The NETGEAR Nighthawk X8, with MU-MIMO capability and tri-band Wi-Fi, is the best router available now.
Best overall
NETGEAR Nighthawk X8
The NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 has three Wi-Fi bands — one 2.4Ghz at 1000Mbps and two 5GHz at 2166Mbps — to best deliver the internet to all your devices. Each band has four data streams available, and the router will automatically assign devices to the best band to maximize speed. 4x4 MU-MIMO capability ensures data is received as efficiently as possible, and the six Ethernet ports on the back allow plenty of wired connections.
Bottom-line: For the best router out there, the NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 is your go-to choice.
One more thing: If you love the Nighthawk line of routers but don't need quite as much Wi-Fi as the X8 delivers, the Nighthawk X6 is also a great choice.
Why the NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 is the best
Coming at you with three bands, four antennas, six Ethernet ports, and MU-MIMO capability, the NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 is one mean router.
Two 5GHz bands offer speeds up to 2166Mbps for all your newer 802.11ac devices, and one 2.4GHz band with a 1000Mbps speed services all your 802.11a/b/g/n devices. There are four data streams on each band that help maintain speeds across multiple connections. This router will automatically assign devices to the proper band to ensure you're getting faster speeds and no lag when gaming or streaming video; you can also manually set priority.
Multi-user, multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO) capability delivers constant streams of data to your devices, rather than the classic single-user, multiple input, multiple output (SU-MIMO) method of rotating data delivery that could result in stuttering and lag. Performance is so good that Smallnetbuilder gave this router the top rank for routing performance in AC5300 routers.
Six Ethernet ports on the back of the router allow plenty of wired connections, and four external antennas coupled with four internal antennas provides great range. A router this good comes at a price — it starts at about $360.
Best budget
TP-Link Archer C7
Many people don't need a router as powerful or expensive as the Nighthawk X8. Enter the TP-Link Archer C7, which Wirecutter deemed as the best Wi-Fi router most people will ever need. It has two Wi-Fi bands — one 2.4GHz at 450Mbps for 802.11a/b/g/n devices and one 5GHz at 1300Mbps for 802.11ac devices — to better connect all your laptops, phones, and consoles. Two USB ports on the back of the router allow you to connect external storage for media sharing across all devices in your home. This router has plenty of bandwidth for streaming movies, sharing files, and playing games — it starts at only about $90.
Bottom-line: For a fantastic router that costs under $100, check out the TP-Link Archer C7.
One more thing: Manually change bandwidth priority for lag-free gaming and smooth video streaming.
Best for 4K streaming
TP-Link Talon AD7200
The TP-Link Talon AD7200 has three Wi-Fi bands to best connect all your devices: a 2.4GHz band at 800Mbps supports 802.11a/b/g/n devices, a 5GHz band at 1733Mbps supports 802.11ac devices, and a 60GHz band at 4600Mbps supports 802.11ad devices. The 60GHz band allows for speeds that rival wired Ethernet connections, perfect for 4K streaming. MU-MIMO capability delivers data efficiently across multiple connections, and eight antennas offer decent range on the lower bands.
Bottom-line: For a powerful router that has a 60GHz band, have a look at the TP-Link Talon AD7200.
One more thing: The 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands have four data streams each, enabling faster speeds across all connected devices.
Best range
NETGEAR R7000 Nighthawk
Ranked first on Smallnetbuilder for range on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, the NETGEAR R7000 Nighthawk will reach all corners of your extra-large home or office. The 2.4GHz band offers speeds up to 600Mbps for 802.11a/b/g/n devices, and the 5GHz band offers speeds up to 1300Mbps for 802.11ac devices. Bandwidth is automatically prioritized to deliver lag-free gaming and video streaming, and five Ethernet ports provide access for plenty of wired connections (Clarification: Four of the ports are for devices, while the fifth is the input from a modem) . This router starts at about $170.
