http://usa.asus.com/Networks/Wireless_Routers/RTAC66U/
Reviewed as one of, if not the, best 2nd Generation AC standard wireless routers on the market, the AC66U can be purchased for about or under $200.
Let me tell you a little bit about this...
Every few years, wireless standards change to adapt to new technology. These allow for more data to be pushed through wirelessly at a faster rate than the preceding standard.
We're living in an age of streaming content in large file sizes. Whether we're trying to download a service pack for Windows, an upgrade for Linux, a movie from Netflix, etc, we are moving large amounts of data, and we want them now! The current top-of-the-line standard is still the 802.11N. This can give us about a 300MB throughput under best conditions, decreasing with distance from the router. The AC standard has released a few routers for the upcoming new standard, which can push an estimated 1.75GB of data!
Asus has long been a quality technology manufacturer. They are well known for their motherboards and notebooks, as well as their RT-N66U routers - considered one of the top Wireless N routers on the market. The RT-AC66U is impressive in its capabilities, and will be the prefect addition to your home theater setup for wirelessly transferring data through the house with little or no disruption.
There are a couple of drawbacks, though. First, with these being still "new", there are not as many AC network adapters out yet. Netgear's A6200 is available, but lists a maximum of 900MB. More adapters should begin to make their way into the market, though. I'd expect to see Asus, DLink, Buffalo, and Belkin, at least with products soon, with the "economy" line being at the 300-900MB range, and the better models hitting peak capacity.
Economy value? This is still something for your "Early adopter" set. While backwards compatible with other previous standards, it will be limited by the lowest common denominator. Thus,to make the most of this now, adapters would have to be purchased for each device, for which you would like to reach higher speeds. This will be not much of an assist to fixed wireless devices capped at N, G or dare I say B. However, this is a very good device if you're planning for your home theater setup to be really top line.
I'd like one of these, but I can't justify it at present. Maybe if Asus Claus reads my post, he'll send me one for "evaluation purposes"? Wishful thinking, I know. The bottom line, though, is this is a nice thing for a wish list, if you can afford it.
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