Setting up my first home wifi connection - Help!

[Kyum]

Hi there, so I'm relatively new to this whole shindig and am going to be living in an apartment for the first time where wireless connection isn't already set up.  I haven't moved in yet, but I'm just wondering what sort of hardware I should by for my connection.  Since the area is very old and basically has zero fiber optic connection, I'm stuck with sub-Gigabit speeds.  Specifically, I'll be using Comcast's Extreme 250 plan (250 Mbps), so what would be the best modem and router for this set up.  There would be about 12 devices (5 laptops, 5 phones, 1 console and 1 desktop), so I hope that this would be fast enough considering that this is probably the best I could find in the area for the price. At most, 3 devices would be gaming at the same time.   All the devices should support ac standard.  

 

Seeing that I have my cap at 250 Mbps, would there be any point in getting a higher-grade (1200+) router? Simply, I'm sort of stuck at what things I should buy.  I'm hoping to spend sub-$70 (preferably sub-$40) on the router and sub-$50 on the modem (if it is required?)

[Lurick]

9 minutes ago, Kyum said:

Hi there, so I'm relatively new to this whole shindig and am going to be living in an apartment for the first time where wireless connection isn't already set up.  I haven't moved in yet, but I'm just wondering what sort of hardware I should by for my connection.  Since the area is very old and basically has zero fiber optic connection, I'm stuck with sub-Gigabit speeds.  Specifically, I'll be using Comcast's Extreme 250 plan (250 Mbps), so what would be the best modem and router for this set up.  There would be about 12 devices (5 laptops, 5 phones, 1 console and 1 desktop), so I hope that this would be fast enough considering that this is probably the best I could find in the area for the price. At most, 3 devices would be gaming at the same time.   All the devices should support ac standard.  

 

Seeing that I have my cap at 250 Mbps, would there be any point in getting a higher-grade (1200+) router? Simply, I'm sort of stuck at what things I should buy.  I'm hoping to spend sub-$70 on the router and sub-$50 on the modem (if it is required?)

 

You don't NEED a modem but if you don't provide your own you pay Comcast $10/month so it's always worth it to buy your own. Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Certified-Cablevision-Archer-CR700/dp/B012I96J3W

Would be the easiest for you to setup since it's a single device.

While the faster speeds won't help for LAN to WAN connections, they will make an impact transferring files locally.

 

 

Edit:

I found a somewhat cheaper modem/router combo.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CIWW10E/ref=twister_B01CO5SIAW

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TC-7610-Certified-Comcast-XFINITY/dp/B010Q29YF8

You plug the coax cable into the modem and then the port on the modem into the router's WAN port. The modem will pass-through the IP to the router which will take care of everything else.

 

There is a cheaper combo bundle but the modem isn't rated/certified for the 250 package so better to be safe than sorry.

[Kyum]

20 hours ago, Lurick said:

 

You don't NEED a modem but if you don't provide your own you pay Comcast $10/month so it's always worth it to buy your own. Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Certified-Cablevision-Archer-CR700/dp/B012I96J3W

Would be the easiest for you to setup since it's a single device.

While the faster speeds won't help for LAN to WAN connections, they will make an impact transferring files locally.

 

 

Edit:

I found a somewhat cheaper modem/router combo.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CIWW10E/ref=twister_B01CO5SIAW

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TC-7610-Certified-Comcast-XFINITY/dp/B010Q29YF8

You plug the coax cable into the modem and then the port on the modem into the router's WAN port. The modem will pass-through the IP to the router which will take care of everything else.

 

There is a cheaper combo bundle but the modem isn't rated/certified for the 250 package so better to be safe than sorry.

Neato, thanks.  

 

Still, is it worth ramping up to an AC1200 router if I'm not going to reach those speeds? 

[Steven9595]

If you're going to have up to 12 devices on the network, I wouldn't go with a $70 router, it won't be able to juggle the clients without hiccups and interruptions. 

[Kyum]

7 hours ago, Steven9595 said:

If you're going to have up to 12 devices on the network, I wouldn't go with a $70 router, it won't be able to juggle the clients without hiccups and interruptions. 

Well that will be the maximum of devices registered, hopefully not the number of devices simultaneously pulling data.  Looking at a Acer RT-56U or RT-AC1200 since it seems to be at a good price point, but what would you recommend?

[Steven9595]

15 hours ago, Kyum said:

Well that will be the maximum of devices registered, hopefully not the number of devices simultaneously pulling data.  Looking at a Acer RT-56U or RT-AC1200 since it seems to be at a good price point, but what would you recommend?

For the price you want to spend, you could get this modem; For a router, I know it's a little above your stated budget, but the TP-LINK Archer C7 is a highly recommended router by a lot of people.

 

Edit: I actually believe this is the bundle of the two

[mcraftax]

man, i would love those speeds. (6.7dl/0.7up)