Conclusion
For a great router at an even better price, check out the TP-Link Archer C7. If you need a router with great range, go with the NETGEAR R7000 Nighthawk. For a router with a 60GHz band for better 4K streaming, have a look at the TP-Link Talon AD7200. For the best Wi-Fi router for all purposes, go with the NETGEAR Nighthawk X8.
Best overall
NETGEAR Nighthawk X8
The NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 has three Wi-Fi bands — one 2.4Ghz at 1000Mbps and two 5GHz at 2166Mbps — to best deliver the internet to all your devices. Each band has four data streams available, and the router will automatically assign devices to the best band to maximize speed. MU-MIMO capability ensures data is received as efficiently as possible, and the six Ethernet ports on the back allow plenty of wired connections.
Bottom-line: For the best router out there, the NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 is your go-to choice.
One more thing: If you love the Nighthawk line of routers but don't need quite as much Wi-Fi as the X8 delivers, the Nighthawk X6 is also a great choice.
Reader comments
Best Wi-Fi Router
I have the Archer C7 and I have been having constant issues with it. Their software is basically crap and cannot handle having multiple access points in the area, so it constantly freezes. Worked with their support for 3months to try and get it fixed, and have replaced it twice already.
Eventually I installed the latest beta version of DD-WRT and it went from freezing once every 12 hours or so and broadcasting garbage packets to my entire wired network to wireless going unresponsive once every 3 or 4 days and not broadcasting garbage to my network.
Get the Archer c7 v3 only if there are no other Wifi in your neighborhood at all.
Also dont get this device if you have more than 5 Wifi devices. I have about 10 and TP-link claims it could handle 16, but as soon as a 6th device connects to any radio on it other devices start having intermittent connection drop issues. It does not matter what is connected, android phone, windows phone, or laptops. It just cant handle too many devices at the same time.
My work sells tplink non stop. Ive see so manny that I myself am thinking dlink is a thing of the past for me
I just got the TP-Link Archer C7 last week. OMG. Don't walk, RUN to get this router. Its 5G covers my entire house, garage and backyard. I could finally get rid of my extender.
Nice ad. At that price, I'm getting Google's router :)
Odd that Linksys was left out of the mix. The EA9500 is heads and tails better than the X8. Having an 8 port switch as well as a Max Stream AC5400, it is a lot better than the X8. The Nighthawk X10 is an ok AD router. That is if you are within a few feet of the router to take advantage of the speed.
Why are you guys recycling an old article?
Why are you guys recycling an old article?
Well, they didnt' test anything themslves the first time, nor did they this time. Without testing new hardware, it's unlikely anything will change. That's my complaint on these articles, that they seem to just publish an aggregation of others' work. Telling me something is the best with no test data to prove it isn't very helpful.
When my dad needed a new router, he and I both took to reading several reviews where actual testing was done, and ASUS produced the best range and maximum throughput with their higher-model devices. It ended up running about $225, but the thing has absurd range (helpful in a two-story house with a basement that Comcast's default gateway woudln't properly spread to).
I agree with Keith. Any filler device articles without testing should not be published in the first place. It creates confusion!
They make money when you click the link :P
It should have two 2.4 ghz and one 5 ghz bands instead of other way around...
Didn't realize this was a reposted article until I came across my own comment from September! LOL.
Not sure I updated but we realized in the house that the microwave only interrupts the 2.4 range devices. Everything else operating in the 5GHz range doesn't get affected. Unfortunately there are still new devices that come only b/g/n capable (youngest just got a Dell Inspiron 15 during MS 12 Days). Ah well...
No mention of firmware here? I have the TP LInk and the firmware is crap. A lot of the features don't even work. Yeah, the WiFi works well but I'd also like to use the other features. I just wanted to limit Youtube access for the kids and it doesn't even do that simple task.
Really? Not a single Linksys device made the cut? How the mighty have fallen.
I have a WRT1900AC with DDWRT and it works like a beast
Same here but with a WRT1200AC. I'm always impressed at the boot speed of it.
I have an Archer C7 with Gargoyle on it...
