Which MU-MIMO router should I add to my network?

[halfmonkey]

I'm interested in adding another router to my network to replace my current main router and move my current main router to another room to extend my network. Which do you think is best between Linksys EA9500, Dlink DIR 895L/R, Netgear R8000, or another that you might suggest.

Please allow to give you breakdown of my current setup. I currently have Cox Cable Ultimate internet package which allows for up to 300 Mbps download and up to 30 Mbps upload. I have an Arris Surfboard modem model SB6190 and it's connected to a Dlink DIR-880L router. This is my main router. From here, I take one open ethernet port in the back and run it to a Linksys switch model SE3016. I use about 10 of the ports in the back to run to various hard wired clients throughout the house in other rooms. I do use on the ports on the back of the switch and run it to an Airport Extreme on the other side of the house and set it up in bridge mode. This allows me to create full house coverage. I have the 2.4Ghz channel on one name the 5 GHz on another name and connect most of my devices to the 5 GHz channel.

So what I'm interested in doing is moving the Dlink DIR 880L into bridge mode duty in another part of the house to maybe help extend the network when we're outside and then using one these newer MU-MIMO routers as my new main router. I would pretty much maintain the same set up except now another port on the back of the switch would now go to the Dlink DIR-880L which would be placed in another area of the house.

On a side note, when I run a speed test from speediest.net, it currently shows my ping to be 14 ms, download speed to be 318.79 Mbps and upload speed to be 30.16 Mbps. This is on an iMac connected to the switch through one of the ports.

I love to hear your thoughts on my system and any feedback on possibly improving it is welcome. ...or if I'm totally doing something wrong, please let me know. Thanks for reading.

 

[Ember1205]

Sounds like you have a reasonable setup already, and I'm presuming you're looking to improve on it.

You've given a lot of info, but there's one thing missing from my perspective: Information about the structure. Square footage, how many floors, where devices are located, building material, etc.

As you may be aware, 5GHz offers higher speeds for wireless devices, but has a shorter effective range (compared to 2.4GHz). Additionally, there are still a decent number of devices that don't support the 5GHz band and will only operate correctly on 2.4GHz.

Something else that you haven't really given any detail on is surrounding why you're looking to move to MU-MIMO and whether your network and devices are "ready" for it.

MU-MIMO devices are more expensive than 'regular' MIMO devices. And with good reason - there's different WiFi chips in place, and different logic (software) to support it. In order for you to actually -benefit- from a MU-MIMO router, your devices have to be MU-MIMO enabled as well. Last I had looked into it, the list of devices was still somewhat short. So, have you looked at the devices that you're planning to connect to understand how many of them will actually be able to benefit form having a MU-MIMO router in place? Have you run into functional issues that you've determined MU-MIMO will actually solve?

New technologies can be great, but being an early adopter sometimes does little more than pull extra money out of your pocket. And folks don't always realize that part.

 

[halfmonkey]

Sounds like you have a reasonable setup already, and I'm presuming you're looking to improve on it.

You've given a lot of info, but there's one thing missing from my perspective: Information about the structure. Square footage, how many floors, where devices are located, building material, etc.

As you may be aware, 5GHz offers higher speeds for wireless devices, but has a shorter effective range (compared to 2.4GHz). Additionally, there are still a decent number of devices that don't support the 5GHz band and will only operate correctly on 2.4GHz.

Something else that you haven't really given any detail on is surrounding why you're looking to move to MU-MIMO and whether your network and devices are "ready" for it.

MU-MIMO devices are more expensive than 'regular' MIMO devices. And with good reason - there's different WiFi chips in place, and different logic (software) to support it. In order for you to actually -benefit- from a MU-MIMO router, your devices have to be MU-MIMO enabled as well. Last I had looked into it, the list of devices was still somewhat short. So, have you looked at the devices that you're planning to connect to understand how many of them will actually be able to benefit form having a MU-MIMO router in place? Have you run into functional issues that you've determined MU-MIMO will actually solve?

New technologies can be great, but being an early adopter sometimes does little more than pull extra money out of your pocket. And folks don't always realize that part.

The house is two levels and about 3800 sq/ft. The house is kind of L shaped and typically CA building material. Wood frame, concrete foundation, stucco, and concrete roof tiles.

Most of our wireless clients do support 5GHz and I connect to 5GHz whenever possible. We currently have two iPhone 7, two iPad air 2, an old ipad2, and a Macbook Pro purchased last year. These are our main wireless clients. We do have others like the Wii U, 2 3DS XL, a Sony PSP, an old laptop, and directv genie.

One of the reasons why I'm looking to upgrade is because I want to future proof my set up because I will more than likely upgrade to the iPhone 8 when it's released and I will assume that it will support MU-MIMO technology. I also plan to get another iPad at the end of the year and I assume the newest one will support it as well.

Other considerations is I assume with these MU-MIMO routers, they process data a little bit faster since they all seem to advertise that they're using faster dual core chips. Now I'm not an expert in this area. I am more knowledgable than the average person but I just assume with a faster chip to process traffic, it should result in a little better performance. Another consideration at least with the Linksys EA9500 is that it does have 8 ports built in so I don't have to rely on the switch as much. I would much prefer to directly connect to the router as much as possible rather than using the switch if I don't have to.

 

[Ember1205]

Wired is always better than wireless (right now, anyhow).

Personally, I wouldn't be upgrading based on assumptions and the need to "future proof". If you're not experiencing issues, leave it alone. Additionally, the bottleneck in your setup if your Internet link. And that isn't much of a bottleneck. 4K content, streamed, needs about 15 Mb - 20 Mb of bandwidth (depending on the site). So, even if you're streaming a ton of UHD content within your house while copying large files across wireless, the likelihood of you having issues seems pretty small.

I've got a pretty elaborate setup in my house, and I have no intentions of moving to MU-MIMO for years.

 

[joster.macedo]

Hi,

I bought a Synology RT2600AC a couple weeks ago. What a router! The firmware makes the whole difference. Take a look at their website for the specs.
Joster

I'm interested in adding another router to my network to replace my current main router and move my current main router to another room to extend my network. Which do you think is best between Linksys EA9500, Dlink DIR 895L/R, Netgear R8000, or another that you might suggest.

Please allow to give you breakdown of my current setup. I currently have Cox Cable Ultimate internet package which allows for up to 300 Mbps download and up to 30 Mbps upload. I have an Arris Surfboard modem model SB6190 and it's connected to a Dlink DIR-880L router. This is my main router. From here, I take one open ethernet port in the back and run it to a Linksys switch model SE3016. I use about 10 of the ports in the back to run to various hard wired clients throughout the house in other rooms. I do use on the ports on the back of the switch and run it to an Airport Extreme on the other side of the house and set it up in bridge mode. This allows me to create full house coverage. I have the 2.4Ghz channel on one name the 5 GHz on another name and connect most of my devices to the 5 GHz channel.

So what I'm interested in doing is moving the Dlink DIR 880L into bridge mode duty in another part of the house to maybe help extend the network when we're outside and then using one these newer MU-MIMO routers as my new main router. I would pretty much maintain the same set up except now another port on the back of the switch would now go to the Dlink DIR-880L which would be placed in another area of the house.

On a side note, when I run a speed test from speediest.net, it currently shows my ping to be 14 ms, download speed to be 318.79 Mbps and upload speed to be 30.16 Mbps. This is on an iMac connected to the switch through one of the ports.

I love to hear your thoughts on my system and any feedback on possibly improving it is welcome. ...or if I'm totally doing something wrong, please let me know. Thanks for reading.