Was $255 yesterday. Was planning to go in and do it the ozbargain way and get a price match, so I went to check store stock and was pleasantly surprised to see that they're actually the cheapest at the moment. Picked one up, so far so good, no more microwave interference…
got one a few weeks ago from officeworks ($205 i think it was) - pretty amazed with the performance of it. The range is great. Previously required a wireless range extender to reach certain parts of my home, now that's not necessary.
I get extra bars in places i didnt use to get before. On the downside it was only possible with a compatible ac usb dongle. Backward compatible with n. Ps3 is connected but still pretty slow connection. Didnt impove the old n devices much for me but some gains on ac dongle to sum it up
PS3 is wireless G not N
Got one from Officeworks a few months ago when MSY had them for $199. Probably the best consumer router I've ever used, definitely minimal lag compared to to the other routers I've used.
The range at 5ghz is good compared to other 5ghz routers I've used, and the 2.4ghz range is reminiscent of my very old WRT54G from back in the day when there wasn't a lot of interference on the 2.4ghz band.
It's pricey, but I'd definitely recommend it.
Price drop is probably due to the new R8000 which looks pretty sweet.
There is other good alternatives such as: Asus RT-AC66U, RT-AC68U and the top of the range RT-AC87U which runs on AC2400.
Asus has really picked up their game, and is preferred by many gamers.
Quite a few reports of R7000 having reliability and speed issues.
Asus has really picked up their game, and is preferred by many gamers.
Also been preferred by many hackers. Similar thoughts about this Nighthawk - bells, whistles and sweet name/chassis, but how solid is the firmware? My dream router has 'independent security audit' on its feature list.
Appreciate this info, thanks for the heads up.
You can install dd-wrt on the Nighthawk if you want to.
Would this work with Optus nbn
Yes, works with nbn
Why wouldn't it?
I was considering the 8000 last week & found this http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2167582
Still haven't decided yet, in no hurry, but if its gunna be run out for the 8000 & raistlin got it for $199 I guess I'll wait a little longer
Could someone recommend a wireless dongle/card that would take good advantage of these dual band routers?
Either the Asus AC66 or AC68 PCIe, with the latter being slightly faster on the 2.4GHz frequency (600Mbps vs 450Mbps).
As far as I know, there are no great USB adaptors as yet.
Can vouch for this beast of a router.
Have had this router since May this year.
Only had to set it up, update firmware and has been sitting there since.
Have experienced 0 downtimes.
Able to achieve 100mbit down over wifi (within the same room, about 3.5 metres away) - http://www.speedtest.net/result/3671947351.png
As mentioned above, pricey - but worth every penny.
That is impressive. Most I can get on WiFi is about 60mbps.
How did you get your cable internet running via this router?
I get 200 Mbit down with 802.11n on the cheapy $39 WD N900 router and Intel 7260 Wifi.
I assume you mean on a local network. The speed test is from a cable internet connection. If you are getting 200mbps I want to know who your ISP is ;)
Bought one for 172 during eBay sale. great router. Still haven't tried all features.
I bought it a month ago from shopping express during epic hour for $170. It is amazing. It truly does the job properly.
Just moved house and have a granny flat/bungalow in back yard and was wondering if this would be suitable to get decent coverage throughout the whole property?
Does your Granny really care what internet speed she is achieving? My granny feels hi tech because she has heard of that thingy called the internet from her friend at bingo.
Not sure if trolling….
Kind of off-topic, but can anyone recommend a good replacement for a Billion 7800N?, as the one I have seems to be getting old now. I'm aware that it's a modem-router device, and this deal is only for a router.
I'd like to hear some ideas too. I'd need a modem/router too I think - this doesn't have voip right?
Bought the. Billion 8800 acl and love it. All my line sync problems are gone and speed went from 3.8mbs up to 6mbs !!! It is true what they say about billion.
Or it could be just true about what they say about your previous modem / router.
can anyone recommend a good replacement for a Billion 7800N
It has an official replacement: the Billion 7800VDPX/VDOX. I'm using the VDOX myself; best router I've owned in my life.
Thanks for the reply. Its interesting that they've gone with the same model name(7800), without being told I would've thought it was just an updated version of the existing model.