It enables you to make a few hacks to the system, so I have adblock installed at router level, I have the router automatically ping my DNS server and if it cannot repeatedly get a reply it reboots itself, meaning manual resets are almost unheard of, and the use of a much bigger DHCP table to deal with multiple computers, phones, streaming devices, wireless printers and drives, consoles, TV's etc. Had it 2 years, and can't see a need to replace until some new protocol comes out.
I love my Asus 68U
ditto with new processor just upgraded and Merlin rock solid
I'm hoping the team can do some reviews on mesh networking routers. I'm looking at two for possible purchase later - Ubiquiti's Amplifi and Securifi's Almond 3. None have a Windows 10 app. Amplifi apparently has a web portal with limited functionality and Almond 3 can be configured on the touch screen. Of course, both have iOS and Android apps.
I currently have the Asus RT-AC3200.
Tenda AC15 AC1900 for $49.99 at Microcenter. Incredible bang for the buck. Makes other routers look extremely overpriced.
TP-Link routers are awful. I wouldnt suggest them to anyone.
What devices have 802.11ad?? I don't even have any ac devices, and there are already ad routers? Gee wiz!
I have the archer c9 which I have been really enjoying!
Since I can't get a router outside my Uverse router, I can say that the TP link AC1200-1900 are some of the best wifi extenders I ever used
Why not? Both U-Verse routers I have been given had the option for cascaded routers and I use Luma wifi behind my U-Verse for better wifi coverage.
I'm going to have to check that out. I think I seen someone set theirs up on DSLreports like that
I use an Asus AC1900. Love it. No issues ever. Over a year and no need to reset it yet either. It's just a beast.
I can vouche for the Archer C7. I used it for over a year in my personal home and at the office. Our business growth recently got us to the point that we were overwhelming the Archer, so I switched to a Ubiquiti Edge Router and a Ubiquiti Access Point. I was so impressed with the amazing range and throughput of the Ubiquiti ( a single access point is handling a 7500 square foot office) that I bought the AC version for my house and have it tied in to my Archer. The Archer now just serves wired connections and acts as a DHCP server, but the Ubiquiti handles all wireless now.
A couple of things to be aware of on the Archer...
Get the V3 hardware version if possible.
There's a glitch (which I reported to TP-LInk and they said they'd address it) in that if you back up the router settings to a file and try to restore them from that file, any custom username and password you entered no longer works, and the default username and passwrod do not work. So backups effectively are useless, and you are required to manually set up the router from scratch. Hopefully a firmware update (newer than about 4-6 months ago) will fix the issue.
Maybe it's just me but the R7000 has been a total headache to own. Failed Arlo implementation, Corrupted drives, horrible range compared to the DGL-4500 that it replaced, constant lockups on the 5ghz band, promised features when I bought it (from the smallnetworkbuilder review no less) didn't show up for 2 years after the purchase and is so unstable that it isn't work enabling (smart connect). I recommend everyone stay away from it or at least have a good return policy and don't fall for any 'coming soon' promises of Netgear.
TP Link is garbage. Be warned. Do not buy it. Spend the extra money on a Netgear Nighthawk.
I find it creepy (but amazing!) that every time I start researching a "best DEVICE", Windows Central comes up with an article within a couple of days. One thing I've been noticing with regards to best Wi-Fi routers is that I'm consistently seeing the Asus RT-AC88u and the Linksys WRT1900ACS as the top 2. Were those tested when you were working on this article? If so why the Netgear over the other 2 I mentioned? I'm definitely planning on plunking down $200+ on a good router so I'm just doing my due diligence and trying to learn as much as I can about them.
Thanks!
Nice article for those who don't live deep in the woods. :)
No ISP available out here. And sattelite was the ONLY choice until AT&T upgraded the tower to LTE. Living with the new Netgear Unite Explorer Hotspot. (with the Netgear external antenna)
I guess what I am saying is that I would love to need ANY of these routers!
I love my free T-Mobile Cellspot Router!
I bought this exact router for my home this past Christmas. It's amazing.
What is amazing? The router or Christmas?
