What is the very best wireless router available right now?

Apple Airport Extreme

No. Not this.

Just a thought, but you may want to think about getting a cheap(er) wireless N router to tide you over for a bit, and then pick up a wireless AC router when they really start to flood the market. I understand that most, if not all, components lack wireless AC connections, but clearly that's where we're heading. Future-proofing is never a bad thing!

I've actually heard very good things in both build quality and wireless range about the Apple Airport Extreme, so I'm curious why you're immediately rejecting it.

I'd like to know where you came up with your current list since we're trying to be objective and all. The E4200 gets really hot and has signal issues. Don't know what the hell the Amped is or why it's on the list. The ASUS is king right now, but has some buggy features or things that just don't work. Airports are very reliable and generally very good, but expensive and aren't full of features. Also no web config, which personally annoys me.

Wild curiosity, but what ever happened to, or what about Ruckus Wireless. I remember reading about them and their phased array "Beamforming" technology to supposedly "aim" the wireless signal in the best path, but I really never hear anything about them.

Oh, maybe the price.

I've got a Linksys E3000. I bought it to replace my DIR-655 over a year ago, if I remember the dates right. Anyway, it works great for me. I have it in the garage, right next to my server rack, and I have excellent coverage over my entire house and outside, too. You can pick one up pretty cheap now, and it will hold you over until the AC stuff starts hitting the market.

The Netgear R6300 is 802.11 AC. It also has a place to plug in 2 USB hard drives.

Have a look at www.smallnetbuilder.com as they have a lot of good information and reviews.

When I was looking for my router I found there wasn't one unit that excelled across all features. Most were strong in one area but had flaws in others. In the end I picked the one which was strongest in the area I needed it and flaws in the other areas I could live with.

When looking at wireless specs, be cautious of snake oil claims such as 600Mbps or 900Mbps speeds offered by many dual band routers. The maximum wireless throughput claimed by manufacturers is generally the combined throughput of all frequencies and cstreams. A wireless client will only be able to connect to one frequency at a time (either 2.4GHz or 5GHz) not both. The higher speeds on each frequency require the client to be able to connect to multiple streams concurrently. Some devices are able to do this but a lot do not and it depends on the quality of the wifi adaptor in the client. Often this is not stated in specifications and you need to do a lot of research through Google to find out. Nearly all clients that can connect concurrently to multiple streams are only capable at most of two. Routers offering 900Mbps throughput will be a waste for most devices unless you’re buying the corresponding wifi adaptor from the manufacturer (Even then the maximum theoretical throughput for a device will only be 450Mbps not 900Mbps).
I’ve found the NAS UBS feature to be pretty useless on routers as transfer speeds are typically a fraction of what you can get from a dedicated NAS and features are pretty limited. To buy an external hard drive with a NAS function is marginally more than the cost of an USB external drive and performs much better.

If you're planning on putting custom firmware on it, the Asus RT-N16 is an excellent choice. Good processor, tonnes of memory and compatible with DD-WRT and Tomato.

No such thing. Any wireless router is subject to interference and will have problems from time to time. If you really need reliability, you have to go hardwired.

$180

The OP said price didn't matter. Honestly, I've used Airport Extreme's for probably the past 6 or 7 years, and they are extremely reliable. For something I use for hours every day, I don't think $180 is asking much if it gives me a reliable no-fuss connection. I remember having a linksys router before that and having to reset it all the time. I don't think I've ever had to reset an Airport Extreme. The only think I don't like about them is you have to manage them via an application rather than a simple webpage.

That being said, don't expect them to do miracles for high bit rate HD video. No wireless N router will help you much there. For general use though, they're fantastic.

Zon2020 -

While your waiting for router recommendations, suggest you listen to or read transcripts of the following podcasts at Security Now regarding "Buffer Bloat", as how it relates to routers having large memory capacity.

Episode SN-345 "Buffer Bloat"
Episode SN-359 "Coddling Our Buffers"

Videos of these podcasts may also be viewed or downloaded at: Twit.TV

So the most expensive = the best?

Btw I have a linksys and have never had to reset it. So please provide information on why the apple product that is over twice the cost of most very good routers is superior.

I have been using this router (with Tomato USB firmware) and it has been great. I use it with a 16 port Gigabit switch. The only potential negative against the RT-N16 is that it doesn't have dual band 5GHz wireless N, only 2.4GHz N.

I have a Linksys EA4500 and all I can say is that it works well. Personally I had no trouble setting it up and it's been rock solid since then. I run a lot of equipment through it, some hard wired and a lot wireless, and it seems to handle it all without any obvious glitches. I take a pretty straight forward approach to this type of "infrastructure", I simply want it to work in an invisible kind of way and the Linksys has met that requirement so far. Might add that this router is probably the third Linksys I've had over the past 12 or so years and I've been pleased with all of them and simply replaced the first two in the process of upgrading rather that issues with the routers. Obviously other folks experience may be different, just my personal experience.

As far as I know the EA4500 is more or less the new version of the E4200. "App enabled" doesn't do much for me other than I can access the router via any of my devices whereas before I had to be on my main PC. Quite frankly that's not a big issue as I really don't add that much to my LAN but it's there if I need it. I guess I could be missing some other whiz-bang use so I'll defer to somebody who plays more in that arena than I do. As an aside I was in Home Depot a couple of days ago and they now have some refrigerators (high end models) with screens in the door and supposedly the capability to be connected to your LAN for whatever purpose. One of uses was some kind of inventory/shopping list application. OK....whatever.

First, is there a best that is perfect for everyone? Not likely - not everyone can afford a $100-200 router.

My recommendation/experience:

1) Go with a true simultaneous dual band router, so you can use both the 5GHz and 2.4Ghz bands at the same time. (Cisco E3000, E4200, Netgear WNDR3700, etc). Typically, these high end routers also have USB ports and other features, which may be a bonus for you. Also, many or all of them will have guest networking, which is another fantastic feature to have.

2) I had a Cisco E3000, and it sucked for me. Saw some great reviews on it, but I had to reset it once a week. It would stop accepting new wireless clients. Very aggravating. Also, I hated the Cisco connect software utility that you had to use to get to all the settings.

3) Now have a Netgear WNDR3700 - it does everything I need reliably. I don't use it's extra features. It's MUCH easier to configure than the Cisco. I've not had great luck with Netgear products over time, so who knows about the longevity of this router.

YMMV - good luck,

Stan
Edited by StanF - 7/2/12 at 10:57am

Just saw this:

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/132142-ciscos-cloud-vision-mandatory-monetized-and-killed-at-their-discretion

Another reason to choose something other than Cisco

If you want the best then you should be looking at commercial grade hardware..cisco, Ruckus, Netgear prosafe, (I'm sure there are others)

I was all set for a central managed Ruckus solution with 3 APs, but decided to try 3 Airport extremes in AP mode (6000 sq ft home). I'm an anti-apple guy but I've been pleasantly surprised. There are hidden settings which allow you to fine tune the wireless modes. I don't get seamless inter-AP handover but it does the job for now. When I build in 5 years, I will see how infrastructure/equipment has changed but with a 9000 sq ft home, I will likely make the jump to commercial grade equipment and a centrally managed solution.

A) It is pearlescent white

B) Matches the color of other Apple products

C) It has the apple with bite out of it logo on it

D) It is overpriced

E) you can brag to people that you spent $200 on a wireless router for a consumer application.

How many more reasons do you need?

Edit: Hit the surge protector/Back-UPS manufacturer for protected equipment warranty coverage.