new router upgrade from my Apple Extreme?

[albireo13]

I have an Apple Airport Extreme 802.11N dual band router. It is about 3+ years old. We have 2 MACs, 2 iPads, cell phones, etc running in our house. Performance has been ok but, I want to increase range and improve reception, as well as dial up performance if I can.

So far we have used it for web surfing and streaming music, via SONOS. No problems but, I also want to create a shared drive off the router and use that for media storage and streaming ... mostly music and pics.

I am considering the newer Apple Extreme AC. However, other options seem to offer better performance.
My other candidates:
ASUS RT-AC68U
Netgear Nighthawk.

Would this be a waste of money? What do other folks use for their routers?

Thx,
Rob

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Personally, I prefer the Apple AirPort devices over third-party units...especially if most of your devices are Apple products. The current AirPort Extreme 802.11ac transmit power is between 1.5 and 2 times stronger than the previous models - 32.5 dBm maximum vs 20 dBm maximum.

I am not sure what you mean by "as well as dial up performance if I can."

I use several AirPort Extreme and Express units in my home, and have never had any issues whatsoever.

C