Help choosing a dual band router

blazing100

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Hello

I was thinking of picking up a dual band router during the coming Black Friday sale, but really don't know which to buy or how much I really need to spend.

Right now I'm using a D-Link 655 running on a 25Mpbs connection. I game once in a while, but my main concern is streaming HD video from my main PC to my upstairs PC for my parents. I may also cut Cable at a future date and use the internet for all my TV programing.

I have look at two router so far, a higher end D-Link DIR-880L with up to 600Mbps (2.4GHz) + 1300Mbps (5GHz) speeds and a D-Link DIR-826L with 300Mbps (2.4GHz) + 300Mbps (5GHz).

Is there any benefit of getting a router with a higher transmission rate? since my connection is only 25Mbps or am I just paying extra for a whole bunch of nothing?

I am open to any brand of router, so please suggest ones you had good experiences with. I just looked at the D-Link cause the DIR-655 worked very well.

Thanks
 

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Don't think you'll get any better internet speeds because even 802.11g is at least twice the speed of your internet connection ( 54Mbps) and 802.11n up to 600 Mbps. So, you know, "The weakest link in a chain" saying ? and "Speed of a convoy is the speed of slowest ship". 5GHz range of frequencies is also more sensitive to interference by walls and other obstructions.
 

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I have an Asus RT-N66R and quite happy with it running Merlin firmware. What they are good for it streaming video locally on the wireless, especially on the 5Ghz band. I stream TV a lot and it is seamless.
It also has the ability to monitor usage by individual device on the network which is something I also wanted.

Like CountMike said though, unless you are on fiber getting 100's of MB speed, then a router isn't going to increase the max speed of your ISP.

PS: another thing nice about dual-band is someone can surf the net on the 2.4 band while streaming video on the 5 band and there will be no impact on either one.
 
Last edited:

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Don't think you'll get any better internet speeds because even 802.11g is at least twice the speed of your internet connection ( 54Mbps) and 802.11n up to 600 Mbps. So, you know, "The weakest link in a chain" saying ? and "Speed of a convoy is the speed of slowest ship". 5GHz range of frequencies is also more sensitive to interference by walls and other obstructions.

While this is true, he also said his primary concern was streaming between computers in his house...so the higher speeds would benefit there. However, these high speeds are usually limited to relatively short distances and often don't work great through walls, floors, etc. Best bet is to find a way to run a cable.
 

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Don't think you'll get any better internet speeds because even 802.11g is at least twice the speed of your internet connection ( 54Mbps) and 802.11n up to 600 Mbps. So, you know, "The weakest link in a chain" saying ? and "Speed of a convoy is the speed of slowest ship". 5GHz range of frequencies is also more sensitive to interference by walls and other obstructions.

While this is true, he also said his primary concern was streaming between computers in his house...so the higher speeds would benefit there. However, these high speeds are usually limited to relatively short distances and often don't work great through walls, floors, etc. Best bet is to find a way to run a cable.

Thank you all for the great input

This is what has me confused......... I understand that my Internet speed would not increase with the new router, but isn't my home network speed dictated but how much bandwidth I have also?

Just say I have 5 device connected to my home WiFi. I would assume that the transferred speeds between these devices would be bound by the 25Mbps I have to use. Yet I have been reading that with a higher speed dual band routers, transfers between devices on the same network are a lot faster.

Right now there usually is no problem with streaming until my nieces and nephews come over and clog my network up with 10-12 devices. Would setting up QOS for the computer I am streaming too help? If the 5GHz band is really sensitive to obstructions like ppraks1 has stated I think a dual band router would be useless for me since the 2 computers are quite away.
 

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This is what has me confused......... I understand that my Internet speed would not increase with the new router, but isn't my home network speed dictated but how much bandwidth I have also?
Yes, with a faster router, you "might" get faster speeds between the computers on the internal network. I say "might" because it depends upon whether you have wifi cards that support these higher speeds. If only 1 of them does, you will be limited to the slowest device.

