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If you're not spending at least $100 on a wireless router, you're probably giving up significant amounts of the performance you're paying for from your ISP. Rou

If you're not spending at least $100 on a wireless router, you're probably giving up significant amounts of the performance you're paying for from your ISP. Routers are computers. The $40 units just can't handle modern usage patterns (multiple phones / tablets / computers with relatively high speed caps) very well. It's my single biggest recommendation when people complain about the speed of the Internet in their home. More often than not, they're underspending on their networking equipment, not their ISP package.

dragonwriter 11y ago
> More often than not, they're underspending on their networking equipment, not their ISP package. Often, their networking equipment is part of the ISP package because the ISP wants to provide a seamless experience, and doesn't even provide easy access to the information necessary to use your own equipment.
- RobotCaleb 11y ago
  I don't even know what this means. Are you saying that your ISP doesn't allow you to plug standard ethernet devices into their lines? I own my own modem and router and do what I want with them. I don't follow you.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    > Are you saying that your ISP doesn't allow you to plug standard ethernet devices into their lines? Using your own router rather than the ISPs preconfigured router requires more than just plugging a personally-purchased router into their line (even in the simple case where you aren't using the ISPs bundled cable/phone/internet service that's all delivered through a common system.) At least in the simple case, someone with modest technical skill can figure out how to get that information relatively easily, but most ISP customers aren't even modestly technical.
    - RobotCaleb 11y ago
      Since when? When I got my new router, I plugged it in and was online. I did some configuration (and flashing) afterwards, but it certainly worked when I plugged it in. Isn't that the point of consumer products?
    - wging 11y ago
      When I've had a cable modem, all I've had to do is connect my router to the modem via Ethernet. When I've had modemless service via Ethernet jack, all I've had to do is connect my router to the wall Ethernet jack. So what are you talking about? Purchasing your own cable modem? Or something else that I've never had to do?
      - marvy 11y ago
        If you have DSL, the modem and the router are the same box, so if you want your own, you have to throw out the one the ISP gave you, and configure yours by yourself. In practice, I bet you could just call up the ISP if you're having trouble, but I agree that an ISP has an incentive to give you a good unit to start with.
        mikeash 11y ago
        I haven't had DSL in a while, but when I did, the ISP just provided a modem with a phone line connector and a single ethernet connector. There's no requirement for DSL to bundle the modem and router.
        dragonwriter 11y ago
        Sure, lots of DSL ISPs used to do that in the old days before WiFi was a common consumer demand, and some still might. Now, the ISPs that are using DSL (e.g., AT&T U-Verse which uses VDSL2 where it isn't FTTP) seem (from what I've experienced and seen with other people that have DSL-based service) to deploy all-in-one modem/routers (and, when they have services like TV and Phone as well as basic internet, to run them through the supplied all-in-one box, as well.) > There's no requirement for DSL to bundle the modem and router. Sure, its not a theoretical requirement, just practically what ISPs seem to do now.
wvenable 11y ago
My ISP provides an integrated modem/wifi router and they don't provide a bridge mode. I've long given up trying to fight against that with my own equipment.
- exelius 11y ago
  It's not even a battle worth fighting; your average consumer router is significantly less powerful than what the cable company gives you. Even if you do get it in bridge mode, you'd need something more than a $200 consumer router to get the max speed out of it.
  - snuxoll 11y ago
    So not true, the RT-AC68U will walk circles around any eMTA an ISP will give you. The eMTA's cable companies give are expensive because a DOCSIS 3.0 modem is already $80 on average, adding a VoIP gateway and WLAN router plus a sufficient profit margin adds up.
    - exelius 11y ago
      Well, basically, a $200 home router will peak well before maxing out a 150 mbps connection unless you turn off all the QoS, UPnP and security features... but at that point you're better off just using the eMTA (which can handle the speed because it never had any of those features in the first place).
      - snuxoll 11y ago
        Once again, not true. NAT and QoS are the most expensive tasks a consumer router will perform, and even at 1Gbps it's rather mundane work even for a slower CPU (the 600MHz CPU in the RT-AC66U is sufficient). Once you start looking at the latency requirements to achieve 10GBps interconnects you're going to have issues with what you can reasonably expect from the $200 price range, but consumer networks have a long ways to go before that's going to even need to be thought about.
      - 11y ago
hueving 11y ago
I think you're overestimating the price of hardware required to handle 100 mbps. Broadcom asics in datacenter switches handle on the order of 100gbps and they are on the order of $100.

dragonwriter 11y ago

> More often than not, they're underspending on their networking equipment, not their ISP package. Often, their networking equipment is part of the ISP package because the ISP wants to provide a seamless experience, and doesn't even provide easy access to the information necessary to use your own equipment.

