So my current internet speed is 25mbps but my 18 year old son wants faster internet. I told him move out and get your own lol. So as a compromise he agreed to pay the difference in the bill after we upgrade.
So I can go with a 100mbps or a 1000mbps.
However my current router won’t suffice. Any suggestions on a router? Money is a little of a concern but I would pay $400 for a router if it was the best thing since sliced bread.
At any giving time we have myself playing games online. My son playing online games, while watching youtube, and streaming with friends. My girlfriend watching hulu whilst watching YouTube on her phone.
My PC and my sons PC are wired, everything else is wifi.
So fire away with suggestions please and thank you!
Does the ISP provide something as a modem/router anyway? They usually come with a couple of ports, and a decent enough wi-fi range. If you need more ports or spread out wiring then a super cheap dumb switch would work.
For our wi-fi we use Google Wifi (main + 4 others) pods around the house, and it cost a lot but works really well. I got them super cheap, so not sure I would have paid the retail price, so for that I don’t have a decent answer.
Only other thing worth pointing out is make sure you have some CAT 5e if you do go for the 1000mbps, as sometimes old 100 LAN cable brings the wired speeds down.
I bet @Wes is up for this question, so pinging him.
I personally have the overkill GT-AX11000 from Asus, because I wanted overkill. However you don’t gave to to that extreme. It was about $529.99CAD new (before tax), for reference. Even one step down the product range is much, much cheaper.
@weaponz248 - how is the current WiFi coverage?
Single router can do most well, otherwise a MESH system like what @fearlessfrog has is better. Extenders/Boosters are a pain, you have to change networks manually most of the time. MESH removes that problem - but the price comes back up as you are getting 2 or 3 routers essentially.
While usually sufficient for most I am not a fan of the ISP gateways as I like my modem and router to be different devices. I don’t like dropping the LAN and WiFi because the modem needs a power cycle, for example.
CAT5e is you minimum for gigabit but if you have to buy new, get CAT6. You don’t need it for speed but the cable is more robust - less likely to pinch, break internally - but doesn’t bend quite as well if
I have really enjoyed ASUS - the 11000 replaced a RT AC-3200 which was EOL.
Pay attention to upload speeds. 10Mbps is about what you want for streaming, on top of what other traffic there is. At least here, ISPs don’t tend to offer symmetrical connections (download = upload) as the idea is “upload is for servers, servers are for business, businesses pay more”. I can stream fine in 1080p with about 20Mbps upload on our plan.
100 Megabit would likely be solid on the download side unless you run a big game download while others watch streaming video (Netflix etc.). If you download games a lot, you’ll enjoy Gigabit (1000) for sure.
There are some good suggestions here, but I recommend going here, doing a little bit of homework, and making your decision based on what best lines up with your goals and budget. If it’s too much to take on, ask your son to help. Sounds like you will always have veto power.
I would strongly suggest moving away from residential routers, and looking into Ubiquity. Their products are commercial grade, and their entry level stuff is awesome for the price.
You’ll have two boxes instead of one (the Router and a WiFi AP), but once you set them up you probably won’t ever have to mess with them again. I can’t remember the last time I had to reset anything. It’s just rock solid, reliable, and fast.
I’m very satisfied with my Synology RT2600AC. The UI is very intuitive and it’s been stable without a fuzz so far. 5 years now. I have it combined with three MR2200AC to cover all floors of the house.