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Which ASUS router?

Last response: in Networking
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Hi all :) 

I find myself having to replace a good US robotics ADSL2+ router\modem. Having initially set sights on a NETGEAR dgnd3700, I soon became aware of some of its flaws and the difficulty in getting a hold of the updated version.

So right now I'm considering either the ASUS DSL-N55U, the RT-N66U or the RT-AC66U. Of these three, only the first one has an integrated modem, so I would like to have your opinion on wether I should go ahead and grab that one, or rather go for one of the other two and just connect it to any ADSL2+ modem I can get my hands on.

I ask because this option would mean:

1- having double the ram (256MB instead of 128 for the N55U)

2- a seemingly better heat spreader (the router I have now is currently sitting caseless on a table with a fan blowing air on it, and a pentium III heatsink on the chip)

3- the chance to keep on using it in the unlikely event that my home gets cable fiber (the N55U has no WAN port).

I also noticed that all three of these are advertised as being capable of handling 300,000 connections; is it possible that pairing them with a low quality modem will bottleneck this number?

Thanks in advance

ps- the wifi aspect is not a factor in this decision, as even the DSL-N55U more than meets my bandwidth and coverage needs.

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Unless you’re building a turnkey solution for mom & dad, or the grandparents, stay away from combo devices. This severely limits your options. And all for the sake of a stupid modem which does next to nothing, at least relative to the complexity of the router. Because once you do, it usually can't be reused (most don't expose a WAN port), which will prove a problem if you change internet technologies (dsl->fiber) and end up loving the router, esp. if you just spent >$100 for it! It’s completely unnecessary. ISP’s love them because they’re easier to manage, lock down, replace, less things to go wrong, etc., but they provide almost no advantage to anyone w/ even a modest amount of technical savvy.

eibgrad said:
Unless you’re building a turnkey solution for mom & dad, or the grandparents, stay away from combo devices. This severely limits your options. And all for the sake of a stupid modem which does next to nothing, at least relative to the complexity of the router. Because once you do, it usually can't be reused (most don't expose a WAN port), which will prove a problem if you change internet technologies (dsl->fiber) and end up loving the router, esp. if you just spent >$100 for it! It’s completely unnecessary. ISP’s love them because they’re easier to manage, lock down, replace, less things to go wrong, etc., but they provide almost no advantage to anyone w/ even a modest amount of technical savvy.


Thank you very much for your reply; indeed I think the N66U would be the better option. Apparently the marketed aluminium heatsink is real as the device weighs 50 grams more than its combo counterpart, while still not having a modem inside; this fact paired with some of the reports I found of the N55 being a bit hot is enough to make the decision I think.

It would be awesome if you could clear this modem aspect for me; as I understand it all comes down to wether it has a broadcom or a trendchip chipset inside, and both have some advantages when it comes to establishing a connection to the ISP.

My question is: how much should I invest into a ADSL2+ modem to pair with a 130$ router? It's not like I run a datacenter in my house, but it would be nice to know that the router can work to its full potential, and to have a nice range of options to tweak when it comes to setting the sound to noise ratio etc..

thanks again

AFAIK, Broadcom and TrendChip produce wireless chips, and have nothing to do w/ the modem. The best thing to do is use the modem your ISP recommends because all you’re looking for is to have it work, and work reliably. Once it does, you essentially never touch it again. I’ve had my latest for 6 years. I never touch the darn thing, ever. I just now went over to check the brand name since I didn’t even recall it; it’s a little ol’ cheapo WebStar cable modem, probably worth $20-30. Works perfectly. So as long as it works and works reliably, you should spend as little as possible.

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