Best wireless router for ~$100?

Ruminus

Hello all;

I've been running a Linksys e2000 w/ DDWRT for a while now, but I think it's about ready to give up the ghost based on some of the errors I've been running into. With that said, what would be my best deal for a decent wireless router to replace it for $100 or so? I get 125Mb/s down and 20Mb/s up at my modem, so it would be nice to minimize overhead and get as much of that as I can out to the rest of the network, and the e2000 just can't seem to hack it. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

MosGuy

At the consumer level, I wear them out every 3-5 years. For something more long term/robust, I would opt for a small business Cisco router like the 800 series with full IOS. Which are designed to hold up to heavy enterprise use. Though used ones are slightly out of your budget.

Go with whichever brand/features you prefer. Consumer routers are even performance wise, there's minimal difference between them.

Priston

Now that linksys isn't cisco I'd go for a ASUS

SteveLord

I use a $50 Medialink from Amazon. Reliable (most important in a consumer router) and I get good signal anywhere in my 2 story home.

MAC_Addy

I use an ASUS RT-N66U and it's perfect for everything. The speed is awesome, it's very feature-rich, and I've never had to reboot it. Unlike my last Linksys router, I had to reboot this 3 - 4 times a day.

blargoe

+1 for the ASUS. The one I have hardly ever has to be rebooted and seems to do better with multiple devices pulling down content from the Internet compared to the Linksys.

antielvis

If you can find one, get a used Sonicwall unit. They're good routers with a decent set of features & designed for small business (and they are GUI).

As for a used CISCO router, you could find one but you probably will need to set it up using the CISCO CLI. To properly configure a router/wireless & secure it requires some level of CISCO knowledge.

EV42TMAN

At home I use a Cisco ASA 5505 with an Open-Mesh OM2P-HS wireless access point. It works well and also makes upgrading wireless access easier. Also in my opinion sonicwalls tend to be buggy and are a pain to work with if you don't have a service contract. Go with watchguard or cisco instead.

deth1k

Cisco router for 120 meg?that would cost you a fair bit.go with asus or tp link archer c7

MosGuy

antielvis wrote: »

As for a used CISCO router, you could find one but you probably will need to set it up using the CISCO CLI. To properly configure a router/wireless & secure it requires some level of CISCO knowledge.

Not necessarily; I bought a refurbished end-of-life Cisco 887 wireless N. It came with Cisco CCP (newer GUI) pre-installed. There's the older SDM too. As with any home router, setup can be done with a web browser.

deth1k

MosGuy wrote: »

Not necessarily; I bought a refurbished end-of-life Cisco 887 wireless N. It came with Cisco CCP (newer GUI) pre-installed. There's the older SDM too. As with any home router, setup can be done with a web browser.

Thats all fine but it cant do the throughput required and its wireless is still 54mbps although "N" spec

MosGuy

deth1k wrote: »

Thats all fine but it cant do the throughput required and its wireless is still 54mbps although "N" spec

Hmm that's interesting; mine seems to support up to 300bps when I tested it. Anyway moot point as the OP likely won't go cisco. My response was to clarify the CLI isn't required as many seem to think

Ruminus

Thanks all! I grabbed an RT-N66U from NewEgg and got it for $100 after using some gift credits I had floating around. Just waiting on delivery now.

MAC_Addy

Ruminus wrote: »

I grabbed an RT-N66U from NewEgg and got it for $100 after using some gift credits I had floating around.

You won't be disappointed. Good buy!

Priston

Maybe linksys won't be so bad in the hands of belkin Linksys WRT 1900AC: The classic Wi-Fi router re-imagined | ZDNet

Blackout

Asus or Netgear. I have a New Netgear R6300 and the thing is a champ but its outside the 100$ your looking for. I work at Cisco, and even when linksys was Cisco I frowned on them, they just never met my expectations. Asus has a great track record, also stay far far away from belkin, I have had nothing but problems with their routers.

ada1166

ASUS or NETGEAR

gorebrush

Good job on the Asus. I have that one on my 70Mbit VDSL. Love it!

ada1166

Look at here:Best Wireless Router Reviews 2014- Top Wireless AC Router Comparison

Ruminus

ada1166 wrote: »

Look at here:Best Wireless Router Reviews 2014- Top Wireless AC Router Comparison

I actually used that while I was looking. It's good info.

ada1166

Ruminus wrote: »

I actually used that while I was looking. It's good info.

You're welcome, hope the info is useful to you