I need a new router (internet, not wood)

[markem]

Originally Posted by hammondc

Is there anything to BeamForming or MU-MIMO Technology? Is the new Wireless-AC standard even necessary?

MIMO just means that the device uses multiple antennas in an intelligent way. MIMO has been around a long time in cellular and wide area wireless. Its use in home networking is all dependent on the environment. If you have a large coverage area with dead zones, the MIMO beamforming can be of use but then a repeater would also be of use. If you have pretty good coverage where you need it, then it may not be worth the cost. As it gets more and more ubiquitous, it should become the cheap standard to household and small business wireless. Not every router with multiple antennas does MIMO or beamforming.

The "MU" part of MU-MIMO is really more about multiple users each having multiple antennas. This is unusual in most home systems. Presently, very few laptops, for example, can do beamforming but can certainly take advantage of a router that uses beamforming.

My router has 802.11/n on the wireless side, 100 Mb on the wired side and 35/25 Mb up/down on the provider side. The gamers in the house are very happy and my email is pretty snappy.