What Should I Look for in a router?

[Crunchy Dragon]

My family's router(rented from our ISP) has been acting up, and we're considering buying a new one.

 

What should I look for in a router? Ideally we'd want a dual-band router(for 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz networks). Don't wanna spend a whole lot of money on this either, probably 250 USD or less. What would you guys recommend, and can you possibly educate me a little further on the subject?

 

I don't understand networking too well myself to make a decision on this.

@Lurick I know you understand networking pretty well, perhaps you could help out?

 

Thanks in advance,

~Crunchy

[Oshino Shinobu]

For a home network, there's not really too much to look for. Really what you'd be looking for is good wireless, which is more to do with an access point than the router, it just happens most consumer routers are paired with an access point. 

 

First thing we'd need to know really is whether your current router is a router or modem/router combo. Do you know the model of it?

[captain_to_fire]

This looks good as a wifi mesh solution if you want total home coverage and it’s less than $200. 

https://www.amplifi.com/instant/

[Crunchy Dragon]

24 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

For a home network, there's not really too much to look for. Really what you'd be looking for is good wireless, which is more to do with an access point than the router, it just happens most consumer routers are paired with an access point. 

 

First thing we'd need to know really is whether your current router is a router or modem/router combo. Do you know the model of it?

Modem/router combo, it's a 5268AC. I'm not sure about the brand, but I was able to find some stuff from googling the number.

 

12 minutes ago, captain_to_fire said:

This looks good as a wifi mesh solution if you want total home coverage and it’s less than $200. 

https://www.amplifi.com/instant/

A standard 2.4Ghz network will cover our whole home, we're not too concerned about coverage. 

[Firewrath9]

I'd get at minimum 2x2 MU-MIMO, probably 3x3 or 4x4 depending on your budget and house size. Ideally 1 gbe in, 3-4 (or more) gbe out.

[Firewrath9]

oh, and here's a recommendation.

https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Band-Super-Fast-Gigabit-MU-MIMO-RT-ACRH13/dp/B01LXL1AR8/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Asus+router&qid=1553821025&s=electronics&sr=1-4

Cheap, and would work fine for a small house.

if you are at the 100$ budget, I'd recommend google wifi on sale (aka below 90$). It works great (not the best), but is easily expandable if you move to a new house, or have some spots in your house that don't have the best coverage. It only has 1gbe in, and 1 out, so you might need a switch.

[Oshino Shinobu]

4 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

oh, and here's a recommendation.

https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Band-Super-Fast-Gigabit-MU-MIMO-RT-ACRH13/dp/B01LXL1AR8/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Asus+router&qid=1553821025&s=electronics&sr=1-4

Cheap, and would work fine for a small house.

if you are at the 100$ budget, I'd recommend google wifi on sale (aka below 90$). It works great (not the best), but is easily expandable if you move to a new house, or have some spots in your house that don't have the best coverage. It only has 1gbe in, and 1 out, so you might need a switch.

Bear in mind you'll need a modem to use with this as well. 

 

Not sure what you mean with 1Gb in and 1 out. It has 4x 1Gbps LAN ports.

[captain_to_fire]

2 hours ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

standard 2.4Ghz network will cover our whole home, we're not too concerned about coverage. 

But 5 GHz will have less congestion due to more bandwidth. They also have a standalone router if you want to. 

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

I got this one due to good price/perf, and I dont need any fancy feature

 

https://www.amazon.com/D-Link-AC1750-Gigabit-Wi-Fi-Router/dp/B00PVCZI40/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=d-link+859&qid=1553830882&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull

[Tundral]

13 hours ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Modem/router combo, it's a 5268AC. I'm not sure about the brand, but I was able to find some stuff from googling the number.

Is it this one? 'Cause if it's that one then you'll most likely need a VDSL2 router/modem combo so you can actually use it with your ISPs network. I'd recommend making sure what kind of modem interface you'd need (ADSL, VDSL etc.) from your ISP and then getting a decent router /modem combo with said interface. Netgear and Zyxel make decent combo units for VDSL if that's what comes into your house.

[Crunchy Dragon]

19 minutes ago, Tundral said:

Is it this one? 'Cause if it's that one then you'll most likely need a VDSL2 router/modem combo so you can actually use it with your ISPs network. I'd recommend making sure what kind of modem interface you'd need (ADSL, VDSL etc.) from your ISP and then getting a decent router /modem combo with said interface. Netgear and Zyxel make decent combo units for VDSL if that's what comes into your house.

That is the model, yes.

[Tundral]

2 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

That is the model, yes. 

Well then you most likely need a VDSL2 router/modem combo so I'd just search for a  VDSL2 router from online shops. I'd still recommend Netgear or Zyxel because they're both known and good brands for routers.

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, Tundral said:

Well then you most likely need a VDSL2 router/modem combo so I'd just search for a  VDSL2 router from online shops. I'd still recommend Netgear or Zyxel because they're both known and good brands for routers.

Thanks for the recommendation, I will have a look around and ask here if I find anything I'm unsure about