I suspect the Asus may have better signal strength. If you plan to run only 2.4GHz, the Asus is probably the way to go. I have the RTN13 and the 3700, and the basic coverage of the Asus is far better than the Netgear. I prefer the 3700 as a router, plus the overall throughput is better (wired+wireless) than the likes of Asus.
5GHz is extremely important to separate networks properly, and the Netgear fallback is very aggressive so getting more than 150mbps is pretty tricky if you have noisy neighbors. If you do get the Netgear, be sure you will be using the 5GHz band. It works beautifully for me, so much so that I invested in 5GHz devices for almost all my wireless requirements.
For best coverage mount the router high and centrally. If possible near a fan outlet in the ceiling near the center of the house. I have it mounted in my duplex and I never get less than -80dB anywhere in the house including the floor below.
more confused now.. tell me, since u using n13, how practical and good is the HDD streaming via usb port of n13 with dd-wrt or tomato firmware? is that really good and snappy? currently all my family members use a server i have put with 2tb hdd for streaming music, video to their own phones, pcs, laptops, ipad etc.. so i keep a server run 24x7 for this purpose, besides this server is used for torrent download as well..
i wish to use router for this purpose now (perhaps save electricity), n16 can be used for torrents, hdd streaming etc.. with 2 usb ports, i can also hook a 3g dongle.. besides with 3 detachable antennas, planning to upgrade them to 10dbi antenas, i can increase the coverage.. I may construct second floor of my house in future.. so total floor will make my house a 3 storey building.. all these things made me to incline towards n16.. for better coverage..
but 5ghz band is something which makes me incline towards 3700.. besides, everyone says 3700 is better when it comes to its powerful processor and better throughput..
may be my answer lies in increasing my budget and going for
Asus RT-N56U (9k) or Asus DSL-N55U (11k).. this will give me 5ghz band at least . but again, rt-n56u is known to not work good with mac systems for streaming and torrent client.. i have mac pro as my workstation.. hmmm
can someone pull my hair please.. need to get this router thing done asap.. help
btw, want to restrict to 8k budget at max.. unless absolutely necessary to increase it.. thanks
- - - Updated - - -
asus rt n 16
how much you buying for? have prices dropped recently?
getting it for
N16