TOP 5 popular routers for home

D-Link DIR-300/A/D1

A simple router, quite a successful continuation of the 300-series that has become a classic. A logical setup, a menu localized for our country and, as a plus, the ability to turn off the Internet by pressing a button on the case, which will be useful for those who are leaving for the weekend or on vacation. However, even if wireless data transmission is disabled, the router can serve as a switch, that is, distribute the Internet to computers connected to it using a cable.

The data transfer rate does not exceed the 150 Mbps mark (trimmed N-standard), which is quite enough for an undemanding home network. For streaming HD video to plasma, the device may not be the best solution. Judging by the owners' comments, the model differs from previous versions in more stable operation, but with a reduced signal broadcast radius. However, in small apartments there should be no problems with the router signal.

The router is able to independently check for new firmware, but users recommend doing this manually and immediately after purchase. To sum up: an inexpensive solution for small apartments or users who "just have a good router, less."

TP-LINK TL-WR740N

One of the most popular routers among east european providers. A good entry-level model (stripped-down N-standard, wireless data transfer speed up to 150 Mbps). Its capabilities are quite enough to distribute the Internet to several devices in a small family: laptop, smartphones, tablets, etc.

According to the owners, the main problem of this model is that at times the router incorrectly distributes internal IP addresses. This leads to the fact that coming home in the evening with his wife (or husband) and at the same time turning on their laptops, one of them risks not getting Internet access. However, this is very simply solved by restarting the laptop.

In general, the TP-LINK TL-WR740N is quite a reliable device, but it cannot provide the ability to watch online HD videos on plasma. To connect to the Internet as well as a TV, it is worth looking at more advanced solutions. Also, the device does not have a large "range", but on the other hand: it does not cut the speed, has a lot of settings, there is a QSS function (installing protection with a single keystroke on the router case).

For those who decide to pay a small amount, the {! model is also available.!! block='price' idgood='106413' !!!}. This router almost completely repeats the aforementioned gadget, but it has two external antennas and a full-fledged N-standard (up to 300 Mbps). In fact, two antennas provide a good and stable data transfer rate when connecting multiple users to an access point at the same time.

Asus RT-N14U

Perhaps this router is the "golden mean" in our top five. Yes, it is twice as expensive as the previous models, but at the same time it has a number of important advantages. Among them: exquisite design; support for a full-fledged N-standard with a speed of up to 300 Mbps; built-in torrent rocker, to which you can connect a USB flash drive or hard drive via USB and, thus, allow the router to download files from the Internet independently, even when the computer is turned off; you can also connect a printer to the router via USB or an external 3G/4G modem.

Many people will find the "Guest mode" useful — the ability to organize separate (up to 3 pcs) Wi-Fi network for friends and neighbors, while limiting the access lane. Despite the fact that the antennas are built-in, the ASUS RT-N14U has no problems with signal coverage. The setup process is elementary. With the help of the AiDisk function, the user can organize his home "cloud" and get remote access to files on an external hard drive. A nice "trick": the external WPS button (in fact, it is rarely used) can be reassigned to turn off the radio module if you decide to go on vacation, for example.

However, in all this "barrel of honey" there is also a fly in the ointment: from time to time you can find a message about marriages on the network, as well as complaints about the need to update the router firmware to a more recent one immediately after purchase. Many people do not like too bright indicator lights. Nevertheless, at the time of writing, this is one of the most popular models.

Asus RT-N65U

Externally, it is a full brother of the RT—N14U model, but the functionality of the device is richer, which is hinted at by its cost. First of all, we note the support for a speed of 1 GB /s over a local network, that is, when connected via cable to a computer or tablet. Some providers already offer such a cosmic speed today, but only owners of built—in network cards of the appropriate standard can use it, for comparison — these ones.

The perfect scenario for using this router is as follows: a stationary PC is connected via cable to the gigabit channel of the router, and laptops, tablets and smartphones receive the usual 300 Mbps over the air. It is unlikely that your laptop has a Wi-Fi module with support for the "ac" standard, which would allow it to get 750 Mbps.

Another important difference is the support of two frequency bands: 2.4GHz and 5 GHz. The owners of this router recommend immediately switching the gadget to the 5 Ghz band, since 2.4 GHz has long been "littered" with cheap neighborhood routers and because of this, the data transfer rate may be lame. By the way, this model supports third-party enthusiast firmware, which opens up wide features for improving the device and expanding its functionality.

Otherwise, the functionality of the router corresponds to the younger model. Since the model is more expensive, users did not notice the marriage either. However, there are a couple of aesthetic remarks: the physical instability of the device when connecting numerous cables and bright LEDs.

Asus RT-N66U

The most expensive router in this review, but at the same time the most functional. It can be recommended for use not only in an apartment, but also in a small office, because it allows you to simultaneously create several separate 2.4GHz and 5 GHz wireless networks with bandwidth settings for each of them.

Three external antennas do not allow you to doubt the range and quality of the signal. The AiRadar function will independently track the connected devices and instead of simply "spraying" the signal throughout the room, it will direct it specifically at them. Another big advantage is as many as two USB ports. Thanks to this, the user can connect an external hard drive to automatically download files from the Internet, and a network printer for wireless printing from all devices connected to the network. Well, or an external 3G/4G modem, which is also supported. Some users will be interested in the possibility of setting up their own VPN server for encrypted Internet surfing.

More technically savvy users really liked the out-of-the-box ability to launch third-party programs from a USB flash drive. Thanks to this, you can turn a router into a small Linux server in a couple of minutes. There is also support for a variety of alternative firmware that can fix the shortcomings of the factory.

Yes, the router supports full-fledged "ac"-standard (speeds up to 1 GB/s over Wi—Fi) — this is fine. But laptops or smartphones with support for such speeds are not particularly popular with you yet. However, this is an excellent model "for growth", because ASUS RT-N66U has no big drawbacks, at least the owners speak about this router only in a positive way.