Router recommendation under $200

Phat_cow wrote: ↑ Want a reliable router. Read some reviews on the Asus rt68u and it seems to have issues with 5ghz band stop working.

Any recommendations?

I have always found Asus routers fantastic, with the exception of overheating... Typically an Asus router will work for me fairly reliable as a main router for about 1 - 2 years. By that time it will be crashing frequently. Sometimes I can get more use out of the router as a secondary router, sometimes it is pretty much ready for the BIN.

I'll normally use Tomato USB on Asus routers. The one issue I found with Tomato, is it tends to run out of NVRAM if you configure absolutely everything you can use... As such I try to make the router configuration fairly minimal. Newer routers like the Asus RT68U have more NVRAM, so this is probably less of of an issue than it used to be.

The router I just ordered is the DIR-882 from the Source. If you use the $25 for $100 coupon, it comes out to $118 with tax. I can't really though recommend that router, because I haven't actually tried it yet. My current router is an Archer C8. Rather basic, but that router has served me well for about 2 years. The only serious thing I don't like about that router is there is no 6rd support, and no ability to roll back to stock firmware should I flash DD-WRT on it.

Yes, Asus is very good. You can install the 3rd party firmware like Merline, then install ad-blocker on the router level, Skynet, AB-Solution or Pixelserv-tls.

Netgear R7000 still going stronger even with my gigabit internet.

I am in the same boat. Looking for a router and currently see the Tp-link archer C7 @ $79.99, the D-Link DIR-882 @ $105 and the ASUS AC1900 @ $139.99

Stability of the connection is the first requirement, and I would like it to last at least 2-3 years on stock firmware if possible. Not really rushing for gigabit speeds. As I said stability is the most important concern. The ASUS one does seem to have glowing reviews all around with more consistency, its the "overheating" reports that concern me.

Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you

Crichtonfan wrote: ↑ Stability of the connection is the first requirement, and I would like it to last at least 2-3 years on stock firmware if possible.

The Netgear R7000 might be the better option. I ran it for two years on stock firmware before switching to DD-WRT (I switched for DD-WRT features, not deficiencies in Netgear's firmware, though their slow response to a bug fix was a factor)

Crichtonfan wrote: ↑ ... Stability of the connection ... stock firmware if possible...

Among the three listed,
Recommendation would be reverse the order that you have listed.

Archer C7: Limited 5GHz wireless range and/or it's inability to handle noise from nearby competing wireless routers and devices. Single processor will have difficulty with high traffic on internal traffic. Poor stock firmware support. Just look at their history of firmware release dates. The KRACK security issue known for months, has yet to be patched according to it's Canadian website. Use of third party firmware, dd-wrt/LEDE by r00t usually recommended.

DIR-878/882: Ridiculously small flash hardware resulting in slow response to most configuration changes. Stock firmware does not appear to be optimized/refined. Firmware could definitely use more improvements. My limited testing, (3) DIR-878 and (1) DIR-882 suggests use of third party firmware.

Looks like everyone recommends the ASUS. Thank you all of you for the help