When I had the Billion 7800 initially, I never used all the features that came with it. And looking at the one you've mentioned it looks to come with more features which I wouldn't really know/need to use. Not to mention it's price.
I guess in the end, I'd like the modem-router to work without any problems and have a good wireless range. Is there any others, or is this the best out there at the moment?.
Thanks again.
There's a comparison chart of all the models in the new 7800 series here.
They're all based on the same fast and stable Broadcom chipset (with the same processor and RAM), which has a great reputation for maximising line speeds for users with very long distances to their exchange, but some omit or include more advanced features for power users (VPN/VOIP support). That product segmentation enables Billion to sell modems specifically tailored to certain demographics, rather than sell one flagship model with everything in it, but with a hefty price-tag that's too much for the average Joe who just wants the reliability.
You'd probably be set with the 7800NXL. Very reasonably-priced, 2.4Ghz/5Ghz 802.11n and everything else the average user needs. If you want Dual-Band 2.4Ghz/5Ghz WiFi then you'll want the slightly-more expensive 7800DXL. If you need VOIP, then you'll want the 7800VDPX.
If for some pressing reason you need 802.11ac support (Wireless AC), which most internet connections in Australia don't come close to saturating (only really necessary for heavy streaming); then there is the latest Billion 8800AXL, but diving right into new modems is a bit of a gamble (they all tend to need a few months worth of firmware updates to iron-out undiagnosed issues.)
I guess in the end, I'd like the modem-router to work without any problems and have a good wireless range.
Don't take my word for it; peruse Whirlpool and read the threads about the 7800 series modems.
They're very well-regarded, the Billion reps continually respond to user feedback and suggestions and incorporate them into new firmware updates (which come out quite frequently), and they are insanely configurable (if you need that level of control).
I extracted a good 2-3Mbp/s of speed out of my line compared to my old Belkin modem, and managed to bump it up even higher to around 18Mbp/s downstream by lowering the SNR. The WiFi reception, which used to average between 10-20% at the rear of my house (about 10 metres and 4 walls away from the modem), is now 70% at the lowest in any part of my house (usually hits 90-100% no problem). You can leave it for months without a reset and it'll run flawlessly. Even the seemingly daunting user interface is actually fairly simple to get the hang of unless you're configuring VPN/QOS or other generally obscure, fiddly stuff. In which case, just ask the gurus on Whirlpool.
How come it is showing as $255 when I click on the link?
Try Dick Smith $214.8
I was all set to buy it for $214 until I read people had gotten it for $170. Now I can resist. Guess I'll be sticking with my 7 year old Dynalink router for a while longer :p
Guys please help which one should I get? This one or the archer d7 TP-Link with free AC double which is on special price at my now for 147$. I'm willing to pay more as long as it's worth it. I'm using a tpg netcomm. It's time for me to upgrade a router. Hope either of the router works right?
This is a router only and the D7 is modem/router combination. If you buy this and also need a modem, you need to buy a modem and bridge it to this one. The combination D7 is sufficient enough if you have a moderate-size house. If you have a large house, buy this router and another separate modem will perform very well. Or there is another very high performance modem/router combination that I am using is the Asus DSL-AC68U (http://www.asus.com/Networking/DSLAC68U/), but it is also very pricey at around $330 mark.
TP-Link Customer support is terrible. They sell your details to spammers.
Also tp link routers seem to have dns issues which often requires reboot of pc or router.
Have had this issue with them previously with several of their routers. I used to work at a pc store they get alot of returns because of this issue.
$214.80 - $20 (Discount code: WICKED20) at DSE.
damn price went up again…
I have this one from office work 3 weeks ago to replace the DGNG4000, and it about $206, petty good and very fast connection.
I got one of these and it's done the whole lose connectivity, pull the power out, bleed it, then cycle again thing.
That's normal for routers though, isn't it?
Not really.
The uptime on my Asus RT-AC66U is currently 5.5months and ticking.
I do remember it was a common thing with Netgear when I had their modem/router combos.
Poo expired…
How would this compare to my TP-Link TD-W8960N? I use Netgear WNDA3100 V2 dongles around the home.
Just in case you missed out at officeworks its the same price at TGG $214.
Don't really need a wifi tech upgrade atm, might wait till I have more high end devices that support AC wifi before getting one.
Not sure I buy the 'lag-free' claims.
Anyone tried one out?