly, so be prepared for a large electric bill. Our last bill was ~$270, but that is pretty much as high as it will go.
  
  
• NAS: Currently I have 3 1TB drives in my computer and I am using Windows to share the content, we are currently using XBMC to play media across our computers as well as the Ouya and the Apple TV which are both hooked up to TVs. (1 in the living room, the other in the breakfast room/nook) I want to eventually build/buy a NAS, but I have been way too busy at work and I've been spending too much money on going and eating out.. so that needs to change.
  
  
• Last bit of advice I'd have to give, is make everyone do chores or something, it gets dirty very fast at our place with 5 guys living there, 2 dogs, 1 cat(although she is mostly outside), plus friends, girlfriends, and parties also all happening at our place.
  

I can pretty much guarantee that's the case. I pay for 50/5 and as you can see it's right on the button with a little extra room on top.

This comes after the 'stealth upgrade' we got a few months ago - meaning, for the same price I used to get 25/5. A speedtest result would produce the same results, around 26/6 - what I paid for plus a little extra.

Comcast keeps a close eye on what the throttle speed is here.

My equipment is a self-bought DOCSIS 3.0 motorola modem hooked to an ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router so I know it's not my hardware preventing a higher speed.

I splurged and got this guy.

Expensive, but if you can swing it, the range & performance are fantastic.

I'm guessing you're still on Wireless-G for your Wifi. That's your bottleneck. Plug a computer into the router and see the speeds it achieves.

I bought myself a brand new router and I pull down 40mbps throughout the house.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

I have an ASUS wireless router that has USB ports on the back that support a hard drive or printer that can be shared on the network. This is a good option and it works well.

The solution to this is simple. Buy a $70 DOCSIS 3.0 modem and a $120 or less wireless router. Return your equipment to Comcast and KEEP THE RECEIPT.

I would go with the ASUS RT-N66U it is a great router and excellent range.
Amazon!

I have the Dark Knight version.

I just ordered a Surfboard 6121 and its a really great modem. Pair it with an ASUS router like this and you have a wonderful combination. The range is extremely far, you can customize a lot of settings and you don't have to pay the monthly price. Comcast was charging me $8 a month for my modem, so after 6 months ill have paid for it already (picked mine up on sale).

The wireless router supplied by Buckeye is junk. What I did was get the modem without wireless and bought the modem below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=dp_cerb_1

TIL I have the same router as Linus Torvalds


ASUS RT-N66U

I do, it’s cheaper in the long run. Bought mine in 2014, still works great paid between 100-150 but can’t remember.

This is the model I bought in 2014.

I just picked up this one and it's been fantastic. You can do some pretty nice configurations with it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QB1RPY/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is going to get downvoted because of the A word, but, the Apple Airport Extreme is an extremely capable and stable wireless router.

http://www.amazon.com/AirPort-Extreme-802-11n-5th-Generation/dp/B0057AVXJA

The 5th generation version is still fine. Go up to $200 and you can get the current version, which is AC capable, etc.

If you have game consoles, which like uPnP, be advised the Apple does not offer uPnP.

If you have game consoles:

http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC1750-Gigabit-Router/dp/B008ABOJKS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376407132&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+ac66u

or

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376407149&sr=1-2&keywords=asus+ac66u

This:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-popular

I'd say the TP-Link Archer C7 or the ASUS RT-N66U should do the trick. If you want to go nutty there's always the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite and UniFi AP AC Lite, but this setup isn't as plug-and-play as the first two.

Don't keep your wifi bound to their shitty equipment.

Do a hard-wired connection from their shitty modem to a better wifi router like this ASUS model. We use these at work and their range is pretty awesome. We went from needing four routers in the building to only needing two.

So the first thing you should decide is what type of internet to get. The vast majority of people get cable or fiber (if they can afford it and if it's available). Both of those options give you good reliable internet. The cheap option is to get DSL which works over telephone lines. DSL usually has low speeds and isn't as reliable but only costs like $30 a month compared to $60-100 for better internet. If you like to stream movies or do anything outside of very basic browsing, I would say to get cable if you can afford it. What you do then is find a provider for that internet (internet service provider - ISP). Comcast, Cox, AT&T, Verizon, and many local companies are ISPs but you're probably limited to only one or two in whatever region you live (assuming USA). You should also know that these companies have random naming conventions for their services (Comcast calls their cable Xfinity while AT&T calls theirs Uverse) So you go to their web sites and compare plans and find something that works for you (if you don't know what speed you need, I would recommend 20 Mbps or more for streaming and normal use, 50 Mbps if you're a really heavy user). You can use this to find out what providers even have wiring in your area (if the top speed for a certain provider only shows as 10-25 mbps, then it's likely only DSL).

If you go with cable, you'll need both a modem (which receives the internet connection from the cable built into your apartment) and a router (which takes that wired connection and turns it into wireless - wifi). I would recommend buying your own hardware because companies like Comcast charge you something like $7-10 a month per modem/router that you get from them, which ends up being more expensive than buying your own to start with. If you buy your own modem, make sure it will work with whatever cable provider you select (something like this is standard). After that, you hook up your router. There are many to choose from. You can get one for as little as $10-30, but I would recommend getting a better one like this if you can as it performs exceptionally well and is easy to set up as well.

If you have any specific questions, let me know.

You might want to check if you can run multiple devices off your connection as they may only provide you with one IP address (similar to a normal home service from an ISP).

In this case you will need a router to connect up all your devices. Any standard home router will do the trick. I use an ASUS RT N66U - 4 wired gigabit ports, 802.11n Wi-Fi and it's nice and speedy with my 100mbit WAN connection. $129.99 @ Amazon.

However if your uni/college allows for multiple devices per room (ie, they provide you with multiple IP addresses) you will be able to get away with using an ethernet switch. As mentioned in other comments, opt a model with faster Gigabit ports as nowadays there is really no big price difference and the extra bandwidth could come in handy one day. A basic 5-port TP-Link Gigabit switch is $19.99 @ Amazon (or you can get an 8-port model for $24.99 @ Amazon).

Don't get a hub. I honestly haven't seen one on sale for years anyway, good luck trying to track one down!

Plug your computer straight into the modem and do a speed test. Write down whatever speed you got and then test the speed over your wi-fi. If there is a large difference you are having issues with your wireless connection. Quite a few things can cause problems with wifi especially if you live a high density area. There are a few phone apps that will actually find open wifi channels that aren't being used by your neighbor and after you find one you can set your router to that channel manually. In addition to that Cox often has problems with their DNS servers so I tend to use googles (8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4)

Edit: There's a lot of information in the paragraph so please feel free to pick my brain with any questions.

Double Edit: I would definitely bite the bullet and buy your own router if you are trying to play games and stream stuff. 100 bucks nowadays gets you a do everything router with a 5ghz connection instead of 2.4 which is a lot better for streaming and online games. This is a good example

I personally find the ASUS RT-N66U to be an excellent router.

You can sometimes find it for as low as 100-105.

The most important question is how much stress do you actually need to put on the router.

As in:

How many devices?

Are they primarily using 2.4 or 5GHz

Are they b/g/n or ac (ac is highly unlikely since its so new). This router does not support ac...though i wouldn't be too concerned with that for at least another 2 years or so.

In all honesty most routers under $40-50 can handle most Perk needs — as well as your other household devices.

Though I always say, its better to spend some more now...than later.

4 people streaming regularly on a $40 router is probably asking for reboots and slowdowns. I don't own any of the routers on this review site, but you might want to look that over. Their pick for best cheap router is the TP-LINK TL-WDR3600

You have to think of routers like little computers that literally route network signals to each of your devices within your home. Just like a computer, the cheaper routers have slower processors and less RAM, which can slow things down pretty quickly when multiple people are doing bandwidth-intensive things like streaming.

I'd seriously consider upping your budget if you want a smooth streaming experience in your house.

Personally, I have a ASUS RT-N66U and it's an amazing router, and I've never had a single issue with it, but it's well above your price range.

I highly recommend a router that supports third party firmware based on open source Linux/WRT routers. Why?

Because no matter how good your hardware is, if the software sucks it will perform badly under pressure. Average hardware with great software will yield great results. Most software made by the router companies suck, because it isn't tested properly and is often just slightly tailored for each model. They dont' put a lot of effort into it, because that is not what a consumer sees when they buy one (unless you are business user buying business class routers).

For a $100, I recommend this slightly older router that I use myself that comes with WRT software directly from the manufacturer (less setup and easier for you!):

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1459468524&sr=1-5

I would highly recommend the Asus wireless routers. Great featureset, you can set up file sharing, guest networks, printer sharing. Super easy to do a basic set up as well.

