New router needed

ganesh

ganesh

ganesh

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Joined
23 Sep 2006
Posts
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Location
Wiltshire
Hello all,

The time has come that the plusnet supplied adsl router (Thompson 582n?) just isn't good enough.

I'd like something with:
ac Wireless compatibility
Gigabit lan
Superior wireless range

I do have fibre, so currently have a bt fibre modem plugged in to my router, but after seeing all the issues people have had with the Asus DSL-AC68U I don't really want to cause myself any issues and have to spend hours fiddling. I just want to plug and play with minimal hassle.

Budget ~£100.
But if something like the Asus DSL-AC68U really is worth the money then I could probably stretch to it.

Thanks for any advice chaps.
 
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If you need something for VPN, AC68U with Merlin firmware.

Otherwise, if you just want a basic router with excellent performance on a budget, the TP-Link Archer C8 is probably the best pick.

AC66U if you want custom firmware for various other features (i.e. Merlin firmware again).
 
lamboman said:
If you need something for VPN, AC68U with Merlin firmware.

Otherwise, if you just want a basic router with excellent performance on a budget, the TP-Link Archer C8 is probably the best pick.

AC66U if you want custom firmware for various other features (i.e. Merlin firmware again).
Click to expand...

I don't really want to mess around with custom firmwares, I did have a look at the TP-Link Archer C8, though that just seems to be a router as opposed to an adsl router which I believe I still need despite having a fibre modem?
 
Then the above suggestions will work fine. An ADSL router is basically a router and ADSL modem in one, which you do not need as you are on VDSL and have a dedicated modem for it. All you need to do is add your Plusnet username and password in the connection settings in the router and you should be up and running pretty quickly.
 
I know they are a bit pricy for your budget, but I have a draytek 2860n it has a built in adsl/vdsl router in built so you can get rid of the bt vdsl modem and plug straight into the draytek. It is a excellent router.
 
The Draytek 2860n isn't cheap though. Why isn't there a better selection these days with router/modem combo? When adsl came out, you had a great selection at affordable prices.
 
lamboman said:
If you need something for VPN, AC68U with Merlin firmware.

Otherwise, if you just want a basic router with excellent performance on a budget, the TP-Link Archer C8 is probably the best pick.

AC66U if you want custom firmware for various other features (i.e. Merlin firmware again).
Click to expand...

Is it worth the extra money for the archer C9? As it's only an extra £20 I am tempted. After looking around the c8 and c9 do seem quite a bargain compared to the competitors.

dhallam said:
I know they are a bit pricy for your budget, but I have a draytek 2860n it has a built in adsl/vdsl router in built so you can get rid of the bt vdsl modem and plug straight into the draytek. It is a excellent router.
Click to expand...

Unless having a router with a VDSL modem built in is going to a huge improvement over my current standard BT one and will be hassle free to set up I'm not sure if it's worth the money or potential hassle. Though I'm happy to be educated on VDSL modems, what are the benefits? Will my speed increase significantly for example?
 
ganesh said:
Is it worth the extra money for the archer C9? As it's only an extra £20 I am tempted. After looking around the c8 and c9 do seem quite a bargain compared to the competitors.
Click to expand...
Not worth the extra £20. Unless you have AC1900 capable hardware on other devices (it's a Broadcom specific feature) performance will be exactly the same.

ganesh said:
Unless having a router with a VDSL modem built in is going to a huge improvement over my current standard BT one and will be hassle free to set up I'm not sure if it's worth the money or potential hassle. Though I'm happy to be educated on VDSL modems, what are the benefits? Will my speed increase significantly for example?
Click to expand...
Just buy a standard router and keep the external box unless you really need to save space and sockets.
 
ganesh said:
Unless having a router with a VDSL modem built in is going to a huge improvement over my current standard BT one and will be hassle free to set up I'm not sure if it's worth the money or potential hassle. Though I'm happy to be educated on VDSL modems, what are the benefits? Will my speed increase significantly for example?
Click to expand...

You'll have a much greater selection of routers if you decide to keep a separate VDSL modem - if you want a combined VDSL modem/router there is a smaller pool of hardware to choose from. As has been mentioned there is some space saving and easy access to connection stats on combined units - don't expect any significant performance improvements over your Openreach modem.

Personally I think you'll get a bigger bang for your £100 if you go for a separate router modem setup.
 
I only have the deaytek as my setup an all in one is better as they are wall mounted at celing hight where my local lan sockets are.
 
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