Best Range "Ranked first on Smallnetbuilder for range on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands" - FOR AC1900 ROUTERS! Come on guys, you have to do better than that. Smallnetbuilder doesn't even have an option for ALL ROUTERS, you have to select by class. Choose an AC2200 - AC5300 and that router isn't in the list.
The German FRITZ!Box 7580 is the best, of course :-)
Could you guys maybe do a roundup of the best modems and/or gateways for Comcast service? I've always been renting the Wireless Gateway from Comcast (which isn't horrible now that the latest one has dual-band Wireless AC) but every time I look into getting a separate modem and router I end up confused about what actually will work Comcast service and it just doesn't seem worth the hassle to try them out.
Thanks for the breakdown. Which one would be best for a condo building where most condos have a Comcast router/modem combo that puts out 2.4, 5, and a guest connection? I want to be able to cut through the other signals and get reception in my bedroom. The condo is 1200 sqft, the Comcast router/modem is near the front door, router can't be moved, bedroom is on the other side, and the router signal must pass through 3 walls and probably 10 or more other wifi signals.
I'm thinking the NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 or TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 for cost. The Nighthawk X8 would probably fix my issues, but I'm not willing to pay that much right now.
I'm surprised there weren't any Linksys routers on the list. I've always had great experiences with them.
I rely on SmallNetBuilder reviews and forums. You will find a different result in this so-called "top 3" there. I am also surprised no ASUS router is mentioned. I still use an older yet reliable RT-N66U but now that I have a few AC devices I'm looking to upgrade. Just waiting for a sale and I'd likely stick with ASUS (perhaps an AC88U) either with stock or Merlin firmware.
Rocking my Netgear Nighthawk R7000 for almost 2 years now with zero issues, 24/7. Nice to see it on the list here. I've also heard a lot of good things about the Archer line
But are they secure?
ASUS Dual-Band Wireless-AC3100 Gigabit Router (RT-AC88U).
Love my TP-Link AC1900 (Archer C9). I didn't think there would be a big jump from wireless N to AC, nearly all latency disappeared on wireless for my consoles and streaming is much better.
No Dlink? o.O
There are good refurbished models which can probably get you indistinguishably good performance for a fraction of the cost. Routers are a very good place to go with a refurbished model -- solid state, no real wearable parts, and with a router (unlike SSD or CPU performance), once you get to "good enough," further improvement adds virtually no perceivable benefit. If the specs meet your needs, that's all that counts. I suspect that the newest and more expensive ones may have better range in some cases, but in general, all of these AC models have much longer range than N, which was already much better than G or B.
Here's an AC unit that will do full speed (450 Mbps) on 2.4Ghz and over 1Gbps on 5GHz for under $70: http://www.windowscentral.com/e?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kqzyfj.com%2Fclick...
The only way you could benefit from higher speeds is if you have a small army of users all downloading video streams at the same time, streaming from your own local server. That applies to virtually no one. Otherwise, your Internet speed or your laptop/tablet Wi-Fi hardware is your limit anyway. Once you get into the hundreds of Mbps for wireless, you're basically at wired network speeds.
Some have had firmware issues with the unit in the link, but I bought a few and have not had any problems either with the stock firmware or since installing DD-WRT. It also sounds like the latest firmware may have fixed the prior problems anyway.
Has Netgear improved their reilability? I have had bad experiences with past routers from them and swore never to use them again. My Asus Rt-N66u router has been excellent the past 2+ years.
Best Router is Netgear R7800 Nighthawk X4S AC2600
What routers did you test that didn't make the list? I'm really curious to see what people think of Ubiquiti's new AmpliFi range or the Synology's routers. Didn't touch on UI either... to me that's pretty important. So many consumer grade routers are absolutely crippled by this.
How come signal strength of the antenna's was not measured as a consideration? If you only get the speed by being close by or on the same floor than you are not going to get the speed as advertised.
My new home has cement like material on the walls which blocked wifi signals. Multiple repeaters were required to have coverage in every room and the garage. I upgraded to the D-Link AC3200 and now I have signal extending outside my home without adding repeaters. I've also added wifi camera's sending recordings to NAS and there is no performance hit on the wifi network.