If you want the latest and greatest in terms of the new wireless standards, this one is the way to go.

Slightly older but still will work for absolutely everything you would want to do would be this one here.

I've been using an Asus router that has been working great. You can get one on amazon for $120.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006QB1RPY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1421791773&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41aq0FV8aqL&ref=plSrch

You're making the issue more complicated than it needs to be. You can indeed just replace the old router with a new one. You only need two if your house is giant and your router is crap. Most people just assume, "I have two stories I guess I need two routers" when in reality they just need a better single router.

I urge everyone to replace the router provided by their ISP. You will see a significant jump in internet speeds. I always recommend the ASUS RT-N66U because I use it myself and my speeds improved significantly.

To install a new router all you have to do is set-up a new network. The router I listed comes with a CD that will guide you through the process, which is very simple.

You don't need a $300 sacrificial alter to cover a 2 story house with six people in it. The one I listed is dual-band so you can use one for mobile devices and the other for PC's as well if you want, or don't. Either way, this is an easy fix.

Depending on the version, the hardware of the WNDR3700 is simply outdated. I would consider flashing it with DD-WRT to get the most out of it first.

Otherwise, yea, just get a new router. You're paying for 150Mbps speed, you should invest in the hardware along with it. My go to suggestion is the RT-N66U. Great features for a soho router and a strong 2.4Ghz band. The 802.11ac version is about 20 bucks more.

Okay, that makes more sense lol. Thank you.

I think I've got all the info I need. At this point I'm just comparing three similar routers:

The one you recommended

This Asus one that's a dollar less

And this Asus one that looks to be the same as the other Asus but is $ cheaper and has 300 less max speed

All three are dual-band so it's just a matter of picking one. The TP-Link one says it has a 2 year warranty and 24/7 customer service so that might be worthwhile. It also has the highest max speed but that doesn't really make a huge difference to me since my internet is capped at 25 anyway. The TP-Link is the most expensive, $17 more than the cheapest Asus one. Hmmm.

I haven't dealt with Windows in a long time, so I'm not sure what bridging looks like now, but it used to be challenging. It's pretty easy on a mac, no idea on Linux (never tried). However, with a decent router, it's easy to get it to run in bridge mode. I have an Asus RT-N66U that I use as a bridge to my tv and Xbox 360.

This is a fairly reliable way to do it, and I imagine most mid-range and up routers, or anything running dd-wrt will support. Search for media bridges also.

This for a very good router for a decent price

This if you want to spend a little more and have the best.

Amazing how many people still have that general model of router...I do some "IT-related-work", and frequently encourage customers to upgrade from these.

The biggest thing with these is that Wireless G has been out of use since around...2009, 2010? And while it says speeds are 54Mbps, that's a max theoretical, and is literally never reached by these devices. Practical speeds are 19-22Mbps.

It seems like your external antenna is helping with range, which would be another one of the pitfalls of wireless G.

Since you've asked for suggestions in some of the other posts on here, I would say if you wanted to upgrade, my recommendation would be a Dual-Band Wireless N (or if you wanted to spend more money, Tri-Band Wireless AC), where you use the 2.4GHz band and your antenna for the POGO players, and the 5GHz band for your personal devices (assuming that your devices have 5GHz capability). And, as others have said, you can use DD-WRT or something similar, and limit the available domains/ports.

Examples - Dual Band Wireless N or Tri Band Wireless AC. I used the Dual Band one for 4 years before I ended upgrading, and it worked great for me.

Awesome on you for wanting to try such an ambitious project!

For your modem, I also recommend a Motorola Surfboard modem with DOCSIS 3.0, usually there will be a current model on Amazon will tons of good reviews.

For your router, that will also depend on the square footage you need to cover. They have released 802.11ac routers, but those are so new that there isn't an established "best router" for the money for 802.11ac, and there are already models that have problems, so for now my recommendation is going to be a Dual Band router with the appropriate amount of coverage for your square footage.

1500-2000 SQ. FT Router: D-Link DIR-825 ( http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DIR-825-Extreme-N-Dual-Band-Gigabit/dp/B001F7HLRC/ )

2000-2500 SQ. FT Router: ASUS RT-N66U ( http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ )

Up to 10,000 SQ. FT Router: Amped Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router ( http://www.amazon.com/Amped-Wireless-Wireless-N-Gigabit-R20000G/dp/B007M8SGW2/ )

As far as a top class router at an awesome price I would recommend this. We use them in all our businesses we support. I can't mention a time the router actually had to be reset for any internet issues where it wasn't the ISP's fault.

Perhaps there is a way to do this at the Router (instead of individual computers?). This way the VPN is mostly invisible to the members of the team (in that location). For those that work remotely, many VPN clients automatically start and run on computer start-up, making it pretty easy.

In order to get you started I am including links to NewEgg and Amazon's VPN Routers.

Edit: I just discovered that some routers already have VPN built in! This crazy nice router does!

WRT54GL classic.

ASUS RT-N66U should serve you well.

This guy is right on the money.

What you're looking for is essentially the following two items (or three, if you're supremely obsessive)

1. A docsis 3.0 modem. The Motorola Surfboard brand has been king for quite some time.
   
   
2. A router. You can go for wired (advantage: Never ever crashes) or wireless (crashes more often, particularly the cheaper ones). I recommend either his DIR 655, or if you want to spend more, the Asus RT-N66U (http://amzn.com/B006QB1RPY). I can count the number of times this router has crashed on me so far on zero fingers.
   
   
3. If you got a wired router in step 2, you'll need a wifi access. I have become a big fan of the UniFi access points (http://amzn.com/B005H4CDF4). I got one for my parents, programmed it, then told them they were allowed to move it anywhere in the house they felt like. It has improved their wifi substantially. Please note, this entire step is only really useful if your house is at least 2,000 sq feet.

ASUS RT-N66W Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router
https://amzn.com/B006QB1RPY

I personally would buy another router. You can easily do what /u/michrech said but it seems like you don't like the prices (which I understand).

So yes searching "wireless routers" is a good term because 9 times out of 10 wireless routers have at least 4 ports on them. If I was in your position I would buy this router, or even this one. I linked these two because I have personally used them and i haven't had any issues with them.

Configuration wise, these routers should have a "Wireless AP" mode. Which will turn off the routers DHCP and just work off your main one, if you said you're running Cat5 cable (hopefully Cat5e).

The other configuration option you can do is to login into whichever router you get and turn off the DHCP server and then only plug ethernet cables into the 1-4 ports and NOT the WAN port. This will simply extend your existing router DHCP range to this new one. So you have options.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Both configuration options I listed do the exact same thing...just different ways of doing them.

EDIT 2: I just now saw the second option /u/michrech listed and that does seem like a very viable option. Especially if you don't have a basic understanding of how to access a router's login page. It's probably a more plug and play option.

I had the same issue a month or so ago. Ended up buying this modem:
Motorola SurfBoard SB6141

&& This router:
ASUS RT-N66U.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. My brother and I both have Xbox Ones, and we can finally play together or join others without issue. I didn't really have to change any settings around. Sometimes we have to reset the router and modem because we'll randomly have Strict NAT, but it's uncommon. Other times, doing a Hard Reset on the XBONE will solve the problem.

Edit: I can't promise this will reach the far corners of your house. I'm not super into hardware, and don't know how big or how insulated your house is. Sometimes, it's ideal to just run a 100ft cable or two to the further away places.

Yeah, there may be newer models now but here is the modem and router I went with below.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006UK3K06?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QB1RPY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I just checked my amazon history and this is what I've been using since March 2015: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QB1RPY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've had good luck with it, and I initially got it because I was having a poor signal in the basement and some upstairs bedrooms, much improved by switching to this instead of the built in modem wireless. There are probably better options than what I bought a few years back, but with whatever you get I'm sure the signal will be much better vs. using the modem.

I ended up getting this one

I didn't have to do much research since my previous router was fairly old, and this one seemed to have much better range in general

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006QB1RPY/

The RT-N66U. It is by far the best router I have ever used. Handles torrents without needing reset like every other I owned. They have an AC version now too if you want that. It was too new when I got mine.

It's entirely possible I was only renting for 5/month because of the apartment complex. I wound up going with this modem and this router duo mostly because I'm not super tech savy and am trying to piece this together for the first time. to save money, I simply knew that paying to own was better than paying to rent.