RobotCaleb 11y ago
I don't even know what this means. Are you saying that your ISP doesn't allow you to plug standard ethernet devices into their lines? I own my own modem and router and do what I want with them. I don't follow you.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > Are you saying that your ISP doesn't allow you to plug standard ethernet devices into their lines? Using your own router rather than the ISPs preconfigured router requires more than just plugging a personally-purchased router into their line (even in the simple case where you aren't using the ISPs bundled cable/phone/internet service that's all delivered through a common system.) At least in the simple case, someone with modest technical skill can figure out how to get that information relatively easily, but most ISP customers aren't even modestly technical.
  - RobotCaleb 11y ago
    Since when? When I got my new router, I plugged it in and was online. I did some configuration (and flashing) afterwards, but it certainly worked when I plugged it in. Isn't that the point of consumer products?
  - wging 11y ago
    When I've had a cable modem, all I've had to do is connect my router to the modem via Ethernet. When I've had modemless service via Ethernet jack, all I've had to do is connect my router to the wall Ethernet jack. So what are you talking about? Purchasing your own cable modem? Or something else that I've never had to do?
    - marvy 11y ago
      If you have DSL, the modem and the router are the same box, so if you want your own, you have to throw out the one the ISP gave you, and configure yours by yourself. In practice, I bet you could just call up the ISP if you're having trouble, but I agree that an ISP has an incentive to give you a good unit to start with.
      - mikeash 11y ago
        I haven't had DSL in a while, but when I did, the ISP just provided a modem with a phone line connector and a single ethernet connector. There's no requirement for DSL to bundle the modem and router.
        dragonwriter 11y ago
        Sure, lots of DSL ISPs used to do that in the old days before WiFi was a common consumer demand, and some still might. Now, the ISPs that are using DSL (e.g., AT&T U-Verse which uses VDSL2 where it isn't FTTP) seem (from what I've experienced and seen with other people that have DSL-based service) to deploy all-in-one modem/routers (and, when they have services like TV and Phone as well as basic internet, to run them through the supplied all-in-one box, as well.) > There's no requirement for DSL to bundle the modem and router. Sure, its not a theoretical requirement, just practically what ISPs seem to do now.

wvenable 11y ago

My ISP provides an integrated modem/wifi router and they don't provide a bridge mode. I've long given up trying to fight against that with my own equipment.

exelius 11y ago
It's not even a battle worth fighting; your average consumer router is significantly less powerful than what the cable company gives you. Even if you do get it in bridge mode, you'd need something more than a $200 consumer router to get the max speed out of it.
- snuxoll 11y ago
  So not true, the RT-AC68U will walk circles around any eMTA an ISP will give you. The eMTA's cable companies give are expensive because a DOCSIS 3.0 modem is already $80 on average, adding a VoIP gateway and WLAN router plus a sufficient profit margin adds up.
  - exelius 11y ago
    Well, basically, a $200 home router will peak well before maxing out a 150 mbps connection unless you turn off all the QoS, UPnP and security features... but at that point you're better off just using the eMTA (which can handle the speed because it never had any of those features in the first place).
    - snuxoll 11y ago
      Once again, not true. NAT and QoS are the most expensive tasks a consumer router will perform, and even at 1Gbps it's rather mundane work even for a slower CPU (the 600MHz CPU in the RT-AC66U is sufficient). Once you start looking at the latency requirements to achieve 10GBps interconnects you're going to have issues with what you can reasonably expect from the $200 price range, but consumer networks have a long ways to go before that's going to even need to be thought about.
    - 11y ago

hueving 11y ago

I think you're overestimating the price of hardware required to handle 100 mbps. Broadcom asics in datacenter switches handle on the order of 100gbps and they are on the order of $100.