Pros: This is an update to my previous review, "OK router but I prefer the TL-WDR4300"

I decided to re-test the Archer C7 v2 with different hardware (a Cisco AE2500 dual-band N USB adapter), and have seen the light.

Absolutely killer performance. Period, end of story.

I tested 3 routers - the Archer C7, the TP-LINK N750, and a Buffalo WZR-1750DHPD. The Archer C7 came out tops on 15 of 22 tests/specifications in my comparisons. Rating accordingly and giving 2 points for 1st place, 1 point for 2nd place, and 0 points for last place, the Archer C7 achieved 35 out of 44 points and was 1st place in:
10' away
2.4GHz - Average Signal % (90%)
2.4GHz - RSSI (-44)
2.4GHz - Max Speed (450Mbps)
2.4GHz LAN Speed Test Lite 1000MB file upload (74.70Mbps)
2.4GHz LAN Speed Test Lite 1000MB file download (81.44Mbps)
5GHz - Average Signal % (99%)
5GHz - RSSI (-33)
5GHz - Max Speed (450Mbps)
5GHz LAN Speed Test Lite 1000MB file upload (133.32Mbps)
5GHz LAN Speed Test Lite 1000MB file download (138.91Mbps)

25' away
5GHz - Average Signal % (87%)
5GHz - RSSI (-50)
5GHz - Max Speed (450Mbps)
5GHz LAN Speed Test Lite 1000MB file download (126.62Mbps)

Other results:
Gigabit using Cat5e
751.47Mbps upload (last place, oddly enough - the N750 beat it with 768.55Mbps upload)
499.05Mbps download (2nd place - again, beaten by the N750 with 511.07Mbps download)

Even when it "lost" in my testing, it didn't lose by much.

The firmware on this device is solid. Tons of features, easy to understand menus, lots of bells and whistles.

Build quality is very good. It's plasticky, but it's not cheap feeling - it feels like 'quality'.

Cons: From a networking standpoint, the only thing it doesn't do that I wish was there was VLAN'ing. Most consumer-level routers and switches (unmanaged of course) don't offer VLAN capabilities though, so I'm not going to deduct an Egg for this.

Other Thoughts: The Archer C7 is now "my router". I've put up the N750 and couldn't be happier. The C7 is like an N750 with a Hemi; just a phenomenal router. I cannot recommend this product enough. And it's priced incredibly low as well!

Pros: Build quality is A+, top notch. This is a beautiful piece of networking equipment; arguably the most beautiful consumer-level networking gear I’ve ever had my hands on. From the feel of the unit to the overall size and look, it’s a 10 out of 10.

The feature set is probably the best you’re going to get. The sheer amount of bells and whistles and customization that this unit (having DD-WRT) gives you is phenomenal. From all the selectable DDNS providers, to being able to create VLAN’s (which is largely not available in most other consumer-level routers), is remarkable.

Cons: The performance of this router is atrocious. Wired, wireless, 2.4GHz or 5GHz, it does not matter – the performance is subpar and downright disappointing. Wired performance is the best out of all though – using LAN Speed Test Lite, I was able to achieve speeds of 766.87Mbps upload and 490.80Mbps download using Cat5e cable. That’s pretty good; the upload rate is actually 2nd best out of my 3 tested devices total, but the download rate is worst. Still though, 490Mbps Gigabit speeds are pretty good. Comparatively, my best results were with a TP-LINK N750 router, achieving 768.55Mbps upload and 511.07Mbps download.

Wireless, however, is a whole other picture. Despite the average signal rates of this router getting a 2nd place finish for me, the performance is horrible – I would assume, due to the lack of any external antennas.

From roughly 10’ away, on a HP ProBook 450 G1 laptop with a Cisco AE2500 dual-band N USB adapter, my average signal according to NirSoft’s freeware WirelessNetView utility, was 87% on 2.4GHz and 91% on 5GHz, good for 2nd place for me. However, the actual performance (again using LAN Speed Test Lite), was 69.22Mbps upload and 67.17Mbps download (on 2.4GHz), and 78.24Mbps upload and 85.87Mbps download (on 5GHz). These results are worst in my testing; the best results came from a TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 router, with 74.69Mbps upload and 81.44Mbps download (on 2.4GHz) and…drumroll please….133.32Mbps upload and 138.90Mbps download (on 5GHz), a difference of nearly double (compared to the Buffalo WZR-1750DHPD).

Oddly enough, the WZR-1750DHPD fared best on 2.4GHz from 25’ away, with an 87% average signal, 67.01Mbps upload and 80.70Mbps download. However, on 5GHz from 25’ away, performance was worst, with an average signal of 77% (2nd best), but 75.82Mbps upload and 68.65Mbps download. Comparatively, again the TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 router beat it on all counts of 5GHz, with an average signal of 87%, 127.70Mbps upload and 126.62Mbps download – which is again nearly double that of the WZR-1750DHPD.

The unit also does not have indicators for each LAN port for wired traffic, which I found very strange. The lights that are there do not blink to indicate activity either; they are either (solid) on or off.

Other Thoughts: In terms of broadband performance, this router is sufficient. On my Charter cable 30/4 connection, all 3 routers pulled an average of 31Mbps down and 4.3Mbps up. No matter what you purchase, the likelihood is that your broadband connection will never fully saturate the bandwidth available to you wirelessly with any router (unless you’re using 802.11A or 802.11B, possibly even 802.11G). In that regard, I prefer to test router performance, both wired and wireless, using LAN speed testing software, since that will better indicate the actual performance offered by the router.

I had no issues joining a laptop, 3 smartphones, a tablet, and a Ps3 to the WiFi of the WZR-1750DHPD. It seemed to handle concurrent traffic without any issues.

I also had no troubles whatsoever adjusting port forwards to allow for incoming traffic via FTP/SFTP as well as VNC and a Minecraft server; similarly, the UPnP functions performed well and handled my DirecTV Genie port requests as well as my Tor Relay requests without issue.

In closing, despite gorgeous build quality and the features offered with DD-WRT, I cannot recommend this router, especially not over the TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 router which, in my testing, offers nearly double the wireless performance for nearly half the price.