I recommend the ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router. I use this in an apartment with 5 people. We have a 50 Mbps download and I can get those speeds anywhere in the house with this. It has excellent range, and if you need higher speeds, you can use the 5 GHz frequency. It may be more expensive than most entry level routers, but you get much higher performance.

Here is the mobile version of your link

Dafuk ... Weird, well here it is again

 

You get 70mb/s on wifi, damn, you got some good wifi there. I'm serious, wireless under ~normal~ setups peaks at 60 Mb/s.

> Ethernet Ports – 4 LAN + 1 WAN 10/100 Ethernet

This be your problem.

Your modem has a gig port on it, but your router only has 10/100 ports, thus your get the max those ports can give, which is 80-90 mb/s.

Sorry to say that that switch (please don't call it a modem switcher, it hurts, seriously, it's just called a 'switch') is the same speed: 10/100, but even if it was a gig switch, it would not have helped because the router is the bottleneck.

> when I wired everything correctly

Please explain where the cables go, as I assume your and my definition of "correctly" must be different :p

I assume you originally wired them like so:

modem -- switch -- router

This doesn't work, as the router needs to be after the modem, like so:

modem -- router -- switch

It has to do with the functions that the router performs: NAT, DHCP, routing.

I can give you a more in depth explanation if you want of why the first case will not work, just ask. :)

Again, same issue, you have a 10/100 device when you need everything to be gig. Return that switch to the shop, get a better router, like the Asus RT-N66u.

Yes, the router is this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QB1RPY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and i think my modem is this http://www.ubeeinteractive.com/products/cable/voice-gateways/dvw32cb-advanced-wireless-voice-gateway and the cable is 2ft long from router to the PC and ive switched between three cables and the speed is the same.

Check out the ASUS "Dark Knight"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006QB1RPY?pc_redir=1405421106&robot_redir=1#
Kicks ass at around $130 and will handle pretty much everything you need it to and more.

For what it's worth, I had major lag issues with a variety of routers. Dlink, Netgear, and others I have forgotten about. I bought an Asus Black Diamond router and all my wireless issues went away.

It was super highly rated, etc. This is the one:

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348193684&sr=8-3&keywords=asus+black+diamond+rt-n56u+wireless+router

There is one thing you can try, and it might work because you have 780p files. Set up a dlna server, that reduces the amount of overhead your wireless has to do to stream the file. It might just work on your situation, but if you have higher bitrate files, get the roku or WDTV.

Wireless can't handle HD streaming. A 1080p requires a solid 40-50mbps connection. Wireless networking has extra overhead on top of that. You can't get that on a cheap consumer grade router. You can get that kind of speed on a new router like this one, which has a tested throughput of 200mbps, but it costs $150.

You can buy a roku or WDTV media streamer, both of those have a usb input so you can plug in your external hard drive and watch the movie without worrying about the wireless. They are around $60.

I've been using ASUS RT-N56U and been happy with it.

• Dual Band, Data Rate: 802.11n - up to 300Mbps data rate; Wired Performance: WAN to LAN: up to 900Mbps; LAN to LAN: 1Gbps
  
• Interface: 1x WAN port, 4x LAN ports for 10/100/1000 BaseT, Port: 2x USB 2.0 ports
  
  They also have a newer model ASUS RT-N66U
  
  
• 3 x Detachable antenna for 2.4GHz/5GHz with peak gain 3dBi/ 5dBi
  
• IPv6 support; VPN Server Support
  
• 802.11n: up to 450Mbps ; 802.11a/g: up to 54Mbps; 802.11b: up to 11Mbps
  
• Supports Ethernet and 802.3 with max. bit rate 10/100/1000 Mbps
  
• 4 x LAN ports for 10/100/1000 BaseT
  
• 2 x USB2.0 support got Printer sharing or HDD sharing

Budget?

If you can afford it, I would reccommend this one.

I can tell you my method, there are variations on this setup that could be cheaper, more reliable. But this works for me, so disclaimer out of the way...


I use this wireless router, an ASUS N66U, with custom firmware installed onboard. The firmware was provided through my usenet provider, Giganews.

I've set this up for a family member as well, which allows them to stream MLB and NBA without those pesky blackouts. The really nice part for me is the number of servers both locally and internationally. Remember the famously terrible Olympic coverage here in the states? Logging in via a UK-terminating VPN allowed me to watch all the events via the excellent BBC UK streams that us Americans couldn't watch (thanks NBC).

I have heard nothing but good things about this router and I (and several other people I know) have this one and I haven't had any issues with it. Definitely upgrade the firmware though if you get the second one, the new interface is much better.

I love my Asus "Dark Knight" RT-N66U

You sound like my ISP ;)

Could go with this guy, and load up DD-WRT
http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

Instructions:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=153609

Do you want to use wifi or lan connections ?

Also where are you located ?

If EU i would recommend a Fritz!Box Router, if not this one is not to bad but expensive.

Give some more information, and also what you are willing to spend, i will give you some more suggestions :)

For your NAS I would highly recommend the Synology Disk station. I currently have the 212j, and couldn't be happier with it. It has a great user interface, and some pretty nice features. It has a usb port on it, and will run your printer. Synology also has an application similar to "dropbox," allowing you to sync files between your computer and the NAS. It allows for multiple users, and it's super easy to setup.

Link on Amazon

As previously suggested, solid state drives are probably your best bet.

As for the router, I would suggest the Asus RT-N66U

Link on Amazon

Out of the box it has a great firmware if you don't want to have to deal with Tomato or DD-WRT.

I'd do separate modem and router...that way if one fails the other doesn't (and usually when they're separate they do their one function better.)

The SB6141 is the recommended modem these days. I personally have a CM820 provided by my cable company (included with my internet) and it seems to be reliable as well.

Asus has been making some good routers lately, though I personally use a Netgear R6100 and it works good as well.

Step up your budget http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419170288&sr=8-2&keywords=ac66u

http://i.imgur.com/Buspt6N.png

I currently own and use:

Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - $69.99

ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router - $124.99

Do you need wireless AC? It not:

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419450887&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+router

Same price and rebate on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=twister_B00GD7HK7A?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

thanks that's cool but i guess the more i think about it the less i want to drop so much on a wifi router. it's really not going to have heavy use, just web browsing, streaming and such.

would either of these work well (i.e. good reliable connections)?

This TP

Or perhaps this ASUS

I did some searching! This seems to be the best! If anyone has a better option feel free to correct me! http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1413848656&sr=1-3&keywords=router

We just bought this at home after quite a bit of research. We bridged the router to our modem to bypass the second layer of NAT. We literally have no loss on wireless connections compared to hardwired. TONS of features too.

I'm not too much into consumer-grade equipment anymore, but I do think the ASUS RT-AC66U would be a very good choice.

It does go in the upper range of your budget though, but it's more futureproof than it's brother the ASUS RT-N66U, since it supports the AC standard, and not just N standard.


The placement of the router can have a lot to say for your wireless coverage. Having it on the floor under a desk might cause wireless reflections from the wall/desk, which could affect the performance and reach of the wireless network.

Ideally, you would place the router up high and central to the house, but in a lot of the cases this is not possible.

Zoom 5341J http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-DOCSIS-Cable-Modem-5341J/dp/B0063K4NN6

Asus RT-N66U http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1412717175&sr=1-4&keywords=rt-ac68u

If you have a use for AC wireless, you can upgrade that Asus to the RT-AC68U or similar. I've had the Zoom modem on an APC for over a year, no reboots, no resets required. A very solid modem.

I'll second /u/reubendevries's suggestion: I used to have problems with cheap routers where a large amount of bittorrent traffic would cause them to suddenly stop working. Resetting my router multiple times in a single day was the final straw, and I went and bought an Asus RT-N66U. I think in the +2 years I've had it, I've had to powercycle it once, because I thought it was acting odd.

While I am a programmer who is no stranger to working with embedded systems and flashing EEPROMs and such, I've found it easier to just buy a good router, rather than futz around with DD-WRT. It used to be that you had to be very careful that you got a specific hardware version when working with DD-WRT or similar software packages and that was more trouble than my time was worth.

This is a very good router.

Edit: Asus make very good, very reliable routers. If you want a good router, spend more. If you try and save and get a cheaper one, you will be disappointed, and end up in the "Save now, pay later" scenario. The RT-N66U will last you a few years.

I cannot comment on the router you linked.

If you're looking for decent performance, look for a dual band 802.11n router such as the Asus RT-N66U. If you're looking for the best performance, get a dual band 802.11AC router such as the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 or the Asus RT-AC87U. Also, make sure you have a Docsis 3.0 Modem if you have cable.

