ASUS RT-AC66U Questions

[Justintoxicated]

Any reason NOT to get this over the ASUS RT-N66U (no DDWRT Support sucks since that's what I have always used over the past years). But I hear there is Merlin support which sounds Similar?

I want to get rid of the cable down my hallway and it appears wireless has almost caught up?

Can I get 2 of these and run one as a bridge?

Or maybe there is a cheaper network card solution for the HTPC?

Also can I use an older DD-WRT router as a bridge to this device too or would I need to purchase one for every device I have that needs a hard line connection?

Thanks,

 

[gjezekiel]

Been looking at these routers for awhile, so I'm answering from research-not experience. Last I heard (~2 months) their was a slight performance difference between the AC and the N, which was attributed to the newer drivers for the AC radios. That is probably narrowed or gone by now.

The rmerlin firmware seems like a really good choice, it's an extension of the native Asus firmware, which is based on TomatoUSB.

You wouldn't need a second one just to connect your HTPC, Asus just got their internal AC wireless card out (PCE-AC66). You could also just go with a good 450mbps N card as they would probably have enough bandwidth for whatever you would need, especially if you put it on the 5ghz band.

 

[Justintoxicated]

Been looking at these routers for awhile, so I'm answering from research-not experience. Last I heard (~2 months) their was a slight performance difference between the AC and the N, which was attributed to the newer drivers for the AC radios. That is probably narrowed or gone by now.

The rmerlin firmware seems like a really good choice, it's an extension of the native Asus firmware, which is based on TomatoUSB.

You wouldn't need a second one just to connect your HTPC, Asus just got their internal AC wireless card out (PCE-AC66). You could also just go with a good 450mbps N card as they would probably have enough bandwidth for whatever you would need, especially if you put it on the 5ghz band.

Thanks I also might want to hookup some POE security cameras to it. I plan to use my old router as a bridge, its an old buffalotech wireless G router thats been good to me for 7 years running DD-WRT. I'm curious if the new router with Merlin will allow me to use a DD-WRT router for a bridge? Otherwise I have to cut into my walls to run a cable anyways (which I will eventually do)..

Still want wireless for the living room though. I just have DSL so internet speeds are not a concern, but I do do backs over wireless to WHS server for a couple laptops, and the HTPC would then be backed up over wireless as well, so network speeds are important.

 

[Mackintire]

Any reason NOT to get this over the ASUS RT-N66U (no DDWRT Support sucks since that's what I have always used over the past years). But I hear there is Merlin support which sounds Similar?

I want to get rid of the cable down my hallway and it appears wireless has almost caught up?

Can I get 2 of these and run one as a bridge?

Or maybe there is a cheaper network card solution for the HTPC?

Also can I use an older DD-WRT router as a bridge to this device too or would I need to purchase one for every device I have that needs a hard line connection?

Thanks,

The merlin firmware has a different design intent than DD-WRT.

Merlin firmware's intent is to fix bugs only.

 

[Justintoxicated]

The merlin firmware has a different design intent than DD-WRT.

Merlin firmware's intent is to fix bugs only.

I read somewhere that you can use a second router as a bridge though, but I'm not sure if it has to be the same router or not. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if it did. Just pricey for a temporary install.

 

[Justintoxicated]

Been looking at these routers for awhile, so I'm answering from research-not experience. Last I heard (~2 months) their was a slight performance difference between the AC and the N, which was attributed to the newer drivers for the AC radios. That is probably narrowed or gone by now.

The rmerlin firmware seems like a really good choice, it's an extension of the native Asus firmware, which is based on TomatoUSB.

You wouldn't need a second one just to connect your HTPC, Asus just got their internal AC wireless card out (PCE-AC66). You could also just go with a good 450mbps N card as they would probably have enough bandwidth for whatever you would need, especially if you put it on the 5ghz band.

The PCE-AC66 is almost as expensive as a second router lol,
But with a second router as a bridge you could connect more than one PC.
If that configuration works, I have not been able to verify.