Mesh setup vs single powerful router

[Profoundsoup]

What is the better option, a $500 router or a $500 mesh setup? What are the pros and cons of either?

[Denned]

A $500 mesh of what? And what's the use case?

[Profoundsoup]

4 minutes ago, Denned said:

A $500 mesh of what? And what's the use case?

I was looking at the new Linksys Velop or the Linksys EA9500

[SCHISCHKA]

what do you mean by mesh setup?

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, Profoundsoup said:

I was looking at the new Linksys Velop or the Linksys EA9500

Id get something like a edge router as your router and then get a few unify ap-ac pro's for your wireless. 

[Denned]

1 minute ago, Profoundsoup said:

I was looking at the new Linksys Velop or the Linksys EA9500

I mean, probably could be argued. But on consumer highend routers, you're pretty much paying for highend WIFI. You get all the cool stuff on the model you linked, like MU-MIMO, tri-band and AC5400.

 

I then assume by $500 mesh, you mean router + standalone Access Points?

But that would all be dependant on how big of an area you're trying to cover. The Linksys EA9500 will cover a pretty big area.

[Profoundsoup]

2 minutes ago, Denned said:

I mean, probably could be argued. But on consumer highend routers, you're pretty much paying for highend WIFI. You get all the cool stuff on the model you linked, like MU-MIMO, tri-band and AC5400.

 

I then assume by $500 mesh, you mean router + standalone Access Points?

But that would all be dependant on how big of an area you're trying to cover. The Linksys EA9500 will cover a pretty big area.

Yep, router with access points. Its about 2100 sq ft but with quite a few walls.

[Sniperfox47]

On 08/01/2017 at 1:47 PM, Profoundsoup said:

Yep, router with access points. Its about 2100 sq ft but with quite a few walls.

If you can have the router fairly central then a single router should be fine. If you have the router burried in an electrical room or something then definitely mesh.

 

It all depends on how your system is set up.

[skywake]

On 09/01/2017 at 4:26 AM, Profoundsoup said:

What is the better option, a $500 router or a $500 mesh setup? What are the pros and cons of either?

Assuming the same spend across all options...

 

High end Router:

+ High bandwidth to a single device within range

+ Simpler and more consumer friendly setup

- Single point of failure

- lower overall network bandwidth

- reduced overall range, requires good placement of the router itself

 

Mesh Setup: (Netgear Orbi, eero etc)
+ Decent coverage

+ Some nodes can die without the whole thing going down

+ doesn't require central placement or ethernet through the walls

+ Each node becomes a wired media-hub

- There's more going on so problems are harder to diagnose

- If you are not connected to the primary node your bandwidth is reduced

- Speeds are generally not as high as the other two setups

Multiple APs: (Ubiquiti etc)

+ Decent coverage

+ Each AP acts entirely independently

+ Speeds are as good because bandwidth is not shared and you are more likely to be in range

- There's more going on so problems are harder to diagnose

- You need to have a way to connect the APs back to your network. Ethernet through the walls.