Well it comes down to what you want.

Do you want to spend money on a router for today? The N66U is a good option.

If you want to buy something that will cover your future wireless devices, spend a little more. For a few extra bucks you can get an AC model like the AC66U.

If you really don't want to go over budget, Netgear has a couple of AC models that will cut it. We're just not big fans of their hardware.

You can buy your own modem, if you'd like. If you'll use it for a least a year you probably break even versus the lease costs for the one they "gave" you.

The modem I have is an SB6141. I've had zero issues with it.

The SB6121 is a little cheaper and quite similar; it has a lower (but still high) speed cap.

The router I have is an Asus RT-N66U. It's 802.11N, not AC, but I've been happy with it. I don't have devices that support AC yet anyway.

The Asus RT-N66U is just a bit above your budget, but I would say it's well worth it. I have the AC version of it, which is probably one of the most recommended routers on this subreddit.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Maybe the netgear, but the Asus in the go-to router these days:

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/

The motorola surfboard modem is fairly popular, I have one but it is a more expensive model than this.
Also, the asus RT-N66U router is fantastic and works like a dream for me.

I am sure with a little digging you can find them within your price range.

Here are exact models he's referring to

Modem

Motorola SurfBoard SB6141


Wireless Router

ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900

OR

ASUS Dual-Band Wireless-N 600 Router (RT-N56U)

The ASUS RT-N66U is a good budget router for wireless gaming.

It broadcasts in 2.4GHz and 5 GHZ and has a decent GUI for setup and network mapping, among other useful features.

i bought this ASUS RT-N66U and it works flawlessly. Best purchase I've ever made, and it supports custom firmwares. It's a little more expensive, but in my experience, cheaping out on a router gets you nothing but trouble in the long run.

The WRT54GL is likely still fine if it's still in good working order. It's a classic, but it's certainly still useful. It's wireless is theoretically limited to 54Mbps double what you pay for.

I use at home:

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/

and own a few

http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WRT1900AC-Dual-Band-Wireless-Anywhere/dp/B00KEK4Q5Q/

Both are great but quite expensive.

Yeah I'll second TWC here, they're certainly the lesser of two evils in this case until Google blesses us with fiber. I will say though, if you plan on getting one of their better plans (30Mbps+), buy your own modem and router if you can afford it. Note, for the modem I linked, only buy the white one, the black one is a previously owned, repackaged one that was only available to ISPs and cannot be updated, and for the router, ASUS has some cheaper models that are still very good like this one (still not super cheap, but good) or this one if you want to go really cheap.

With my own equipment, I get the speeds I paid for (sometimes even faster) at all hours of the day with no outages, but prior to that when I was renting the stuff from them, my speeds were almost always lower and I had to reset the thing 3+ times a day.

Are you more worried about the modem or wireless router? Most modern modems/routers are just fine. It's the wireless radio that's terrible.

I just looked at a huge number of wireless router options, and the Archer C8 is my current pick for the money. While it's a tad slower than some of the fastest routers, it's affordable and has almost no bad reviews on either newegg or amazon. (<10% 1-2 star reviews). Every other router was more in the 20-50% 1-2 star review range. (Yes, 50%!).

Here's a list of the top performing routers from smallnetbuilder, sorted by 5ghz downlink. (I decided to use that instead of overall throughput, but it should be fairly similar).

| Model | 5ghz downlink Mbps | Newegg 1-2 | Amazon 1-2 | Amazon price | Newegg price |
|------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|-------------|-------------|--------------|--------------|
| TP-Link AC1750 / Archer C7 | 209.5 | 33% | 21% | $100 | $100 |
| Linksys EA6900 | 195.6 | n/a | 34% | $170 | $180 |
| Netgear R6250 | 184.8 | 23% | 21% | $130 | $133 |
| D-Link DIR-880L | 182.4 | 20% | 12% | $167 | $167 |
| Asus RT-AC66U | 166.7 | 31% | 20% | $151 | $151 |
| D-Link DIR-868L | 162.6 | 29% | 18% | $130 | $130 |
| Linksys EA6500 | 160.7 | 55% | 27% | $130 | $120 |
| Netgear R6300v2 | 159.4 | 48% | 21% | $140 | $140 |
| TRENDnet TEW-818DRU | 156.9 | 25% | 22% | $150 | $150 |
| TP-Link AC1750 Archer C8 | 155.6 | 13% | 13% | $115 | $115 |
| TP-Link AC1900 Archer C9 | 154.5 | 5% | 3% | $151 | $151 |
| Linksys AC1600 EA6500 | 151.4 | 55% | 27% | $130 | $120 |
| Linksys AC1200 EA6400 | 151.4 | 21% | 27% | $110 | $144 |
| Asus AC1200 RT-AC56U | 150 | 53% | 25% | $100 | $100 |
| Asus RT-N66U | 136.7 | 20% | 14% | $120 | $120 |

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QB1RPY/ref=oh_details_o02_s01_i04?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just bought this router once I realized how little bandwidth I was able to utilize with my old one. Old one was speedtesting out at about 6 down. This on averages High 30's to low 50's. It's pricey compared to other options but if you are a cordcutter, use some of the money you will be saving for a top quality router.

I've had this router for several years. The wifi will only be used for cellphones since every other device will use wired internet.

I play wired and use wireless for my laptop and phone. I'm guessing dual band would be the better way to go?

I was looking at this --> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QB1RPY

Just out of curiosity, what kind of wireless router do you have? A lot of times that can be a huge bottle neck.

I have this one and have never had slow speeds with comcast. I just use the normal comcast moden and that router and I constantly get 25-30mb/s when i'm paying for the "up to 30mb's" plan.

I could not more highly recommend the Asus N66U. It's expensive, but worth the investment if you need both speed and multiple devices to connect. You can go more expensive, but like I said, I have all those devices connected and experienced no issues so far. Say goodbye to having to unplug that fucking thing 30 seconds every time.

Thanks man. I will find out what my current model is when I get home and post the info here. I found this guide after some googling. Do you find the guide to be adequate?

I have to do a wireless connection because I can't move the the router/modem to another location. I decided on this router. It will work with AT&T's router/modem in "bridge" mode right?

> However you can ask them to activate the ethernet port on the ONT and use your own router, and then just disconnect their modem.

I would definitely prefer to use my own router! How did you find out about this? I spoke to three(3) different sale reps and none of them mentioned this option!

As for connecting my own router to the ONT, it can just be any router right? This is my current wireless router.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QB1RPY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just bought this:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B006QB1RPY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500998979&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=rt-n66u&dpPl=1&dpID=317U6VKqJ4L&ref=plSrch

I flashed Tomato on it and it works like a charm. I was using a WRT54GL previously... for about 10 years.

I use this with Comcast currently and while this is my access point it should more than meet your routing needs

That set up will blow away what you get with Comcast's equipment.

Partially agree with this. I dumped cable, kept the "up to" 50mbps, have the bill talked down to $45 per month.

With the modem/router Comcast provided as a rental the connection speed was beyond terrible when not connected by ethernet. Speeds typically half of what was promised from a room away. Upgraded my equipment to a DOCSIS 3.0, and ASUS RT-N66U, and now seeing speeds much closer to the 50mbps advertised.

A couple things to note about Comcast though. Their terms of service has a waiver of the customers right to sue or join a class-action lawsuit, including an agreement to arbitration instead. You have 30-days on signing up for service to opt-out of this to retain your right to sue. I highly recommend doing so.

Also, an exploit was recently discovered with the ASUS RT-N66U that provided some limited access to computers connect to it. A firmware update is available that closes the exploit, I highly recommend updating the firmware for the device.

That said. My first months bill and I discovered a $6 per month service called "Streampix" tacked onto my bill. This charge was neither discussed on setting up service, or agreed upon. It is apparently an online streaming video service. Even more surprising was that attempts to access the service resulted in a notice that I must sign up before I could access the streams. It would seem Comcast service providers are willing to tack additional services on the bill, leaving it up to the consumer to detect the error and spend time rectifying it. This is a huge argument why you might want to forgo Comcast entirely in the SF area and go with Sonic.net or MonkeyBrains instead.

This is 100% true, I had to buy this one to be able to get more than 200Mb

Agree with others, this is not a BIFL item. Even wired connections will get better (is terrabit a thing yet?) - but if you are asking for a long lasting feature rich router that is great for a home user, I like the Asus Dark Knight, its a couple of years old but works great without issue. Its great right out of the box, but if you want to customize it has all the options that you could want.

