Ok, that's not that big and 1 access point should cover it. I think you'll be fine with any wifi 6 router, honestly. Avoid any of the mesh systems, and don't use any repeaters. As long as you have the wifi 6 router wired directly to the modem, you'll get the best possible latency and performance.
Personally, I'm a fan of TP-Link, so there are two I could recommend, if you're looking for a specific model.
* TP-Link Archer AX1450 - $50: It'll do everything you want and it'll perform well. It's an older model, so the availability of it will be more limited. However, it also could be much cheaper if you're considering a used one, since people may be selling their old router when they upgrade. I see there are some listed for only $25 on ebay.
* TP-Link Archer AX55 - $65-100(there are some sales now, if you can get one for a decent sale price): This is a step up from the AX1450 and this is a current model. It'll do all the same things, but has more powerful hardware and will support higher maximum speeds, if you're looking for something more future proof.
The AX1450 is really all you need, since it can support speeds up to 1 gbps over wifi, assuming all the connected device also supports speed that high. The speed it supports is well beyond what you mentioned as your requirement. The AX55 is almost twice as fast as the AX1450, but since the AX1450 is already so much faster than what you need, the AX55 may just be overkill and unnecessary.
There's nothing wrong with the AX12. It's a step up from either of those I mentioned, but it also costs $150. If you're ok with spending that much on it, then you can get that one, but it's kinda overkill from what you described as needing.
The reason to avoid wifi mesh, is because a mesh system uses multiple wifi access points that communicate wirelessly, to extend range. With the size of the coverage area you need, you don't need the additional range, in my opinion, so you won't benefit from it. Also, in a mesh system, your traffic is sent to one of the mesh access points, then the mesh system needs to relay that traffic from point to point, until it reaches the central router. Those additional hops in the mesh system increase latency. In summary, for your purpose, a mesh system will just increase latency and won't give you any benefit, since you don't need the range. So you'd get all the cons and no pros of using a mesh system.
And to clarify that, I don't mean that you should avoid a "mesh compatible" device. Devices can be mesh compatible, but that doesn't mean you're using the mesh functionality. My suggestion is simply to not use mesh. If you buy a router that is compatible with a mesh environment, and you're not using the mesh functionality, there's no harm in that.
yo for a $200 budget with Proxmox, NAS, and remote streaming needs, you're gonna want something that can actually handle the load. your current C54 is definitely choking with 14 devices and Tailscale encryption.
under $200 options that make sense:
· TP-Link Archer AX55 ($80-90) - AX3000, 2.5G port, handles VPN decently. plenty for 14 devices and Jellyfin transcoding won't phase it
· ASUS RT-AX58U ($150ish) - better QoS, actually useful for prioritizing gaming traffic when someone's streaming from your NAS. AiMesh ready if you expand later
· MikroTik hAP ax2 ($120) - if you're running Proxmox you probably don't mind tinkering. RouterOS is powerful, handles WireGuard/Tailscale like a champ. steeper learning curve but way more control
· GL.iNet Flint 2 ($180) - OpenWrt based, built for VPNs, has 2.5G ports. Tailscale works great on it
for your use case specifically:
since you're hosting Jellyfin remotely, look for something with hardware NAT and good VPN throughput. the AX55 or Flint 2 are solid. stay away from super cheap WiFi 7 routers at this budget - the dual-band ones perform similar to WiFi 6 anyway
your 2-room apartment doesn't need massive coverage so focus on CPU power for handling Tailscale encryption + multiple streams
Thanks for the recommendations.
As the axe75 is more than twice the price of the ax55 and the biggest advantage is 6GHz compared to 5GHz (which the quest3 doesn't seem to benefit from)
I think I'll go with the ax55
Since my 5ghz net is not congested I bought a AX55.
But don't do that - it's worse than AX50 and gets 268mpbs max no matter what setting.
I think I'll return it for a axe75.
Top WiFi Routers on Reddit
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GL.iNet
GL-MT6000 (Flint 2)
91% positive of 199 users
OpenWrt enthusiast's choice; good value, but lacks 6GHz.
darklogic85
