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    Narrowed down my choices, but need a little help.....

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by BubbaRob, Dec 7, 2012.

  1. BubbaRob

    BubbaRob Notebook Consultant

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    So I'm trying to help a friend replace his aging single band Linksys dinosaur router. It seems to always drop speed and signal at random times and being a heavy internet user, he is getting frustrated. He has to power cycle the router endlessly just to keep it up to speed. I have browsed the buyers guide and think he should get one of the following:

    Linksys E4200
    Netgear WNDR3700v2/3800
    Asus RT-N56U or N66U

    I am leaning toward the Asus. Comcast is his ISP. His house is a colonial style 1500 Sq. Ft. and the router sits on the ground level in the front of the house. He has several devices connected including two iPhone 4s, one iPad 2nd Gen., PS3, two laptops and a smart tv. It's not uncommon for his family to be using three devices at once. I'd like to set him up with the best option for his needs so he won't have to mess with it once I have it all configured. He will need the coverage to make it up stairs and down to the basement home theater room. Good choice for the next few years?

    Thanks for the help all.

    Rob
     
    BubbaRob, Dec 7, 2012
    #1
  2. hakira

    hakira <3 xkcd

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    The N66U is the best, and also most expensive. However unless his house is older (made of more solid materials) he might not need the coverage range it provides. The WNDR3700v1/v2 if you can get your hands on one is pretty good for the price, and becomes rock solid if you load ddwrt on it, but it is aging. E4200 same rules apply, but it's more expensive and for an extra $30 or whatever I'd just buy an N66.
     
    hakira, Dec 7, 2012
    #2
  3. jaug1337

    jaug1337 de_dust2

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    jaug1337, Dec 8, 2012
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  4. Prostar Computer

    Prostar Computer Company Representative

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    Well, when you say "heavy internet user", what sort of activities does he do online? The Asus is better of the three in your selection, and especially considering the amount of devices that it will be supporting at once. But if by "heavy usage", you mean a lot of email, school work, maybe some Flash based games, then you could save yourself a bit of cash and go with one of the other two mentioned units and he would be fine.

    For gaming, mass downloading/uploading, etc. (things requiring a lot of bandwidth), then the Asus for sure.
     
    Prostar Computer, Dec 12, 2012
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  5. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    My E4200 v1 has been holding quite well with 3 to 10 devices hooked to it no matter how I decided to abuse my network. The only problems were when i was during file transfer and heavy Internet usage where those two were competing for the bandwidth available since I was technically asking for more bandwidth than what was available.

    The N66 wins at the number of devices it can handle and on the hardware side, but the E4200 has better stock firmware (the N66's FW isn't crap, but the E4200's is better).
     
    tijo, Dec 12, 2012
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  6. Super Bee

    Super Bee Notebook Consultant

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    I have the Asus RT-N66U myself. There is a lot you can do with it. I flashed the firmware with Tomato USB.
     
    Super Bee, Dec 15, 2012
    #6