Best AC Routers under PLN 350: ASRock GAMING AC2600 G10, 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, Beamforming, OpenWRT

Hello, I am asking for advice on choosing a router.

- the price is about PLN 350,
- support for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks,
- beamforming (the router will be placed in the attic),
- gigabit ports (internet connection is 200Mib),
- at least 2-core processor so that there are no problems with performance,
- the possibility of changing the software to alternative ones (e.g. OpenWRT) is welcome.

Is it worth being interested in the ASRock GAMING AC2600 G10 (G10 / RT / WOH / B) router?

Look for routers advertised as supporting MU-MIMO. Only the second generation 11ac chipsets support MU-MIMO and beamforming. The fact that it was standard is irrelevant.
The cheapest potential option, TP-Link Archer C6, is not yet available in stores. The higher model (3x3), the Archer C2300, is already PLN 500-600.
The best results will be achieved by something 4x4, eg Netgear R7800, but here you have to play PLN 800-900. Asus and ZyXEL models are similar in a similar price range.
This Asrock is quite an interesting option, because for less than 4 cents we have an ac 4x4 router. But it's made on the older QCA9980 chipset, and I'm not sure this one already supports beamforming. The mentioned Netgear 7800 is on the newer QCA9984.
As for OpenWrt and derivatives, you need to find a model and look for an alternative soft to it.
For around PLN 300, only Xiaomi R3P can be pulled out. The problem is that the original soft has quite modest possibilities and is only in Chinese (although the Anroid app can be configured in English). An alternative soft (Pandorabox) is available for Xiaomi.
Of the cheaper ones, there is also the D-Link DIR-882, but this one has little memory, so if something more happens on the network, it can become clogged. And support for Mediatek in OpenWrt is rather modest.

Thank you for your answer.

The Archer C2300 or R7800 are interesting proposals, but well beyond the budget.
Xiaomi R3P - here is the problem with availability and a possible warranty.

I am currently wondering about the ASRock GAMING AC2600 G10, which seems to have a good setup for this price range:
CPU IPQ8064
256MB flash
512 MB RAM DDR3
2.4G QCA9980
5G QCA9980
Switch QCA8337

The disadvantage of this router are the squeaks coming from its inside during a greater load (audible up to 1.5m), or at least this information was found. I do not know if this applies to all copies, but in the case of modernization in the attic, it will not be a bigger problem.
The only concern is the range, there would be 2 ceilings to cover. I currently have a TPLink Archer C1200 v1.0 router, it would be nice if the range was at least the same.

I will add Tenda ac10 from myself
It is a simple Router for about PLN 180 to buy in PL.
Read on, for this price it is unbeatable (of course, if we accept its drawbacks and limitations.
It has MU-MIMO and Beamforming.
Link
Link

datexxxxxx wrote:

(the router will be placed in the attic),

Then forget that you can use wifi throughout your home.

datexxxxxx wrote:

The only concern is the range, there would be 2 ceilings to cover. I currently have a TPLink Archer C1200 v1.0 router, it would be nice if the range was at least the same.

Modern routers are even more stringent in terms of wifi radiation - the power of the wifi radio for 2.4 GHz is only 100mW and for 5 GHz it is 200mW (this is the law).

However, it turns out that the older one QCA9980 is already an 11ac wave 2 chipset. So the mentioned Asrock is unrivaled. And there's dd-wrt underneath it.
Beamforming is more effective the more antennas there are, so pushing in 4x4 is justified.

thank you for any suggestions. Below is a summary of the different models:

Tenda ac10
- 11ac wave 2
- beamforming
- MU MIMO 2x2, range and performance definitely better than TP-Link AC1200 (no 11 ac wave 2),
- no OpenWRT (due to the Realtek chip)
- probably the cheapest device compatible with 11 ac wave 2
- original firmware underdeveloped
- no USB
- gigabit ports (3 lan + 1 wan)

