Probably not the “best” as its a few years old now, but ive been rockin an Asus RT-AX92U setup for a while now and it had great reviews when i got it. No issues, tons of coverage, and great features. I’ still using the stock firmware, but i know it can be better with Merlin, i just havent had the need. Supports 1gb wired backhaul and can have as many nodes as you want. You can get a 2-pack for like $320ish i think? Then just buy a 3rd single and your well within your budget….assuming this router meets your requirements otherwise!

Okay, ive read your post a few times and i think i got a grasp of the situation. First, your pic doesnt work. Can you direct-link it rather than linking to something in reddit?

Until then, have you tried using the proprietary Y cable between the Asus Router and the patch panel rather than the standard CAT5s you’ve been trying? There’s obviously some proprietary thing going on between the patch panel and that Y cable. You didnt say where all 3 ends of the Y cable go, are there specific blue and green ports for it on the patch panel? Does the patch panel have any branding or model numbers on it?

The RJ45s (normally) are clear so you should be able to see the pin layout with the wire pairs, that could also tell us what is going on.

Well, aint much of a picture to really get a good idea. But that’s a punchdown block for CAT5. My guess would be it was used to extend a run, or repair a run that got cut- just a really ugly job of it. Looks like there’s a white wire there as well at the edge of the photo, tho…so 🤷 Gonna need some better pictures if you want a good answer.

66 block. It’s a punchdown block for telephone systems. Builders/electricians started running CAT5 for POTS (plain old telephone system) lines long ago, around the tome your house was built. Notice they are only using 1 or 2 pairs from each run. The wires coming in to the block will be from the outside telephone company lines into your house.

If you want to repurpose all or any of the CAT5 runs for networking then you’ll have to remove it from this block and re-terminate them to suit your build! Just pop the cover off and yank the wires out.

110 block is the networking version of a punchdown block, but totally unnecessary in a residential setting. I usually end up terminating these wires with RJ45s right here in the panel and put the switch in here with 1 line being a backhaul to wherever the router/modem will be.