Cheap or expensive router?

[Drew3000]

I am looking to buy a router for my new apartment and i'm not entirely sure on what's best for me.

The apartment is fairly small at 47 square meters and I'm not to much concerned about the wireless range as most of my devices will be near the router.

I want it to handle a couple of devices like 2 smart tvs, a few google homes, a chromecast audio, multiple mobile phones, a laptop and more importantly, my wired gigabit connection to my pc.

 

In terms of features all i need is to be able to port forward when i'm hosting my teamspeak server. I am not that concerned about security. 

 

Will this do?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01F4WOFD6/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1508363744&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=wireless+ac+router&dpPl=1&dpID=41i7hg6UmYL&ref=plSrch

 

Do i need a more expensive one like this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00Y2NVH4O/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1508363744&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=wireless+ac+router&dpPl=1&dpID=41wfYS-yyEL&ref=plSrch

 

Is there a 100£ worth of a difference between these two?

 

"For the wired networking performance, RT-AC3200 has a dedicated Gigabit Ethernet WAN port plus four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. Its powerful hardware-accelerated NAT removes the bottleneck between the wired LAN and the internet for a lag-free gaming experience.

- Hardware NAT:

Removes the bottleneck between the internet and the home network, giving WAN-to-LAN performance that's between 2-5 times faster than a traditional software-based NAT."

 

Is this marketing mumbo-jumbo or a 'needed' feature?

 

Or should i cheap out even more? Any other good routers on the market?

I need some suggestions. Thanks guys

[Xanthe_2871]

1 minute ago, Drew3000 said:

I am looking to buy a router for my new apartment and i'm not entirely sure on what's best for me.

The apartment is fairly small at 47 square meters and I'm not to much concerned about the wireless range as most of my devices will be near the router.

I want it to handle a couple of devices like 2 smart tvs, a few google homes, a chromecast audio, multiple mobile phones, a laptop and more importantly, my wired gigabit connection to my pc.

For your described situation almost any router should work. I would look for whatever is on sale. As long as it's a known brand, and recent-ish model, you should be fine. Nothing here, as far as I know, would benefit from 802.11ac or other newer standards. 

 

Now, if money is not an issue, there's nothing wrong with trying to future proof yourself, but if you're just worried about bandwidth and all, this sort of load should be fine on most routers these days.

[ReezyJeezy]

you probably dont even need something THAT powerful

[TheGleaner]

I would get one bigger and better than what you need for your small apartment, in case you move up in life-or at least housing.

[Donut417]

16 minutes ago, Drew3000 said:

I am looking to buy a router for my new apartment and i'm not entirely sure on what's best for me.

The apartment is fairly small at 47 square meters and I'm not to much concerned about the wireless range as most of my devices will be near the router.

I want it to handle a couple of devices like 2 smart tvs, a few google homes, a chromecast audio, multiple mobile phones, a laptop and more importantly, my wired gigabit connection to my pc.

 

In terms of features all i need is to be able to port forward when i'm hosting my teamspeak server. I am not that concerned about security. 

 

Will this do?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01F4WOFD6/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1508363744&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=wireless+ac+router&dpPl=1&dpID=41i7hg6UmYL&ref=plSrch

 

Do i need a more expensive one like this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00Y2NVH4O/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1508363744&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=wireless+ac+router&dpPl=1&dpID=41wfYS-yyEL&ref=plSrch

 

Is there a 100£ worth of a difference between these two?

 

"For the wired networking performance, RT-AC3200 has a dedicated Gigabit Ethernet WAN port plus four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. Its powerful hardware-accelerated NAT removes the bottleneck between the wired LAN and the internet for a lag-free gaming experience.

- Hardware NAT:

Removes the bottleneck between the internet and the home network, giving WAN-to-LAN performance that's between 2-5 times faster than a traditional software-based NAT."

 

Is this marketing mumbo-jumbo or a 'needed' feature?

 

Or should i cheap out even more? Any other good routers on the market?

I need some suggestions. Thanks guys

Let me put it like this. I live in a 1300 Square foot house (120 Square meters). My old Wireless N750 router does me justice most of the time. So anything wireless N or above should be good. I would advise you to get a dual band router, because it being an apartment, you may have the 2.4 Ghz band filled. I would also look for a router that has current firmware support. As WPA2 has been cracked, you want something you can update to a new firmware when the fixes are released. 

[Drew3000]

Thanks guys, I'm happy i don't have to spend that much after all. 

 

Do any of you have some suggestions on a model? 

Anything excluding TP-Link.

[ReezyJeezy]

completely forgot about the wpa2 encryption issue