For a dumb ap, how do i read marketing specs?

When reading the marketing for routers it will claim so many Mbit/s on each radio, im assuming that is how fast it will go given the processor in it, but if its just a dumb ap then can i just assume any AC wifi 5 router will achieve gigabit speeds (given my setup can support that)?

That's easiest way to read all the ubiquiti ones. He took all the info from the individual pdfs and put it in a nice table.

There is more to it than just Mbit/s. You also have to look at how many radios/antenna they have. 2x2 > 4x4 etc.

Also if you want best speeds, you should make sure each AP has a wired backhaul.

Its just one ap, i dont think i need that backhaul. According to the AP chart it looks like wifi 5 will support close enough to gigabit even at 2x2. Im not sure that really answers my question though, are those number including the processing limitations of the device? An AP and a dumb AP are two different things right?

An AP can hand out dhcp etc to devices.
A "dumb" AP relies on your network to hand out dhcp etc and thus only gives you wifi access.

It depends how you set them up.

As for the backhaul, how are you intending to connect the AP? wirelessly back to your original router wifi? Just be aware that will double your latency and usually 1/2 your speed as you have your client transmitting to your AP, which then has to rebroadcast back to your router wifi. This is why backhauls are important.

Connecting with ethernet to my gigabit port on the rock64pro (which doesnt have wifi at all so i need a dumb ap)'

Ok so im still lost, a dumb ap isnt supposed to be capped by the processor since its just a glorified antenna at that point, i can assume then if it has the AC antenna then it will handle the signal going through it regardless if the now-unused router it once was is capable of processing it.

a separate AP be it dumb or not uses its own resources and not your routers. A dumb one however requires a working network to be "plugged" into. aka dhcp, dns etc.

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Buy something used, AC2600 based, it's pretty much as fast as you can go with openwrt, on AC devices.

Archer C2600s are common, and usually very cheap, on ebay.

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Thanks that makes it easier, there should be a openwrt router buyers guide with that info in it unless i missed it

Always consult https://openwrt.org/toh/start before buying.
And no, there's no guide like that, AFAIK only rules of thumb, recommending flash size, and RAM.

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Actual speeds are going to be a lot less than gigabit.

Those speeds are the speed for payload transmission under ideal conditions. Conditions are rarely ideal and WiFi spends a lot of time doing things other than transmitting the payload, like sending preambles and headers, listening to avoid collisions, recovering from conditions, etc.

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