Best WiFi router, IMO is not a router at all; it is a WiFi mesh system. There is simply no way that one point of access can work very well covering many of our multi-story or spread-out homes. Eero is a system that I have been using for about a month now, and it rocks it. Check it out. I think mesh systems (true mesh systems, with two radios per device rather than just repeater / extender with a single radio) is where it's at.
Yeah, lots of those mesh systems are hitting the market now. Pricey, but I agree probably the best way to triage Wi-Fi.
Cheaper than the #1 router here... It isn't really about pure speed anymore, though it is nice, the coverage and security features of the mesh systems are the winning features. As long as I can get 150Mbps for fast.com everywhere in the house on my Pro 4, I'm good.
Read the comments about the Ubiquiti Access Points. Amazing gear at terrific prices. My single AC unit serves every corner of my 2300 square foot home, and about 20 feet in to the front yard and the entire back yard. I just plugged it in to a LAN port on my Archer C7, configured it, and have been nothing but super happy since.
I also have a b/g/n unit at our office that is serving the entire 7500 square foot space, which measures roughly 65ft x115ft., and has a lot of interior walls and doors.
I was going to suggest this too. Ubiquiti is awesome. Call me old fashion but I think WiFi is best handled by a dedicated wifi ap. Let routers route and modems mode. And let wifi aps meet your wifi needs ;).
Wow, I can't believe no Asus router made the cut at all. I have the Asus RT-AC3200 and LOVE it. Tri-band, 6 antennaes. Range is great, speeds are super impressive. And the router's GUI is the best i've ever used. I think it was around $200 when i picked it up.
Same here I use one of the 5ghz bands dedicated for my Xbox lol. The throughput is awesome and you get the trendmicro virus protection at a network level which is awesome for consumer side.
I must say I've become a big fan of TP-Link routers. I recommended the C7 to a friend almost 2 years ago, and he's had no issues with it. For myself I have the C9 and have not had one issue with it since I picked it up last year. I think they've nailed the sweet spot for performance/reliability/price.
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I did like my previous TP-Link router i think it was a N. It was time to upgrade though.
I have tried the Nighthawk and the Linksys EA9500, and the Linksys was better. The Nighthawk had dropouts even with updated firmware. Plus the 8 Gigabit ports are a big plus.
+1 for the Linksys EA9500. I upgraded to it when I got a steal of a deal on Amazon Prime Day, and it has been a stellar device. Still don't have any 802.11ac devices to test that out yet though, but it flies for 802.11n devices.
Running the Cisco Rv180 and a Ubiquiti Unifi access point. Tried lots of home routers before realising small business stuff is where you wanna go if you want speed, stability and range.
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I got five kids and a mother-in-law in the house, each with a cell phone, tablet, and laptop. Then there's the XB360, XB1, three Smart TVs, and two printers. On top of all that, the MICROWAVE is in constant use in the house. Nobody ever tests for this, but nuking food is like an EMP blast in the house. Any advice which router can best handle this environment?
This person gets it. This is the question I want answered! On top of a similar type environment, we have VZW users coming over to visit and everything crawls b/c they don't have unlimited data and need to jump on our Wireless.
I'd say start with buying a new microwave.
@Tom Westrick
LMAO!
We used to live in a house where the carport was beside the kitchen. Our old G.E. microwave oven would make our car alarm go crazy.
Daniel,
I don't mean to be a fact ****, but there's an error in this article Concerning the Nighthawk R7000: You say there are five Ethernet ports on the back. That is true, but from my perspective you're giving me the impression that there are five ports to connect your devices to when the 5th one is really for connecting to your modem for the internet.
I have this router myself and I had to double check to make sure I wasn't blind.
Correct, fixing.
The one Optimum (Cablevision) provided me is terrible. Speed is good but once in a while for no reason it drops the signal and recovers in a minute±. Verizon FiOS's was very good but not available in my new place
Yeah, I have the FiOS Quantum, which is way better than their old version.