Can you recommend a router? or should pretty much any do?

i've been looking at these four, I like the bufalo because of the dd wrt, and i like the asus because you can change out the antanae

http://www.amazon.com/BUFFALO-AirStation-HighPower-Wireless-WZR-600DHP/dp/B0096239G0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1367438283&sr=1-1&keywords=buffalo+router

http://www.amazon.com/BUFFALO-AirStation-HighPower-Gigabit-Wireless/dp/B005CSOE1G/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1367438283&sr=1-4&keywords=buffalo+router

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1367438300&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+router

http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC1750-Gigabit-Router/dp/B008ABOJKS/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1367438300&sr=1-2&keywords=asus+router


I just don't know what the specs mean or how they compare

One thing you can do to test this is directly plug your device into the router via Ethernet. If the problem goes away then you know there is something going on with the wireless connection. If the problem still persists then it could be either your bandwidth or the fact that the router is a 10/100 and just can't handle that much traffic. You might think about upgrading to something like this.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=pd_sim_e_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0BZ5VDV4ZBVVWXPXW1V3

I wonder if peoples choice in router has a major affect as well. I use this Asus for all my networking needs.

My current router is over 10 years old, recently had slow wifi (2Mbps) so I switched to wired (now get 50-70Mbps). Still shopping for a new wireless router, haven't decided between these two yet.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-UniFi-Enterprise-System/dp/B004XXMUCQ/

I have Comcast here. Google just said they are moving in a bit south of my city, so Comcast is shitting bricks. (bricks have been shat)

They upgraded everyones speed for free, but it won't matter.

Oh, the point of this reply was to tell you what to do. Buy a motorola surfboard 6121 (just a recommendation) and call them and say "I have my own modem, I need to activate it." they will ask you for the MAC address which is on the bottom of the modem (sticker) and then activate it. No more rental fee and a much better modem, then get yourself a RT-N66U router and an ASUS usb adapter which is what I have, and I am at 300Mbit connection (max for the adapter) and I download games on Steam at 7 MB/s. Or you can opt for the adapter that is too fast for USB, and it plugs into your Ethernet port - has good reviews but I have not tried it (I think it has realtek cards inside, and shiny ASUS plastic on the outside)

Keep in mind, you set up the 2.5Ghz band then tab to 5Ghz band - I named mine DO NOT WANT and ASUS5G - the usb connector has software that shows the signal level of each band, and it uses them both to achieve 300Mb/s. The router will do 900Mb/s which I don't believe they make adapters for yet. It is an amazing router, and well worth the price.

Let me know if you have questions.

So what exactly does the airport extreme do like I don't get the concept.
like is it like this thing? http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=18WM2STITFOBB&coliid=I5TKH6LNSVPS7

Step 1: Sign up for the $35 Time warner 1.5MBps plan. Be nice and ask/push for a waved technician fee. 858-695-3220
Step 2: Buy a used Docsis 2(Up to 3MBps) modem for $15.
Optional Step 2.5: Buy a router. Which router is up to you. ($30-$110) If you don't want lag due to wifi, splurge on this :http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=zg_bs_300189_2
Better yet, get router with a built in 4port switch and use LAN.
Step 3: Call TW retention (or ask to be transferred) on Day 2 after installation. Tell them your "parents" are complaining that you are paying a high rate for service than them. ($30 was standard for a while and I have that grandfathered for home service) They will give you a $5 6month discount. Call back every 6 months to save $30.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=zg_bs_172504_16

Note that Asus dominates the top 20 routers sold at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/electronics/300189/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_e_1_3_last

TP Link is in there too, though.

Man, I was just walking out of Fry's when I read your reply :P What I left with was ASUS' RT-N66U(linked below). Your suggestion is much appreciated. If this doesn't work out, that will be the next one I pick up.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376590250&sr=8-1&keywords=rt-n66u

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

is it cheap ? no. is it top performance,& top speed ? yes. and it comes with an interface that's easy to use and well thought out. you won't find a better router for any price for home use. (there's a newer, more expensive model, but you don't need it, trust me) i've had mine for about a year now. never crashed, never lost it's settings, never slowed down once even tho i use netflix, bitorrent, and serve up large files from my nas to the internet on a regular basis.

What router do you currently have? I know that the Asus RT-N66U is probably some of the most robust routers (that thing can take a lot!), but, you could improve the performance of your current router by using DD-WRT.

The Linksys E3200 is also rather robust and should be able to handle simultaneous tasks over ethernet. The Wi-Fi capabilities are OK, and you can take some of the load from the 2.4 GHz band to 5 GHz if you have an iPhone 5.

The Linksys E2500 is probably the most basic you can get with how many devices you want to handle, but Ethernet is slower (no gigabit) and Wi-Fi has less TX power (which you can adjust with the right Firmware).

If you have any more questions, just ask!

Quality modem: http://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-SURFboard-SB6141-DOCSIS-Cable/dp/B00AJHDZSI/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449635401&sr=1-3&keywords=docsis+3+modem

Quality router: http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC68U-Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00FB45SI4/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449635449&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+router


Save a few dollars if you don't need wireless AC: http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449635449&sr=1-2&keywords=asus+router


I've been running that modem since it's release along with it's predecessor - so long as your ISP provides good incoming signal/strength you won't run into an issue. I've deployed both of those routers to many of my customers and they've been nothing but fantastic. I don't personally run them as a router at home - but I use the AC unit as a wireless access point. Well built and quite reliable.

Your network setup is way too complicated and has too many pieces. You need to spend some money to make it right...so i'm going to tell you how to do it.

> Comcast cable into one of their technicolor routers for phone and internet. This router is in total pass-through and does no routing or wifi.

This is fine..granted to save yourself some money each money, i'd buy my own modem for the internet portion of things. Sadly, you have to keep their modem for the phone portion of things.

> From there it plugs into my main router d-link dir-655. I like this router and it works fine, good wifi, reliable. but it does not support dd-wrt or any vpn and I don't want to change it as everything works reliably.

Here's your first problem. Your network is only as solid as your router. Your router is horrible and really outdated. Spend $120 on a new WiFi router that supports VPN and much more. Here is the one I would recommend for what you want to do. If you're not going to use the WiFi portion of it, then you can get something a bit cheaper like the N66U. After you purchase one of these, load Merlin on it. It's close to stock firmware with a few additions on it that make it much easier to work with.

Consolidate. You're going to spend ten's, if not a hundred dollars on a box just to do VPN. Why?

The ASUS RT N66U is pretty spectacular.

If you can't budge that $2, the N56U is good too.

I've never tried the RT AC56U but if it's like the others then it'll be great and supports 802.11AC.

The N66U is much better than the N56U, so if you can go with that one over the cheaper version.

Call csr and tell them modem mac address and nothing else. Make sure to have modem that is without custom firmware as those are reserved for a different plan like 50mbit connection. Amazon has motorola modem black http://www.amazon.com/Arris-SURFboard-SB6121-Download-Packaging/dp/B004XC6GJ0 and asus black router I suggest you buy it now its like 65USD on sale and install custom firmware called Merlin just google it and install correct router model and you are set. http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

i think you need to look at amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DIR-815-Wireless-Dual-Router/dp/B0042X3F76

there are as many 1 stars as there are others almost in total. thats not a good sign.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1343459235&sr=1-1&keywords=rt-n66u

i just bought this dude and its a beast and will continue to be for years to come. has a processor/ram/flash/nvram/and with hacked firmware, the ability to be a beast for years and years to come.

i flashed the fw, set it up and havent looked back since. at no point does it come close to running low on resources while streaming 1080p videos, using bittorrent. honestly, spend a little more money and it will go a long way.

I believe so. My office is detached from my house which my DHCP server (Ubuntu on x86) lives in. To get ethernet out in my office, I used two Asus Routers. I had one working as an access point that serves wifi to the whole house. The other is in my office as a wireless bridge linked to the AP. It feels like a virtual cable and it worked pretty well, but apparently when enough devices get behind the bridge it stops forwarding broadcasts from certain MAC addresses and has other troubles.

It doesn't look like it was a "first come, first served" situation either. Broadcasts seem to never work for some devices (MACs). Even when you statically set IP addresses, certain MACs could occasionally ping across the wifi bridge others were 100% solid. Something else was going on there. Pings to another device on the same side of the bridge were solid.

I had about 20 to 30 devices behind it. The PIs were the ones that showed the most trouble. I wonder if there was some kind of table that's too small or hash table that has collisions.

I pulled an Ethernet cable and direct wired, all seems good again.

