I have a TP-Link Archer C7, a Linksys WRT3200ACM, and a Netgear R7800. I've used all 3 as my primary device on my network running OpenWRT.
I bought the TP-Link first. It worked, but it's an underpowered device and it was struggling to keep up with all the devices on my network. It also has a MIPS chip so it couldn't some ARM only software I wanted to use.
I replaced it with the Linksys. I had nothing but problems with it. It was fast and reliable using the Linksys firmware (but functionality was severely limited). When running OpenWRT it was a buggy disaster. One example problem, it would randomly start dropping bonjour packets for no explicable reason thus preventing my wife from being able to print from her iPhone. It had to go.
I was about ready to give up on my OpenWRT dream, but I took one last chance and bought the Netgear for cheap off of eBay. It's great. It's fast, it's reliable, and so far it just works (been running it for a year now).
So the C7 is good if your needs are limited, but I really do recommend the R7800. It's a very nice device and you can probably find it for cheap on eBay like I did.
I bought the TP-Link first. It worked, but it's an underpowered device and it was struggling to keep up with all the devices on my network. It also has a MIPS chip so it couldn't some ARM only software I wanted to use.
I replaced it with the Linksys. I had nothing but problems with it. It was fast and reliable using the Linksys firmware (but functionality was severely limited). When running OpenWRT it was a buggy disaster. One example problem, it would randomly start dropping bonjour packets for no explicable reason thus preventing my wife from being able to print from her iPhone. It had to go.
I was about ready to give up on my OpenWRT dream, but I took one last chance and bought the Netgear for cheap off of eBay. It's great. It's fast, it's reliable, and so far it just works (been running it for a year now).
So the C7 is good if your needs are limited, but I really do recommend the R7800. It's a very nice device and you can probably find it for cheap on eBay like I did.