I had FiOS in Philly. It was fantastic. Now I pay a lot more for a lot less bandwidth (T1) in rural NH. But hey, I get to live on a farm. So...
Blame governments for the lack of wider availability and significantly slowed deployment -- Verizon gave up trying to deploy more of it, because every town and state put out their hands to take a piece of the action, and held up granting licenses to force Verizon to comply. Businesses invest in projects to provide a return on investment to their shareholders. They are willing to take some risks if there is a reasonable chance of a good payoff (the bigger the prospective payback, the bigger the risk they are willing to assume). When governments take away the profits, the return on investment is reduced or eliminated. If the business can't make money, it will get out of the market. QED. Thanks a lot government. Can't you just stay out of the way? Now there's less competition for TV and Internet in those markets, less customer choice, and higher prices.
On the other hand, Verizon: please offer a new Windows 10 phone!!
Any actual testing done here? It seems no one ever tests the maximum range of these things, and that is my #1 concern when picking a router. I don't care about its throughput at 10 feet. The link for the "best range" router didn't even have a list for evaluating by range.
Sorry, tough for us to evaluate especially since I live in a busy apartment complex with a ton of interference (everyone here is techy/modern).
Same for me. I'm trying to find a router that will cut through the wifi clutter around me.
Using the 5 GHz band should help, and going to the 60 would probably help even more. You exchange range for lessening the interference (as an example, cordless phones are typically 2.4, meaning interference on that band).
"Cutting through" is more about getting an analyzer and seeing which channels are most free and configuring your router to use those.
Don't put too much emphasis on the range -- you don't want microwaves to heat up the brains of your loved ones ;-)
If they would wear the tin foil hats I gave them, they wouldnt have that problem
Sorry but not for me. I stand behind ASUS routers.
Don't the cables get in the way?
The best thing about R7000 is that it can be flashed with dd-wrt firmware to support VPN, smart DNS and other services to outsmart geoblocking by some streaming companies :-)
Yeah, I've repurposed an old router to make it an AP/extender. There're some crazy things you can do with flashing routers, that's a whole other topic, but one we may look into.
That's what I do too. I used to do that for the mesh configuration (multiple routers total coverage). I've more recently added powerline adapters between them. This seems to increase reliability a bit, but I think that also depends on the Wi-Fi hardware. With older equipment (back on 802.11n), I could go months without needing to restart anything where I had a bunch of DD-WRT Client Bridge setups. It seemed every week or two, I had to restart a client on my current 802.11a/c routers. The powerline adapters put a stop to that.
What about Asus?!
They definitely have some nice ones. My dad has a 2014/2015 model that has crazy range...but it ran about $225.
Best. Router. Ever.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320174&nm_mc=KN...
This I have the ac1900 and it has held up well, and when I switched to gig service I updated to the one with the better processor. That witht the Merlin firmaware and your golden. Have vpn integrated as well!
The devices look amazing, but some of us are at the mercy of our ISP and can't easily replace our router. How about a "Best Access Point" article?
We can look into that.
Thank you for writing this article. Which router would you recommend for cutting through multiple walls and an abundance of wifi signals from the condos around me? The router has to be in the front of the condo, and the Comcast modem/router combo isn't cutting through to the back of the condo.
The best access point is Ubiquiti UniFi. Great performance and simple setup. https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/
I would say the best wireless router is a combination of Ubiquiti's EdgeRouter and Unifi access point. It gives you the flexibility plus enterprise reliability for about the same price of the expensive Asus/Netgear models.
When it comes to wireless, I see many reviews judging mostly by peak performance, disregarding signal reliabilty, which, IMO, is much more important, specially when peark performance differences are marginal.
This...everyone should save alot of money and move to ubiquiti equipment
THIS .. Ubiquiti UniFi rules so hard it's not even funny. And all that while really very affordable for what it offers.. I have three AC access points in my apartment (while I could probably do with two) in combination with pfSense and it's never ever let me down.
Running pfSense on say a HPE Microserver gen8 with two UniFi AC lite access points is probably cheaper than some of these all in one solutions and way more flexible.
