Your festive season guide to buying routers
SO IT’S TIME TO GO SHOPPING AND YOU’RE LOOKING TO GET YOURSELF A NEW ROUTER. WE’RE HERE TO HELP! HERE’S OUR GUIDE FOR THE BEST ROUTERS FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF BUYERS.
THE FUNDAMENTALS
No matter what style of router you’re buying, there are always some things you should keep an eye out for. Some of the things we currently think of as critical in new routers include: 802.11ac support Gigabit on all wired ports MU-MIMO For modem routers (if the person has ADSL or FTTN), always look for a router that supports VDSL Some additional things that are definitely nice to have include: Mesh networking. (This can be a dedicated mesh solution like Google WiFi or Netgear Orbi; or it can be a solution that supports roaming, such as D-Link’s Whole Home WiFi or Linksys Seamless Roaming on its MAX-STREAM devices.) USB 3.0/3.1 ports for sharing media 3G/LTE modem support (or, even better, built-in SIM slots) VPN support Parental controls So with the fundamentals out of the way, what routers should you be looking at right now for different types of users? Let’s get into it.
ROUTERS FOR GAMERS
While the main determinant of gaming performance is the quality of your internet connection, there are some routers that are a little better designed for people who play games online. These routers have a focus on issues of latency (aka, ‘ping times’) and quality
of service (QoS), and can prioritise game traffic over other types of traffic.
Perhaps the top of the heap when it comes to routers for gamers are the specially designed routers from ASUS’s Republic of Gamers (RoG) line, such as the RoG Rapture GT-AC5300. These routers have extensive game-centric QoS settings, as well as dedicated LAN ports for game PCs and consoles, where any traffic that comes in from these ports is both given priority and bypasses any VPN you might have operational. They also support the high speed gaming network WTFast ( www.wtfast.com).
At $700-odd, that’s something of a Rolls Royce option, however. Less expensive routers from ASUS still retain many of the excellent QoS capabilities (though not the dedicated LAN ports or WTFast support), and Netgear and D-Link routers also have particularly good QoS controls. The Netgear R7000 (around $250) and D-Link DIR-882 (about $290) are really good gaming options without being bank-breaking.
If you or the person you’re buying for is a little more techy, you can even go for something like the Linksys WRT1900ACS ($280) for an excellent gaming experience. The Linksys default firmware isn’t that flash for gaming, but the WRT routers allow you to easily install highly optimised open-source firmware like DD-WRT ( dd-wrt.com).
ROUTERS FOR FAMILIES
If you’re buying for someone who is not technical and has kids that they’d like to protect from some of the nastier parts of the internet, there are now some excellent options available.
A lot of the new mesh router solutions in particular are excellent for non-technical users. Products like Google WiFi, the Linksys Velop and Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD don’t just have cool mesh networking capabilities — they’re also much easier to set up and manage than traditional routers. For the most part, they’re managed through accessible mobile apps.
When it comes to parental controls, there have been some excellent solutions implemented in recent years. For one, there is now a handful of dedicated parental control routers that support content and time-based restrictions and are controlled by a mobile app. There’s the Family Zone Box ( www.familyzone.com), which has excellent content and time restrictions that are customised to each user — though buying that as a present might be a bit rude, since you’re also sticking the receiver with an ongoing subscription. A cheaper option is the KoalaSafe router ( koalasafe.com), which can be bought for a one-time cost of US$80. KoalaSafe has minimal hardware, and it’s not really designed as a primary router — rather it’s there as a second Wi-Fi router that your kids connect to (while you continue to use the big-boy router).
There are certain mainstream routers that have also integrated some pretty solid parental controls. Netgear is a standout when it comes to parental controls on its routers, especially now that it has implemented Disney’s Circle Parental Controls on some of it router models, such as the R7000P.
As a fusion of all of the above, however, we’d probably most recommend TP-Link’s Deco right now. TP-Link Deco M5 is a mesh router with easy mobile-based setup and both antivirus and really great content and timebased parental controls. The subscription for the antivirus is three years from the initial setup. A single Deco can be bought for about $150 right now, and you can get a pack of three (this is a mesh network, after all, so you need multiple units) for about $400.
ROUTERS WITH STYLE
Let’s face it, most routers are ugly as sin. For the most part, little thought has been put into attractive industrial design, and function has definitely been prioritised over form.
If you’re looking for a router that won’t ruin the decor, however, there are some decent options now.
Once again, the mesh networks are leading the way on the design front, and most are at least designed to be unobtrusive if not attractive. Leading the pack on looks is the Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD, a cool-looking cube with a configurable touch-screen display on the front. As a bonus, its mesh points are also designed to be unobtrusive, sitting flush with the wall socket they’re plugged into.
The Netgear Orbi also has a unique look, though it may not be to some tastes. It looks like nothing so much as an art-deco vase with a glowing circle on the top.
When it comes to more conventional routers, there are some that might look acceptable in a public location. D-Link has occasionally dived into compelling industrial design, for example, and its cylindrical DSL-2900AL is neat, for example. Its larger ‘space crab’ routers are at least interesting looking, if not particularly attractive. Meanwhile, Netgear and ASUS have attempted to take design cues from high performance cars in some of their high-end routers, and there maybe something there you’ll like as long as you don’t mind forests of antennae.
Elsewhere, the Apple AirPort devices have some of that Apple elegance going on (although some may find the designs rather boring), and the TP-Link Touch P5 at least looks super-high tech with its top LCD display.
Of course, no matter how visually appealing the router may look, don’t forget the fundamentals. You need something that works for you, as well as look good!