Asrock G10
- 11ac wave 2
- beamforming
- MU MIMO 4x4
- only DD-WRT support, no OpenWRT (The use of Qualcomm chips does not preclude the possibility of adding OpenWRT support). The reviews show that OpenWRT is definitely better
- 512MB ram
- probably the best components up to PLN 400 - the main advantage
- gigabit ports (4 lan + 1 wan)

ASUS RT-AC58U
- 11ac wave 2
- beamforming
- MU MIMO 2x2
- IPQ4018 SoC . 4 core processor
- powered by OpenWRT
- gigabit ports (4 lan + 1 wan)

TP-Link Archer C7 v5
- 11ac wave 2
- beamforming
- MU MIMO 3x3
- powered by OpenWRT
- gigabit ports (4 lan + 1 wan)

Must have for me are: 11ac wave 2, gigabit ports, alternative software (preferably OpenWRT, however DD-WRT can also be). The questions that arose while looking for the router were:
1. 512MB RAM - is this amount of memory really needed?
2. Does the 4-core processor really give you anything? If so, ASUS RT-AC58U also seems to be an interesting proposition, due to the fact that I do not need Acer goodies (H2R, infrared ports)
3. Is MU MIMO 4x4 definitely better than 2x2?

regarding the 3rd point:
article about whether we need 4x4 MU MIMO - in short, 2x2 is more than enough. 4x4 also requires a device that supports 4x4 MU MIMO. Due to the use of more antennas, beamforming should perform better for all ac compatible devices, but don't expect too much.

datexxxxxx wrote:

512MB RAM - is this amount of memory really needed?

No (at the moment) - but each software is developmental, so it needs more and more memory to work.

datexxxxxx wrote:

does the 4-core processor really give you something?

It allows for greater traffic routing, faster NAT, faster packet processing, lower power consumption due to multi-threading of the processor.

datexxxxxx wrote:

is MU MIMO 4x4 definitely better than 2x2?

If the network cards in the devices do not support it, then even MU MIMO 16x16 will not help!

Please remember that the specificity of routers are closed devices (you can do exroot to enlarge the ROM - but there are always problems with that later).

KOCUREK1970 wrote:

Please remember that the specificity of routers are closed devices (you can do exroot to enlarge the ROM - but there are always problems with that later).

Flash can be replaced, sometimes USB can be added etc. But you have to know how.

At the moment, the favorite is ASUS RT-AC58U, due to the 4 core processor, 128MB of RAM, OpenWRT, 11 ac wave 2, the price is about 365 PLN. Is there a router with similar capabilities at this price than mentioned in the previous comment? As for the processor, it can also be 2-core.

The ZyXEL NBG6617 has the same chipset as the Asus AC58U and 256M RAM, but does not have an OpenWrt distribution ready.
From the budget ones, there are also devices such as D-Link DIR-882 (4x4, approx. 440 PLN), but the OpenWrt support for Mediatek is weak.

How much RAM is needed depends on what will start on the router, means how many clients, how many features ... 128M on 2x2 hardware is rather enough. But with larger ones, you'll melt the torrent, fire up QoS controls, some DLNA, a few more clients, and 128M can get clogged.

datexxxxxx wrote:

Tenda ac10

Asrock G10

ASUS RT-AC58U

TP-Link Archer C7 v5

Of these models, only AsRock G10 and Asus AC58 have Mu-Mimo:

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Tenda_AC10

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/ASRock_G10

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/ASUS_RT-AC58U

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/TP-LINK_Archer_C7_v5.x

internick wrote:

datexxxxxx wrote:

Tenda ac10

Asrock G10

ASUS RT-AC58U

TP-Link Archer C7 v5

Of these models, only AsRock G10 and Asus AC58 have Mu-Mimo:

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Tenda_AC10

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/ASRock_G10

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/ASUS_RT-AC58U

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/TP-LINK_Archer_C7_v5.x

So the manufacturer on the main page is lying?
Tenda AC10
Wiki is not the best source in this case ...
You have to check what is actually installed in the router (what chip) and everything would be clear. You can probably find this data on the web.