You are using pfSense in a home scenario wowsers. I only built and used that for businesses but I understand the options you get with it.
These are great Access Points used them in plenty of smaller offices.
I recently purchased the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter and am very pleased with it. I fully expect that in time, I'm going to go with their UniFi system.
I purchased an EdgeRouter Lite shortly after Ubiquiti released them and never looked back. For WiFi, I've repurposed my old all-in-one routers to get coverage throughout my home. Lately I've been taking a serious look at Ubiquiti's new mesh offering, the AmpliFi Wi-Fi. It's received a number of positive reviews and would allow me to get rid of all the mix of old routers and upgrade to the latest WiFi standards. Not only does Ubiquiti make great hardware, their tech support is excellent.
The Achilles heel(s) of them is a painful setup with Java , horrible support, and crazy expensive if you are going for Tri Band wireless AC MU-MIMO.
As far as I'm aware, the tp-link routers can be used as WiFi access points. Not sure about the netgear ones, but probably them too ;)
I have used the Netgear R7000 as an access point. It's a bit overkill, but it works.
I have an R7000 as my router with 14+ devices connected at the same time to include IP cameras and two Xbox Ones that are constantly streaming or gaming. No real issues with online gaming except for Halo 5 which seems to be an issue on their end (error with dedicated servers causing lag and then disconnecting everyone with error message to everyone.) So far, this thing is a beast.
All isps should be able to switch their router to bridge mode so that it acts like a modem only and then you connect that to the wan port on your router. They can do it remotely or you can do it yourself if they give you the login info. Speaking from bright house and century link perspectives and using the Asus 8 antennae spider.
Went through this very same scenario yesterday at the office. Swapped out an old Cisco paperweight for an Asus N600. Had to set our ancient 2-Wire modem/router to "bridge" mode. Seems fine now.
@tboggs13, I doubt that's the case. Normally, as you say, you can't just replace the ISP router, because it's also functioning as the modem (whether DSL or cable). That's fine. Just disable Wi-Fi on your ISP-provided router, run a patch cable from a LAN port on your ISP router into the new 802.11a/c router's WAN port, and proceed as if you had replaced it.
I own the X8 and recently switched my ISP to FiberOptic/Gigabit service. As part of signing up, I asked about the connections and was pretty aggressive in questioning the need for me to purchase their router/modem combo unit. They were insistant that the modem/router they supplied was absolutley required and that there was no other way for their service to work unless I purchased the unit (so I did).
The installer was not talkative and when I asked about the hardware he was installing he simply indicated that this was the proper way to set this up. Following a couple weeks of connection issues, another tech came to my home to troubleshoot. He asked "do you have our TV to Phone service? Or intend to have it?" -- I responded with a quick NO -- at which point he pointed at the modem/router box and said, "then why do you have this when you could just use this high-end rounter?"
I subsequently hooked the ethernet from the fiber connection box (previously connected to the ISPs modem/rounter) directly to the X8, phoned tech support who knew exactly what I was trying to do. The phone tech walked me through congfiguring the PPPoE ISP auth on the X8 in a matter of minutes and now the internet connection and entire home network is working through the X8 w/o the need for additioanl ISP hardware.
I'm now in the process of returning the hardware I was forced to purchase and seeking compensation. This is obviously a situation where the sales/service folks are being trained that no services are possible w/o this device (which they charge $100) vs. the technicians/support.
So perhaps an additional selling point on the X8 or other high-end rounters -- if they support PPPoE (I believe all Netgear Nighthawk series routers do), you might be able to bypass your ISP's bargain basement hardware.
If you have Comcast, you can use most of the Motorola cable modems. Comcast has a list of aprroved modem. Plus then you wont have to pay the $5 a month to rent theirs. Now you can connect a WiFi router to the cable modem.
I have a D-Link Modem I use with Comcast and a D-Link router. Saves me about $20 a month in rental fees. And Netgear equipment for my MOCA network. I've had good luck with both. For some reason I've always used D-Link.