Router recommendations

Hey everyone,

My current setup:
Router: Dlink DIR-645 Whole Home Router
Wireless Range Extender: TPLINK TL-850RE (its the only way I can get awesome wireless connection in my part of the house)
Wireless Adapter: DLINK DWA-160

I think the router is going bad. I noticed wireless speeds being really slow lately on and off. Others in the house have noticed the slower speeds as well. I can only game on wireless with my current setup. Powerline adapters aren't an option either.

Anyone have any router recommendations for good wireless gaming?

Is it worth getting the new AC wireless routers?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Anyone have any router recommendations for good wireless gaming?

Wireless is terrible.

Especially for gaming.

If you cannot run a wire from your computer to your router I recommend looking into the power line adapters. One hooks into your router and a power outlet. The other hooks into a power outlet by your computer. For gaming it should give you the benefit of a wired connection without having to run a long wire - as long as your home has wiring that can take advantage of these.

If you don't have to worry about interference or any of the other myriad of problems that come along with a WiFi connection go with something by Asus as long as you have the cash to spend.

Wireless is terrible.

Especially for gaming.

If you cannot run a wire from your computer to your router I recommend looking into the power line adapters. One hooks into your router and a power outlet. The other hooks into a power outlet by your computer. For gaming it should give you the benefit of a wired connection without having to run a long wire - as long as your home has wiring that can take advantage of these.

If you don't have to worry about interference or any of the other myriad of problems that come along with a WiFi connection go with something by Asus as long as you have the cash to spend.

Man, if I could do the powerline adapters I would. But the part of house I'm in is an addition and it has its own breaker box.

Honestly the setup I have now had been amazing for awhile. Lately though its just gotten really bad.

Wireless is terrible.

Especially for gaming.

If you cannot run a wire from your computer to your router I recommend looking into the power line adapters. One hooks into your router and a power outlet.

Last I checked, powerline adapters had really high latency. That was a few years back though. Have they resolved that now?

I disagree that wireless is inherently bad for gaming. 1ms latency to a wireless router is perfectly normal. A lot of it has to do with the how solid the walls in your house are, as that can rapidly deteriorate your signal. Line of sight improves wireless signal massively.

What you might want to check out is whether a neighbour has introduced a competing wireless network. Although there are a lot of wireless channels, there are only three that don't actually overlap in regards to their use of the frequency spectrum, and overlap causes problems. The cleanest channels are 1, 6, and 11.

This article is pretty good for getting you on the right path: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/179344-how-to-boost-your-wifi-speed-by-choosing-the-right-channel

I used Meraki Wifi Stumbler to see what channels neighbours were using, and how strong they were in different areas of my house. I found it to be quite easy to use.

Last I checked, powerline adapters had really high latency. That was a few years back though. Have they resolved that now?

I disagree that wireless is inherently bad for gaming. 1ms latency to a wireless router is perfectly normal. A lot of it has to do with the how solid the walls in your house are, as that can rapidly deteriorate your signal. Line of sight improves wireless signal massively.

What you might want to check out is whether a neighbour has introduced a competing wireless network. Although there are a lot of wireless channels, there are only three that don't actually overlap in regards to their use of the frequency spectrum, and overlap causes problems. The cleanest channels are 1, 6, and 11.

This article is pretty good for getting you on the right path: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/179344-how-to-boost-your-wifi-speed-by-choosing-the-right-channel

I used Meraki Wifi Stumbler to see what channels neighbours were using, and how strong they were in different areas of my house. I found it to be quite easy to use.

Not sure on the power-line adapters, I've never used one... but in theory they should be very fast. They just use your power lines to transfer data in pretty much the same way that ethernet transfers data - or so I thought? I don't know the difference from an electrical standpoint but... ethernet transfers data via voltage, I figured the power-line adapter did the same thing?

Wireless is strictly worse than having a hard connection for everything. There's just no way around it. Sure it is way more convenient but it is slower, less reliable, less secure... even in a good environment there is a lot that can go wrong. (channel overlap, broadcast bandwidth getting backed up, interference from other devices, objects disrupting signals, etc)

Multiple devices using the same wireless router/access point can cause issues, unless you get a multi-band device. Basically, the way I see it... any wireless router good enough to let your family troll around on Netflix/Youtube/torrent stuff while not having any effect on your game is going to be expensive.

Or you can buy a $10, 100 ft cat5/cat6 cable and have a perfect connection without having to worry about anything.

I'd be interested to see if the power-line things work well these days though. In theory they should be good... maybe in practice they just suck.

Not sure on the power-line adapters, I've never used one... but in theory they should be very fast.

Actually, I think it was more like 2007 when I looked into it. They were probably a much more immature technology back then.

As an aside, I've found that since upgrading to Windows 10, my TP-Link USB wireless sticks have been a nightmare. Ping spikes, packet drops, and conflict with other wireless devices constantly.

As an aside, I've found that since upgrading to Windows 10, my TP-Link USB wireless sticks have been a nightmare. Ping spikes, packet drops, and conflict with other wireless devices constantly.

Eh, just another thing to add to my list of reasons for not moving to Win10. Not for a long, long time anyways. Perhaps never.

To bad your router isn't supported from what I can see. DD-WRT works awesome on all the routers I have tried it on. Here is a link to news about your router = http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=145847&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15&sid=73f7b9acd13e4e33fed5bd64a6838dfc

P.S. DD-WRT is a good way to bring back life to an old router.

As an aside, I've found that since upgrading to Windows 10, my TP-Link USB wireless sticks have been a nightmare. Ping spikes, packet drops, and conflict with other wireless devices constantly.

TP-Link

That stuff is some of the cheapest junk you can buy in electronics. No offense btw. I have sold that stuff as a cheap solution before. It works, most of the time.

Wireless is of course not as fast or reliable as wired gigabit but its far better than it used to be. I'm wired but I have a R7000 Nighthawk at home and work and have also used Asus RT-AC68U's too and they're both solid. Don't waste money on anything above AC1900 as its useless, even AC1900 is overkill for most.

Here's a good read.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basics/wireless-basics/32620-how-to-buy-a-wireless-router-2015-edition