what router to buy??

[TurtleNumber13]

so I have had 2 routers over the last 11 years that worked great both being "Linksys WRT54GL". and for short time in between the first routers death I tried to replace and upgrade to a wireless N router that would not stay connected even on wired. it just kept restarting and over heating, ruining my gaming experience so bad that I went and bought the same WRT54GL because I knew it was stable and a good router. and it has been for so many years.

 

but after many years we now have more and more wireless devices like our roku in the living room and computer in the spare room. and several kindle fires across the house. so wireless g network seems a bit outdated and feeling like its time to get something newer, but not really sure how much performance or stability different brands would have. or if just sticking to linksys would be best. like whats the difference between a AC1200 and AC1900... the price difference makes it seem like I should know more about what I am getting before I buy anything.

 

Has there even been a LTT video on "which router to buy"?

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, TurtleNumber13 said:

Has there even been a LTT video on "which router to buy"?

Youtube has a great search function.

[MrMcMuffinJr]

here's  one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgKbwDIsg7Q

[MrDavid]

I would buy one that comes up when you search it on http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database That way you can deal with any software issues that you may have with it and you can make your decision based on the hardware specs of whichever units you look at.

 

That being said, if you do want to run that firmware on whichever one you buy, check for known issues with it and the model that you choose. i.e. I bought a Linksys wrt3200acm and while the software fixed the UPnP NAT issues that I had been dealing with, It introduced wifi issues. luckily that can be fixed in an update though

[jared404]

I've avoided Linksys since they were purchased by Belkin. I would buy a high end netgear or asus router if you have the money. It makes a big difference if your isp provides 80+Mb/s internet

[Donut417]

10 hours ago, TurtleNumber13 said:

so I have had 2 routers over the last 11 years that worked great both being "Linksys WRT54GL". and for short time in between the first routers death I tried to replace and upgrade to a wireless N router that would not stay connected even on wired. it just kept restarting and over heating, ruining my gaming experience so bad that I went and bought the same WRT54GL because I knew it was stable and a good router. and it has been for so many years.

 

but after many years we now have more and more wireless devices like our roku in the living room and computer in the spare room. and several kindle fires across the house. so wireless g network seems a bit outdated and feeling like its time to get something newer, but not really sure how much performance or stability different brands would have. or if just sticking to linksys would be best. like whats the difference between a AC1200 and AC1900... the price difference makes it seem like I should know more about what I am getting before I buy anything.

 

Has there even been a LTT video on "which router to buy"?

The Diffrence between AC1200 and AC1900 is speed. 

Type	2.4 GHz band[c] (Mbit/s)	config [all 40 MHz]	5 GHz band (Mbit/s)	config [all 80 MHz]
AC600	150	1 stream @ MCS 7	433	1 stream @ MCS 9
AC750	300	2 streams @ MCS 7	433	1 stream @ MCS 9
AC1200	300	2 streams @ MCS 7	867	2 streams @ MCS 9
AC1300	400	2 streams @ MCS 9	867	2 streams @ MCS 9
AC1300[9]	-	-	1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9
AC1450	450	3 streams @ MCS 7	975	3 streams @ MCS 7
AC1600	300	2 streams @ MCS 7	1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9
AC1750	450	3 streams @ MCS 7	1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9
AC1900	600[d]	3 streams @ MCS 9	1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9
AC2200	450	3 streams @ MCS 7	1,733	4 streams @ MCS 9
AC2350	600[d]	4 streams @ MCS 7	1,733	4 streams @ MCS 9
AC2600	800	4 streams @ MCS 9	1,733	4 streams @ MCS 9
AC3000	450	3 streams @ MCS 7	1,300 + 1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9 x 2
AC3150	1000[e]	4 streams @ 1024-QAM	2,167	4 streams @ 1024-QAM
AC3200	600[d]	3 streams @ MCS 9	1,300 + 1,300[f]	3 streams @ MCS 9 x 2
AC5000	600[d]	4 streams @ MCS 7	2,167 + 2,167	4 streams @ 1024-QAM x 2
AC5300[12]	1000[e]	4 streams @ 1024-QAM	2,167 + 2,167	4 streams @ 1024-QAM x 2

Via Wikipedia.org 

 

If you notice most of the speed is on 5 Ghz. The only issue with 5Ghz is its shorter range and lower penetration power. Which means its not going to do walls as well as 2.4Ghz can. Its hard to say what radios your Kindle Fires and your streaming sticks have. But I can tell you this, 5Ghz is a great buddy when your in an area where there are tons of 2.4Ghz signals flying around.