Those routers make really good APs though, this is the first issue I've seen with them and the wifi signal quality is great! At my old house, I just used them both as APs. Firmware is very polished and has several niceties that I haven't seen elsewhere. I just gave them too much credit on the wifi bridge function.

>Will any router/modem combo, separate or not, last at least two years?

Yes, absolutely. I've had my own modem for 4 years now (it paid for itself in 10 months) and have had absolutely no issues with it, though the technology and available speeds have advanced enough that it would be worth upgrading at this point. I purchased my current router 2 years ago and I could upgrade it for something faster but it's totally sufficient for my needs at the moment and have no plans to upgrade anytime soon.

As for router suggestions, I would recommend you read this article and make a decision based on your own needs. I use the Asus RT-N66U but there are newer and better models available now.

I use the Asus RT-N66U which appears to be half off on Amazon.

Amazon - Asus RT-N66U

I used to use Shibby Tomato but recently switched over to AsusWrt-Merlin for it's simplicity, fork proximity to the standard firmware, and frequent updates. Shibby updates always felt too far in between and a little sketchy.

AsusWrt-Merlin

If I have this modem and this router will I be good to go?

You should be looking at the Arris/Motorola SB series.

SB6121 supports up to 172Mbps down 131Mbps up.
SB6141 steps up to 343Mbps max down.

Both are compatible with Comcast.

My recommended router is the Asus RT-N66U because it's pretty much the best bang for the buck router out there. It was a steal at $199 and with the AC routers pushing the price point down, this is the one you want at $120.

ASUS, probably this one: http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421028235&sr=8-2&keywords=asus+wireless+n

that one is ancient.

and no, you would need to configure it as such with the same settings but a different wireless channel, or disable the FIOS wifi.

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UniFi-Access-UAP-LR-US-Version/dp/B005H4CDF4/

or

http://www.amazon.com/Business-class-High-power-Wireless-n-300MBPS-Access/dp/B005SSQHTM/

or

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

put it into AP mode

or

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-AirPort-Express-Station-MC414LL/dp/B008ALA2RC/

put it into Bridge mode.

The Ubiquiti's are great if you want to us multiple and have your devices switch to the strongest signal seamlessly. i would recommend a POE injector for the EnGenius but its not required. a POE injector allows you to have the power supply up near the main router and only run an ethernet cable to the unit. the Ubiquiti MUST use an injector, but it comes with an injector.

the Asus and Apple units will be the most user friendly to install and set up.

I've used Linksys for years. But I've always had problems with strict NAT on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. I recently got an ASUS RT-N66U and I've had open NAT since then.

TL;DR:
See if you can take back your Linksys and get another brand.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420159600&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+router

Best router I have ever used (home network).

1st of you're being an asshole. Talk to your roommates instead of trying to be an internet czar. If they don't know you're doing this you truly are being a dickhead. Living with people comes with sharing. Now just because you always want a no lag LoL connection doesn't mean you can throttle your roommates without telling them.

2nd off the router you have is a piece of shit. You get what you pay for, I'd look at this Asus or this Linksys

I personally have the Linksys and its amazing. It is only G speed but is the most reliable thing I have ever owned. I've had it 3 years now not once have I restarted it or had issues with it. I am running DD-WRT custom firmware on it and that makes a huge difference. Check their site if your router is compatible.

I used to pay $50 a month for 75mbps through Comcast/Xfinity. Then I just had Netflix, Amazon Video (through Prime), Hulu (but cancelled after awhile), and an antenna for HD network channels.

Don't rent your modem and router. Just buy them. There are plenty that work, but here's what I have.
Cable modem: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MA5U1FW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Wifi Router: https://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

I would stop renting a modem from them. That's throwing money away.

You want to purchase a DOCSIS 3.0 modem to be current. Preferably, you'd want one that bonds eight downstream channels to handle the most bandwidth and also future-proof a bit. I would target a Motorola SB6141. This is probably the #2 best-selling cable modem, only behind the SB6121, which is cheaper because it only bonds four downstream channels. The more downstream channels the better, but the 6121 would be sufficient if you want to save some cash.

As far as the router (most important for in-house network traffic), something that's got access to custom firmware from Tomato or DD-WRT would be nice. The new ASUS routers are really popular. I'd go for the RT-N66U for a solid 802.11n wifi network. You get 3 antennas and it's dual band (2.4/5GHz). If you'd like to upgrade the router even further (and to really handle all the devices you'd connect to it) you may want to consider the new 802.11ac capable RT-AC68U. Stock firmware on these guys should be plenty good if you don't want to venture into flashing custom firmware.

Also, here's Google's list of compatible routers.

**

Slickdeals search queries:*

• SB6141 - $53 to $75
  
• RT-N66U - $80 to $100
  
• RT-AC68U - $149 to $160

This ASUS router? It's gigabit.

Thanks for the info

Is it worth putting in the money to get this one?

or do you have any other recommendations?

The 6580 surfboard can handle 100 mbps download speeds, but you will only see performance like that on a device wired directly with ethernet to the modem.

As far as wifi performance goes, that will vary widely no matter what wireless router you're using. Your neighbor's routers, metal/plumbing in your walls, microwaves, cordless phones, etc (the list goes on and on) will all degrade your performance. You can mitigate a lot of this by upgrading to a dual-band router (one that provides 5ghz wifi in addition to the regular 2.4ghz you and your neighbors are all currently using).

You can purchase a standalone router to use in conjunction with your existing Comcast-provided 6580 surfboard, but if so, I'd recommend calling them to set their modem/router to 'bridge mode', to prevent conflicts with your router. Alternatively, you can purchase your own standalone modem to replace their 6580; a lot of people recommend this, because it will not only save you the notorious monthly modem lease fee, but it will make your network setup much simpler (modem + router is easier to set up and manage than modem/router + router).

As u/ionlyknowthat said, r/homenetworking has a lot of resources and guides for this - but to save you some time, they will almost invariably recommend purchasing a standalone modem like this and an Asus RT-N66U.

I have this one.
Install Asuswrt-Merlin on it. If you don't need wireless AC, you can go with this one.
I put this in my DMZ and only forward the ports I need. Works great.

http://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Motorola-SB6121-SURFboard-DOCSIS/ (I don't know much about modems, but have seen this one frequently recommended on support subreddits)

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N16-Wireless-N-Maximum-Performance-single/dp/B00387G6R8/ (2.4 ghz only, good enough for 99% of people)

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ (5ghz + 2.4ghz, good if you are in a heavily congested WiFi area, i.e. have 10+ strong-medium strength interfering networks)

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Nighthawk-AC1900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00F0DD0I6/ (If you can spend more then get this instead of the N66U above)

https://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY
I believe this is a good check router that works with usb tethering

You could try taking the blu-ray and the psp close to the router to see if it is the signal. If it is the signal, try moving the router closer to the center of the house or create a Faraday cage around the antenna. Like this http://www.reddit.com/r/IsItBullshit/comments/28g5j5/isitbullshit_using_aluminium_foiltin_foil_to/cicghic

If you have more users than the router can handle then you might be straining it. Upgrade the router or buy a wifi extender like this
http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-N300-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender/dp/B004YAYM06

Your best bet is to invest in a nice router that can handle all the devices you have at the same time and is N capable. Something Like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006QB1RPY/ref=pd_aw_sims_10?pi=SL500_SS115&simLd=1

Our other devices work two floors down while this tv is just one room over. Do I really need a better router? This is the router I have https://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

You said it was "an Xfinity router", so they should be replacing it.

Other than that, it's really a matter of personal preference. I personally don't get anything under $50 (too many bad experiences), and tend to get a $100-ish device. I like Asus and I like sales. So this one : http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY at Amazon seems a pretty good deal. But again, there are as many opinions on what constitutes a "good router" as there are people on this forum.

800 feet away? most gateways come with shit wireless. You can jump through hoops and have them replace your RG a few times, or just buy a good router, put it on the DMZ, and be done with it. I use one of these and it works great throughout a 3800ft^2 house.

:D My bad I read router and typed router and in my head I just converted it to one of those modem/router combos the cable companies like to issue.

Well here's a nice router too then :)

ASUS RT-N66U

or something cheaper:

ASUS RT-N16

Maybe r/buildapc or one of the linked subs in their sidebar. If you just need a basic router you could probably just get by off reviews on Amazon. The higher end routers will have more features, like qos and being able to optimize the wifi for stuff like gaming. So, kinda need to know your experience level and needs for a recommendation.

This is what I have. . It's an older model but has served me well.

