NetGear Nighthawk AC3200

rushil01 on 25/10/2015 - 23:16

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of buying a netgear nighthawk ac3200. They retail on eBay for about $250. With the $100 eBay voucher and the cash back it will cost me about $150 net.

The reason I'm thinking of buying it is because in our house sometimes our wifi gets a little congested. I run a plex server from my pc and most of the time it is ok but sometimes when others are downloading or on the net it can cause some buffering. The multiple bands and wifi signals might be useful.

Thoughts?

Also has anyone got any experience with the netgear nighthawk ac1900?

Computing

Comments

  • bjdchwr on 25/10/2015 - 23:47

    maybe I am a little bit out of the topic, I would suggest a ethernet connection for bandwidth hungry platforms (at least for your server - if you haven't used a cabled connection).

    It might be difficult for you to drag all of the cable across your house but it is definitely a healthier solution for such a heavy application.

    I am a IT guy and I do run Cat 6 cable across different rooms and it gives me peace of mind for most of the purposes (I am running Windows Server 2012 as a home NAS and Domain Controller at home, Cisco 1941 as a Router but I am still using WD N900 as AP).

    • Tech5 on 25/10/2015 - 23:55

      ^ Do concur. Ethernet for heavy duty stuff. Wifi for phones/tablets etc. only

      If that's possible to do in your household, won't need to buy such a high end modem.

      That being said, higher end ones always have better QoS controls

      • ProjectZero on 26/10/2015 - 10:11

        I'd recommend buying a cheap DD-WRT enabled router if QoS is a requirement… they're pretty good if you know how to configure it. Will need to read their wiki page to understand though.

  • PartyNextDoor on 26/10/2015 - 08:53

    AC wireless is plenty fast if your devices support it. I run Plex on a HP MicroServer and can stream 1080p movies (10GB rips) to my Apple TV without any issues.

    I would chose AC wireless over setting up Ethernet in each room (which could potentially create trip hazards too if you're just running them across the floor).

    I have a D'Link 1900 Viper which is a router/modem combo, the two models you mentioned are just dedicated routers and should perform better than mine so either should be fine.

  • ProjectZero on 26/10/2015 - 10:18
    +1

    Unless you're devices have AC wireless capabilities, getting an AC wireless router would be pointless. What are you streaming your plex to? If it is a chromecast, don't bother as it is wireless N only.

    Downloads shouldn't really affect your streaming unless you have a wireless N 150 and you have 2 people downloading at 75mbps each. If i remember correctly, the highest quality streaming from plex needs about 20mbps… there could be other factors in the reason why you're buffering… perhaps the signal is weak? Can't really give much advice unless we know the setup you're running and the amount of devices on the network.

    • rushil01 on 26/10/2015 - 14:53

      I do mainly stream to a chromecast… I guess that pretty quickly rules out the purchase!!

      Thanks for the info :)

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join