What's the best wireless ac router for SP2/SP3

[GreyFox7]

OK, guys and gals here's your chance to show off your best wireless network configurations.
If your not using a Wireless ac router please just watch the leading edge folks post their amazing feats.

Which Wireless ac Router are you using? Router Brand and Model.
What's your Marvel wireless adapter Connection Speed?
What's your best transfer speed ... either or both Locally (device to device) and to the Internet (depends on subscribed speed). Local transfers could use the full speed capability but will be limited by other factors including client capabilities. Internet transfers will be limited by your Max subscribed line speed and other factors.

You don't need special tools for this survey.
You can use Task Manager or Resource Monitor to determine transfer speeds.

The Adapter Status will tell you the connection speed. (Control Panel, if view by category use..." view network status and tasks" OR if view by Large icons use... "Network and Sharing Center", then "Change adapter settings", then Press and hold or right click the Marvel wireless adapter and select "Status".


Example:
Router: Asus AC2400 RT-AC87U
Connection Speed: 19ooMbps
Local xfer speed: 504Mbps
Internet speed: 75Mbps
Other details optional. 2.4ghz only, 5ghz only, Dual Band.

Please indicate if you're using SP2 or SP3 as well.
Note: The SP2 does not support wireless ac but will use either band/dual band.
We are interested in the speeds achieved with either SP2 or SP3 paired with a Wireless ac router.

 

[jnjroach]

Router: Netgear Nighthawk R7000 1900AC Dual Band
Connection Speed: 866 Mbps
Local Transfer speed: 25MB/s
Internet Speed: 128Mbps

All above on 5GHz

 

[GreyFox7]

Don't be shy, I know Jeff isn't the only one with a wireless ac router. Don't make me hunt you down

 

[Wingren]

I did some test with my Surface Pro 3...

Router: Asus RT-AC68U
Connection Speed: 866,5 Mbps
Local xfer speed: 280 Mbit/s when copying from my Nas.
Internet speed: 105,5 Mbit/s down and 11,9 Mbit/s up on my 100/10 connection.
Other details optional. The speed tests was done on 5ghz

 

[GreyFox7]

Thanks for the replies guys... keep them coming there's more of you out there.

For a reference point, this week I will be reviewing a budget priced ac router ($90 US on Amazon).
TP-LINK Archer C7 Dual Band Wireless Gigabit Router AC1750
1.75Gbps total available bandwith, which includes 450Mbps at 2.4GHz and 1300Mbps at 5GHz

Winner of The Wirecutter best wi-fi router review http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wi-fi-router/

Feb 23, 2015
After more than 200 total hours researching and testing 21 Wi-Fi routers and taking into account reader comments and feedback, the $100 TP-Link Archer C7 (v2) is the router we recommend for most people right now.​

I will be testing with an SP3 and Surface 2 (which has the same wireless features as the SP2) along with other devices including Lenovo X1, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, iPad2, MacBook Air and USB ac adapter to boost non ac capable laptops.

For the sake of brevity and sticking to Surface Forum relevancy not all results will be published.
The key comparison to other results so far will be connection speed and transfer rates using 5ghz.

 

[leeshor]

TP-Link makes a ton of great products even without the name recognition most other companies have. They have a great travel router too.

 

[jnjroach]

I use one of their Travel Router at work which is pseudo dual band (I.e. it supports both but one at a time). I plug my Ethernet Drop into the travel router has the company APs get only 270 Mbps and my TP Link Travel Router gets 588Mbps on 5GHz yes.... I'm that guy!!!

 

[olimjj]

Happen to be on my SP1 at this time; my SP3 is presently docked. The SP2 I own gives me similar results. I use e Linksys WRT1900AC dual band router connecting to the 5Ghz band almost exclusively. For the SP1 and SP2 I use an ASSUS USB-AC56 Dual band USB Adapter to achieve AC speeds when necessary. Here is a speed test I just ran, I have optimum Ultra 101.

 

[New2ToMe]

Ummm, if the device being connected to an AC router only has a wifi-card for B,G,N (SP1,SP2,SP3 etc) then that's all they are **ever** going to see. The AC is only going to be seen when there is a compatible AC device connected. As in, AC-to-AC.

@olimjj: AC router has **nothing** to do with download speeds. That's handled buy the **MODEM** part. Not yelling, "MODEM" is an acronym.

 

[GreyFox7]

Ummm, if the device being connected to an AC router only has a wifi-card for B,G,N (SP1,SP2,SP3 etc) then that's all they are **ever** going to see. The AC is only going to be seen when there is a compatible AC device connected. As in, AC-to-AC.

It should connect at or near max capability though... what started this was reported suboptimal results. I thought it would be good to have a collection of wireless ac routers that work well with the Surface models that the community can reference going forward.

That's also the reason I listed local transfer speed and connection speed for this survey. I'll refer you to full blown wi-fi router tests but they don't typically test with a Surface.

 

[GreyFox7]

Quick test results ...
TP-Link Archer C7 ac1750 Router.
out of the box and setup in 5 min no firmware update or check (yet).
Local transfer using source Laptop wired to Router Gb Ethernet port.

Using Sp3 : @ 6.5 meters / 21 feet. 5ghz band
Connection Speed 866.5 Mbps.
Internet download 58 Mbps Upload 61 Mbps subscribed 50/50 Mbps.
Local Xfer Speed : 32-40 MBps/256-320 Mbps

Using Surface 2: @ 6.5 meters / 21 feet. 5ghz band
Connection Speed 300 Mbps.
Internet download 59 Mbps* Upload 61 Mbps subscribed 50/50 Mbps.
Local Xfer Speed : 12-16 MBps/96-128 Mbps*
*retested 4x.

Using Surface 2: @ 6.5 meters / 21 feet. 2.4 ghz band
Connection Speed 300 Mbps.
Internet download 57 Mbps Upload 60 Mbps subscribed 50/50 Mbps.
Local Xfer Speed : 12-15 MBps/96-120 Mbps

 

[New2ToMe]

It should connect at or near max capability though

I can't see that. The issue of wifi speed will always be displayed the connected device. I m not saying that all routers output the max, but I sincerely doubt there will be much difference in the speeds the SP2/3 receives between x-number of the internal wifi-card samples. The controlling issues are so diverse that unless you had the SP2/3 sitting in the same spot at the same humidity, the same temperature and same orientation then you could make some quantitive assessments. But, only for that spot in time and place. With the whole idea of the SP2/3 being portable, the measurement of wifi speeds are instantly moot.

By all means collect numbers, but in the hardware world, it ain't gonna matter squat. One needs to understand the complexities of wifi transmissions and the things that shape the efficiency from zillionths of a second to the next, quantifying speeds has no relavence.

try going to the dd-wrt Wiki (yes, all my routers run dd-wrt) and read about the things that can be tweaked to shape performance of the router firmware. There are, at a guess 50+ and then consider that the receiving end also has an equal number of such tweakables.

Bottom line is that claimed router output and recorded speeds at the SP2/3 mean nothing. Move the SP2/3 6" in any direction and it will change.

I rest!