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Author Topic: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear  (Read 8869 times)

Geekofbroadband

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Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« on: August 02, 2014, 01:55:01 PM »

Hi all,

I want to stick with one of these companies instead of bounching from one another, so I want to know which company you think is prefered overall (Not comparing a specfic router) just overall what you think is best in terms of firmware, built quality and performance. I currently have a NETGEAR R7000 and I have found the firmware to be a bit buggy and sometimes my WiFi can drop out or be a bit slow, and I don't like how they rushed the R8000 to the market and not took their time. So i'm really going towards ASUS or Linksys routers. I do like the Linksys WTR 1900AC router that seems like a quality router but as well ASUS is good, What do you think?   
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burakkucat

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2014, 05:35:15 PM »

As you have asked for opinions, I am prepared to list those three manufacturers in order of their "known status" to me. So it is quite unscientific but my ranking is --
  • Netgear
  • Linksys
  • Asus
Of the three manufacturers, I have only had experience of one -- Netgear.
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Geekofbroadband

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2014, 05:42:05 PM »

Do you know how the 2, 5Ghz bands work on the R8000? Is one for normal 5GHz and the other for AC?
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burakkucat

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2014, 05:46:28 PM »

Sorry, no. I very rarely make use of a wireless connection and on those odd occasions when I do, it is just plain "g".  ;)
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kitz

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2014, 07:57:19 PM »

Of the 3 listed my choice would also likely be the same as b*cats...  but ASUS do seem to be coming more in favour of late.

However Id also be looking at not just the name, but the chipset it contains.  Ive had several very good Netgears, but one which had an infineon chipset was rubbish.  Personally Im a fan of broadcom chipsets.
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G.DMT

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2014, 09:08:46 PM »

Hi all,
What do you think?

I will chip in my twaPennies worth too- "It Depends!"

I would say that how you judge depends on what your priorities are and hence which criteria you value above others.

My experience has been coloured by my own priorities.

I went right off Linksys because for a few years they were plagued with premature component death - from cheap manufacture, poor heatsinks and nasty capacitors etc - but they seem to be past that now.

I went right off Netgear because you find yourself with perfectly good hardware but they have abandoned security and maintenance of their (HUGE) installed base -in a cynical attempt to get people to buy new replacement units.

Asus does seem to be up and coming. They use linux as their OS and seem to do less of the 'willfully castrating perfectly good hardware' ruse in order to get you to spend more on their next more expensive model with more 'features' - which with Netgear is often _the_same_chipset_ in a larger plastic case but with a (slightly) less castrated Linux build on it.

 These days I have learned, like Kitz, that the most important thing is the chipset.
 Again -agreeing with Kitz- I have had a few TI/lantiq/Infineon devices (they have open drivers for the hardware) but the DSL PHY side performance is just not as good as a modern Broadcom.

Do yourself a favour and buy a broadcom _modem_
the  run a separate _router_ with community supported firmware.
Choose between the slick UI of Gargoyle http://www.gargoyle-router.com/
or the full-fat Linux version from OpenWRT http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start

You will never go back to the crippled,insecure,overpriced abandonware that is the shockingly poor state of consumer embedded systems - after you free your first router and truly appreciate just how adaptable and versatile these little devices can be.
</endz open source preaching>  ;)
« Last Edit: August 02, 2014, 09:26:26 PM by G.DMT »
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HighBeta

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2014, 06:41:40 PM »

Asus  with Merlin software might be something to consider as its works well on the higher end AC routers your looking towards.

Not as "full on" as Openwrt / Tomato or DDWRT  but still has great features & it works well with your openreach modem.
http://www.lostrealm.ca/tower/node/134
:)
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boost

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #7 on: August 04, 2014, 09:04:15 PM »

1. Linksys. I was a big fan of the RV042 back in the day.
Unfortunately, that Linksys device you've mentioned looks alarmingly like a device I used to come across at sites with connectivity issues. It always got replaced with something else.

2. The only reason Netgear have any reputation is because of the BDCM chipset it houses, IMHO.

3. Asus has been touting itself as a premium brand for years and I have a soft spot for them but I've had 2 Asus motherboards with cold boot issues. Despite this, it's an Asus 670GTX that powers my gaming addiction. Make of that what you will :D


However, none of this matters in DSL world; it's all about the chipset - and the 'best' completely depends on whether you have a brilliant line, an average line or a crap one.