Sure, I use this one https://smile.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ which is a few years old at this point. It works fine, and I don't use the wireless access point portion of it anymore, just for router/vpn/security. Something like this is a newer version, https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RT-AC66U-B1/. It also has the VPN server/client stuff which is nice. So basically, the way I have mine setup is the router is what's generally referred to as a VPN concentrator, as in their can be multiple clients (your mobile phone, laptop at the coffee shop, whatever) that phone back home to your router running the VPN server. Setup is easy, you turn on the functionality in the web panel for the router (from inside your network), and it has you setup an account to use for the VPN agent. It then gives you some config files/certs and stuff which you email to yourself or whatever. Then you download the openvpn client for IOS or whatever you have and load the config/certs, put in a password, and point it at your WAN IP. You can use a dynamic DNS service like someone had brought up to make your life a little easier if your WAN IP changes often. This goal of this is that you have secure, proven and reviewed, 2-way encryption between your mobile device and your home network. From the point of view of your phone when connected, it's as if it's at home connected to your wifi. So you can do all kinds of stuff, I mostly use it to watch my security cameras at home when I'm away. I don't go through any "cloud" services, my video feeds never pass through any systems that aren't mine in an unencrypted form.

That is meant for people sharing cell phone data connections. I would get a router designed for home use instead.

I currently use an Asus RT-N66U and have been quite pleased with it, but there are loads of options that are lower and higher tier than that (aging) model.

The new-ish hotness is Wireless-AC which allows for some really high speeds (AC1750, for example), but requires the client wi-fi cards to be compatible to hit those speeds. I don't see much of a need for it unless you have over a 200Mbit Internet connection to actually make use of the higher speeds.

I've had bad experiences with extenders myself, you're better off putting that money towards a better router in my opinion.

Consider this router possibly: https://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

I bought that router when it was new tech for around $200, and it was a great router. If it doesn't work you can return it fairly easy too.

this is ABSOLUTELY the best way to go. I've listed my cable modem and router below. The router is pretty heavy duty, you could absolutely get a cheaper Wireless-N Router without sacraficing much, or any, quality. Just understand that you need to router because the cable modem is JUST a modem.

• ARRIS / Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - $55 refurb
  
• ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router - $125 refurb

So you think the AC1200 is decent despite those low ratings? Are you saying this is a better choice? http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_27?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1456900606&sr=1-27&keywords=router

A lot of the new Asus wireless routers are getting great reviews, this guy is right in your price range:

Link

Or you can spend a little more for its big brother and get some more power.

Another Link

decided on this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_phy4yb67C0MD2

ASUS Black Knight router would work fine with your ISP's modem for what you're requirements are. It's not exactly the top of the line anymore, but it works great for my home wireless/ wired network with a desktop, a couple laptops, IP cameras, phones, Roku, Chromecast, etc. It also is dual band wireless so you can run a few devices at 2.4GHz band and a few on the 5GHz band so you don't have dropping issues due to too many devices using the same wireless frequency.

It's slightly more than a cheapo Linksys/ Belkin/ Cisco or Netgear, but I've had way less issues with my Asus router than I've had with over my 5 Linksys/ Netgear branded routers.

How old is your modem? Is it a modem/router combo? If not router, how old is your router?

Most problems like these from my experience is the modem/router are older models and need to be upgraded. If it's an ISP provided modem/router then contact them and get a straight modem and a separate router.

I tend to recommend this router Asus RT-N66U as it has treated me very well since I bout it 2 years ago, aside from having some issues when it needs to be updated which works out for the best to be honest.

+1 for TeamViewer, or Chrome Remote Desktop. If neither is an option for you, buy one of these or similar and make use of the Dynamic DNS capabilities without having to pay extra for another service. I have mine set to "whatever.asuscomm.com" and can host services from behind my home's NAT, as well as access my AP's web interface and access my NAS.

I don't use them constantly for phone and laptop, though I have the setup in place to allow it. I also have VPN setup to get back into my home network securely (client tunnelblick on MacOS, built-in VPN on iPad/iPhone).

On top of that, I pay for a Torguard connection ($60/year). I have most of my home network traffic routed through it, but not all (yet).

The above is really enabled by an ASUS RT-66U router that I have at the edge of my home network. It has a VPN server (how I get in to see my security cameras when away from home) and also supports transparent redirection of outbound traffic through a VPN.

Thanks for the info! So I kinda decided I don't "need" VLANs. I'm not buying a better switch and router because I need to learn or practice for some (Cisco) exam, it's just for my home "needs". These needs are a bit advanced (network and 12V in every room) because I would like to create my own "smart home" (sensors and all...) and have a NAS (that's why gigabit).
I have some expirience with 2960S (work), so based on that and what you told me I think 2950 would be the right way to go. I would like to have PoE for any hardware that might need the power but there is no plug in vicinity, I gues I can buy additional PoE injectors as I need them.

So to summarize:

• 2950 switch (if it has at least 4x gigabit ports)
  
• A router like Asus N66u
  
  
  I have around 600€ (800$) reserved for network stuff, but I'm flexible with the price.
  
  > Additionally, check you local Craigslist for equipment
  
  We don't have Craigslist where I'm from :( (Slovenia)

OP: I have Time Warner Cable 50mbps package, and I can tell you that I definitely get the advertised speeds after a couple changes. The router/modem 2 in one that they ship out recently is total crap that overheats and doesn't know how to internet. Buy yourself a nice standalone modem and a dual band gigabit router. Also, if you're in a populated area, as stated before, make sure that your wifi channel is less used so that there is less interference. Since I have done that I have almost always gotten 50 megabits per second when I run speedtest.

Try seeing if it is your modem/router combo by pushing the reset pin, letting it cool down for a bit, then connecting to it again... they tend to go over time for some reason.

actually here is our router http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406617742&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+router

Was hoping for more specifics really, so I could see what wireless protocols they support.

Basically, at the very least your devices all likely support wireless 802.11n, hopefully both 2.4ghz and 5ghz frequencies. To that end, I would suggest at least getting a dual band 802.11 router with external antennas. If you want to future proof or you have devices that support it, I would suggest spending a few more $ and getting an 802.11ac router. Wireless 802.11ac is a game changer as far as I am concerned, with its introduction of beam forming technology.

Personal suggestions:

For an 802.11ac router: Asus RT-AC66U

For a dual band 802.11n router: Asus RT-N66U

There are Netgear equivalents of course, though I do strongly recommend something with external antennas.

Finally, I am sure someone will come here saying how you should hardwire everything, wireless is shit, etc. Point of fact is wireless is a YMMV situation and hardwiring everything isn't always practical. The first step though is buying the right equipment. If you buy a cheap router, you'll have a cheap experience.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1407172001&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+nt-r66u I recently purchased this for my home, after using one in my office for over a year. The range on it is phenomenal and it is dual band as well (can use 5ghz if your 2.4ghz is getting interrupted too often, but the one in our office has a few wifi routers around and I've never noticed a problem).

hope this helps

Time for some WIFI lessons.
Your cable modem brings you the internet signal at the speed you pay for, so lets say the 300 Mb/s speed. After it hits your modem, you wire it to a router(wifi source).
Routers have different rated WIFI speeds, the most common being N150, N300, N450 with older models in the G54 range. That means that the N150 has a MAX theoretical speed of 150 Mb/s on the WIFI signal within a certain range. Now obviously, these speeds were tested in optimal conditions, no other wifi signals around, and without much radio interference.
So for a 300 Mb/s signal coming into your modem, your WIFI router should at LEAST be a N300, the higher the better though! Here's why:
The N450 (450 Mb/s) will have a larger "pipe" that can handle the down speed and up speed. There are also faster routers that use a connection type called "AC", these are newer routers and they can provide speeds above 1000 Mb/s (Google fiber speeds). A standard Cat 5e ethernet cable will provide you with 1000 Mb/s or 1 Gigabit (Gb).
You might be asking "What do all these numbers mean and how do I use this for my home?" Well here's how.

[Internet] ~~ [Modem@ 300MB/s] ~~ (Ethernet @1000Mb/s) ~~[Router] --(WIFI @ 450 MB/s) --[Computer @ 300Mb/s]

This simple set up will make sure your WIFI signal can be NEAR the cap speeds that your modem provides. Now of course, a wire is always better, but the better your Router , and your WIFI adapters (on your devices) are, the better your WIFI speeds will be.

Hope this helps!


This is the router that I use at home.

This is an adapter I have for one of my desktops at home

My main computer is hardwired, but I have a secondary desktop that I use as a small media machine and to use steamstream with, and the items above are what I use. You can of course go with more expensive options, but these should be sufficient enough to use TWC services at this time.