Just say I have 5 device connected to my home WiFi. I would assume that the transferred speeds between these devices would be bound by the 25Mbps I have to use. Yet I have been reading that with a higher speed dual band routers, transfers between devices on the same network are a lot faster.
Yes, at work I just replaced an older Meraki MR12 2.4Ghz Wireless N router. On that device, I would get around 4-6MB/sec max speed, that was with a 130Mbps connection. I replaced with a Meraki MR34 dual band 802.11ac device and I'm connecting now around 650Mbps. I get around 45MB per second. My LAN is gigabit and I get around 90-100MB/sec when a cable is plugged in

Right now there usually is no problem with streaming until my nieces and nephews come over and clog my network up with 10-12 devices. Would setting up QOS for the computer I am streaming too help? If the 5GHz band is really sensitive to obstructions like ppraks1 has stated I think a dual band router would be useless for me since the 2 computers are quite away.
Wireless struggles when you have more devices. A dual band here is nice because you can separate some devices on 2.4Ghz and let others work on 5Ghz. Normally you don't setup QoS for a specific computer, rather you set it for a protocol. For example, you want to ensure traffic over port 3389 gets priority over traffic on port 80.

5Ghz is faster, but it covers far less distance. 2.4Ghz is slower, but it covers a wider area, but is more susceptible to interference.
 

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Thanks PPARKS1

That clears up a lot.

Its seems that one of the original routers I was looking at has dropped in price for the Black Friday already DIR-880L
May just bit the bullet on that, since it is getting pretty good reviews

I'll give it another day or two of though, maybe just go the economical route and change my Wifi password.
 

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If you want max speed, go wired.
 

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    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.

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    WD
Wireless struggles when you have more devices. A dual band here is nice because you can separate some devices on 2.4Ghz and let others work on 5Ghz. Normally you don't setup QoS for a specific computer, rather you set it for a protocol. For example, you want to ensure traffic over port 3389 gets priority over traffic on port 80.

pparks1, can you tell me how to set up router to have devices use different bands?
 

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Wireless struggles when you have more devices. A dual band here is nice because you can separate some devices on 2.4Ghz and let others work on 5Ghz. Normally you don't setup QoS for a specific computer, rather you set it for a protocol. For example, you want to ensure traffic over port 3389 gets priority over traffic on port 80.

pparks1, can you tell me how to set up router to have devices use different bands?

You will set up an SSID for the 5Ghz band and the 2.4Ghz band usually. Just ensure to connect to the 5Ghz if your client sees it available.
 

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You will set up an SSID for the 5Ghz band and the 2.4Ghz band usually. Just ensure to connect to the 5Ghz if your client sees it available.
I setup the 5Ghz band, but that did away with the 2.4Ghz band. I wanted both so as to have a choice.
 

My Computer

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    24 Gig
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    23" Flat Screen HDMI
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You will set up an SSID for the 5Ghz band and the 2.4Ghz band usually. Just ensure to connect to the 5Ghz if your client sees it available.
I setup the 5Ghz band, but that did away with the 2.4Ghz band. I wanted both so as to have a choice.

Your router must support concurrent dual-band, some don't. What make/model do you have?
 

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    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
Your router must support concurrent dual-band, some don't. What make/model do you have?
It's a Linksys E 2000.​
 

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    23" Flat Screen HDMI
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    3.84 Mbps Download .44 Mbps Upload
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    Liteon DVD wrighter
    Liteon BD drive
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
A lot of good info there. I changed it to 5 Ghz, but I lost my guest network. I've changed it back to 2.4 Ghz to get back my guest network so my granddaughter will be happy. Thanks for the help popeye.
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
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    PC/Desktop
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    Dell Studio XPS 9100
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    intel i7 920 @ 2.67 GHz
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    24 Gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5670
    Sound Card
    Internal
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Flat Screen HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 850 250 GB SSD
    2 Seagate internal 1TB
    WD external 3TB USB 3
    WD external 2TB USB 3
    PSU
    550-W
    Case
    Mid
    Cooling
    Fans
    Keyboard
    US USB
    Mouse
    USB
    Internet Speed
    3.84 Mbps Download .44 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
    Other Info
    Liteon DVD wrighter
    Liteon BD drive
    Monoprice Tablet
A lot of good info there. I changed it to 5 Ghz, but I lost my guest network. I've changed it back to 2.4 Ghz to get back my guest network so my granddaughter will be happy. Thanks for the help popeye.

Glad it at least steered you in the right direction. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
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