In 9/10 cases, you'll be wanting a Broadcom I suspect. A basic Broadcom modem.

Then go and pick a cool looking wireless access point that your friends can marvel at, whilst your 20 quid Broadcom does all the serious work :)
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Geekofbroadband

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2014, 04:18:49 PM »

1. Linksys. I was a big fan of the RV042 back in the day.
Unfortunately, that Linksys device you've mentioned looks alarmingly like a device I used to come across at sites with connectivity issues. It always got replaced with something else.

2. The only reason Netgear have any reputation is because of the BDCM chipset it houses, IMHO.

3. Asus has been touting itself as a premium brand for years and I have a soft spot for them but I've had 2 Asus motherboards with cold boot issues. Despite this, it's an Asus 670GTX that powers my gaming addiction. Make of that what you will :D


However, none of this matters in DSL world; it's all about the chipset - and the 'best' completely depends on whether you have a brilliant line, an average line or a crap one.

In 9/10 cases, you'll be wanting a Broadcom I suspect. A basic Broadcom modem.

Then go and pick a cool looking wireless access point that your friends can marvel at, whilst your 20 quid Broadcom does all the serious work :)

Thanks. So what would you chose for a modem then. I am with BT Infinity and I have to have an ECI or Huawei Modem, the Huawei modem uses a Broadcom 6368 System on Chip and the ECI modem uses a Lantiq VRX268 chipset, but the ECI is known for being the "faster" out of the two. I currently have the ECI modem do ou think its worth trying the Huawei with the broadcom chipset?
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kitz

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2014, 04:44:05 PM »

Quote
but the ECI is known for being the "faster" out of the two.

Do you know that for sure with your line?  Ive seen quite a lot of people get more with the BCM 6368 than the ECI.
I get >3Mb more with a BCM 63168 than a BCM 6368.. and >7Mb on a BCM63168 than a VRX-268.  Despite being on an ECI cab.
Dont know what the figures would be atm though as Ive recently taken another x-talk hit.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2014, 06:16:29 PM by kitz »
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Geekofbroadband

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2014, 05:00:19 PM »

I'm not sure, Iv'e always had an ECI modem and Iv'e looked online to see the differences and Iv'e always seen that the ECI has better sync speeds on any type of cabinet but is harder the hack to see the line details and the huawei is easier to hack. But now iv'e seen huawei has a broadcom chip and heard how good their meant to be Im thinking is it worth trying it out.
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kitz

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2014, 06:14:32 PM »

The HomeHubs use Lantiq chipsets.  ie the HH5 uses a VRX268.   

Whilst the BCM 6368/63168 chipsets seem to fair a bit better on most lines. There are some who have found better stability with the VRX268's - this isnt proven, but it may be the longer/ more troublesome lines that perform best with the VRX268's, in the same way that the old 2wire 2700's performed the best on really long lines. 

The 2Wires were absolute p00 on short lines, never giving it the full potential.  I could easily sync at 24Mb on annexA with a rock steady 3dB SNRm (and at 24/2.6 AnnexM b4 x-talk) that never wavered using a BCM, yet I was lucky to get 18Mbps with a 2wire, nvm try annex M.  You'd find that none of the 24Mbers on BE* ever rated the lantiqs, always preferring the BCMs.

The other thing you have to watch out for is the 'best ever speeds' hype when it comes to the HomeHubs and such - they mean wireless and not actual DSL connectivity. At the end of the day you have to suck it and see which router works best on your own line... but I think you'll find that on here at least - then most of us prefer the BCMs.
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boost

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2014, 11:35:36 AM »

I'm not sure, Iv'e always had an ECI modem and Iv'e looked online to see the differences and Iv'e always seen that the ECI has better sync speeds on any type of cabinet but is harder the hack to see the line details and the huawei is easier to hack. But now iv'e seen huawei has a broadcom chip and heard how good their meant to be Im thinking is it worth trying it out.

My experience is that chipset matching always provides the best results, except where there is a fault - then a BDCM appears more reliable. If you're not seeing any latency hike or serious dip in throughput, I would leave it as is.
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loonylion

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Re: Asus vs Linksys vs Netgear
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2014, 02:33:19 PM »

my experience is linksys have gone to hell since cisco bought them out.

Netgear switches I really like, I wouldn't touch their nics though, and the few routers I've encountered have seemed to work well enough

Asus I have no experience of in terms of networking equipment, but their motherboards and soundcards have always been solid for me.
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