IMO you cant go wrong with the asus ac68u or those in the same family.
http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC68U-Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00FB45SI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411290781&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+ac68u 200US

cheaper:
http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC1750-Gigabit-Router/dp/B008ABOJKS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411290781&sr=8-2&keywords=asus+ac68u 170US

cheaper still
http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1411290781&sr=8-3&keywords=asus+ac68u 130US

All of those are probably more power than you need, but im big on future proofing. Those routers will be with you for a long time. All of those almost fit under the 150 euro with the exception being the most expensive, but its like 5 or 6 euro off. The top two are both AC with the last one being wireless N. If you want the future proofing go for one of the top two, if you want the here and now get the bottom one.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1G1342A8575VO&coliid=I28WHODXCW19GQ&psc=1

I was shopping for a router this morning and was looking at this one... the amazon product page lists "3G sharing" as one of the router's features, what exactly is that? Anyone know?

I replaced my 7 year old Arris modem for a refurb'ed Arris SurfBoard SB6183 (when I got it, it was only $70). I have the 100/20 package & regularly get 127/27 on speedtest.net & 120 on fast.com. I'm using a Asus RT-N66U running Tomato-Shibby as my router.

How does compare to this one?

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY%3Fpsc%3D1%26SubscriptionId%3DAKIAJKKTJAC33DYSAVBQ%26tag%3Dgdgt0c-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB006QB1RPY


Both have great reviews so I guess whatever is cheaper?

I have been very pleased with : ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZpW-zbYWRSGX9

https://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511693585&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+n66u this is a bit overkill but it has both 2.4gHz and 5gHz with traffic monitor. I've had that one for 5 years with no problems with it. I would also suggest trying to move your router to the center of your house and out in the open for maximum coverage. 2.4gHz has a longer range so i'd stick with that band

I have an Asus RT-N16 router that has been rock solid. I flashed it from it's stock firmware to Tomato and haven't had a single issue with it since. Of course, my maximum is only 6-7 machines...

I have heard a lot of good things about the Asus RT-N66 model, but haven't had a reason to upgrade.

I was mistaking. My model is the N300. Perhaps they fixed the dropouts in later models.


I have been thinking of switching to the ASUS RT-N66U. I have heard nothing but amazing things about it. I just haven't made the switch yet.

https://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1468316602&sr=1-3&keywords=asus+router this is the router I currently have, hardwired at most I see 70 mbps and just now I did speedtest on wireless and got 2mbps

is this better than this?

Without budget, line speed, or wifi needs it's sort of hard to make a recommendation.

For modern consumer routers, anything running Merlin will be rock solid: https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin

The RT-N66U is $90 new, $50 used: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY

If you have low line speed and no need for fast wifi for internal use, put DD-WRT on an E2000 (<$20 used): https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003B20F54/

All that said, if your needs are growing you should seriously consider a <$200 pfSense build...

Asus RT-N66U with Advanced Tomato firmware is pretty awesome. Everything just works. The coverage is mediocre tho, about 2 normal sized room coverage.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

Advanced Tomato: https://advancedtomato.com/

So this router plus this Wireless AP?

That might be a smidge out of my price range... though if they last longer than an Asus RT-N66U, that might still be worth it.

Though I wonder... if I'm going to go for long lasting gear, should I get an 802.11ac router, or stick with 802.11n?

I'm more then happy to lend a hand to someone having issues with stuff I know. I'm hesitant to tell you to buy X & Y to solve it because I cannot be certain of what the issue might be without doing a site visit & survey.

If your paying for close to the 21/3 then a normal DOCIS 2.0 modem should be sufficient so I'd hold off on buying the modem just yet (if your paying for >50MBps then you do need a 3.0).

Do you see many other WiFi networks nearby? I wouldn't believe so off what you've stated so far.

Are you comfortable potentially having to mount the router near a window with a view of the property line? While its well within the realm of being feasible, trying to stream anything at 200ft will be a bit iffy. If you can put it near a window & aim an antenna out it you should greatly increase your odds. There's also ways to boost your broadcast strength but that requires more power, heat dissipation & no one to complain if you knock them off the spectrum.

Are your devices losing connection to the WiFi hotspot or is it just failing to download anything? The other possibility for the issue is a power imbalance on your line coming to your house if you can stay connected but lose data access. Have you ever had a tech come from TW to make sure its not a bad run for cable from the main drop?

Do you know what your walls are lined with? I've done numerous installs that due to the rebar in the concrete, equipment room location & duct locations interfering with the connection to make Netflix stutter but is 100% to surf on.

Are you comfortable setting up a WiFi router that isn't always the most intuitive & will bury you in options? Once they are up, SMB routers are very stable but can be finicky to config 100%.

Do you know what wireless standard your computers have or are you willing to upgrade a desktop/laptop? It'd be preferable of you use the higher channel numbers & also have it in both the 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz spectrums. Unfortunately a lot of older wireless cards from the 802.11G days don't support 5Ghz or the really high channel numbers.

If your comfortable with all that then I'd wholeheartedly recommend the ASUS RT-AC66U (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008ABOJKS), if you don't have anything with AC, can't upgrade your existing or are not planning to replace your existing there's also the ASUS RT-N66U (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY).

If you do want a DOCSIS 3.0 modem I recommend the Motorola SB6121 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XC6GJ0) if not the Motorola SB5101U (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M3SHXA) is a good DOCSIS 2 modem.

Note: Double check that TW has those modems on their approved list otherwise look for the best reviewed ones they do allow

I have an ASUS N66U I'm not using if you're interested. Works great, I just upgraded to AC.

I use a Asus n66u with merlin firmware its been rock solid for me. I like ASUS routers but Apple routers are also rock solid products too

AC is new wireless that will improve on the 5GHZ signal and AC is able to go through concert walls and such better and offer better speeds in a LAN (i think), but you will pay a premium for that.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/802-11ac-vs-802-11n-what-s-the-difference

Asus N66U- http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408222428&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+n66u

Asus n68u - http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC68U-Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00FB45SI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408222403&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+n68u

If they're the same price or close enough, then absolutely go with the AC. It's a newer standard, so it's much more future-proof. It also inhabits a different wireless spectrum (5Ghz vs. 2.4Ghz) which means you'll have less interference from things like microwaves or Bluetooth devices.

And where did you find them for the same price? I was about to upgrade to the AC myself, and it's $150 on Amazon vs. $120 for the N.

First off, Don't be a bitch and stop using wireless, wire your fucking Xbox to the modem. WiFi isn't reliable enough Especially with the shittastic Arris modems we get from Comcast.

Cat 6 Cable can go up to 100 meters without packet loss so 100 Feet is just fine. Grab a Drill and lead that line through the floors to the basement or run along the walls under some carpet. No carpet? get some cable that looks the same color of the wall and keep it flush against the corners, people will barely notice.

Another move is to buy your own modem and router. The Motorola SB6121 looks Good but read the reviews for when you're setting it up. Router I recommend THIS BEAST. I've been using that Aris router for over a year now and it's still holding up better than the 50$-75$ Linksys routers I used to get.

Also, it's not Xfinity, it's Comcast. Their service is still so bad that that they don't deserve to be called something different.

Yeah most likely get a new router. This one handles nat well if you set it up correctly.

Buy a router. I recommend this one :

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375213687&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+n66u

Hook your modem up to it, and then hook your switch to it if you need more ports.

Boycott NewEgg!

Amazon has the same router for the same price: http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

Amazon has way better customer service. For e.g. if the router is defective out-of-the-box NewEgg will make you wait or make you pay for return shipping. With Amazon you can instantly get a free return shipping label on their website.

If you're looking for just a router, I like Netgear's FVS318 models. They've made it for a long time and it's a very capable little unit for the price.

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-FVS318-ProSafe-Firewall-8-Port/dp/B00006B9HC

You can do some VPN with it as well as configure it to do any sort of hosting you'd like. I'm pretty sure it supports dyndns as well. There's wifi versions but if it were me I'd get the vanilla netgear firewall and put an access point behind it.

But...

If you're not hosting your own web servers or into all that geeky shit and just want to do normal internet stuff like surfing, phoning, gaming. Just grab the fastest wifi ap/router you can find for the cheapest and be done with it.

I've got something like this for that purpose and it works great:

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1409591258&sr=1-3&keywords=wireless+router

I believe I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

Keep in mind it's USB 2.0, so pretty slow to transfer to, but perfectly fine for playback