I do not but what is your planned use case? In general 2.4GHZ gives the best range and enough speed however if you are in a packed location and limited area like an apartment getting off 2.4GHZ might be worth it.
And in general asus rog is good stuff. But might also be better served by network extenders… Really depends on what you are trying to “fix”
The ROG product line is really oriented to gaming features. Unless you’re a pro gamer and dedicating/prioritizing your home network for it, it’s overpriced anx overkill.
There are still 2.4ghz devices - notably wireless printers and older cellphones (kids, roommates, visitors, etc).
Asus makes some good routers, regularly patches their firmware, has really good alternative firmware (Merlin), and a good feature set with a usable GUI.
I’m looking for something that supports ax (wifi 6), as we have several laptops that have this, and my kids are avid gamers. The router needs to support about 20 devices all told, and it’s between this and the Netgear rax120 and rax200. This is already really a lot of $, but the Netgear models are 50-150 more. Ouch! I’m more familiar with Netgear since I’ve had several of their routers, but I wondered if anyone here has used this Asus…
@robson Costco has some of the new WiFi6 routers and extenders. You might want an extender that still supports legacy b/g/n devices if you choose a router that only supports 5ghz ac/6.
Note that your whole network will throttle to the slowest device on the AP. That’s why you want separate AP names for 2.4GHz and 5Ghz.
@robson probably care more about response time for the gaming but honestly I’d use ethernet for fixed devices especially if you have 20 some total. But I know running cable is not always an option for everyone. Running one to each floor for a network extender can help.
There are definitely reasons to split to separate access points. But that does complicate things. Usually not to much because once you’ve logged a device in you’re probably done.
Would also matter how many of the 20 would be actively in use at once because then you need to look at antennas and total throughput…
I have had an Asus (RT-AC68R) for several years. Rock solid. Still gets security updates. Asus has a unified firmware, so updates for one router updates for all.
The firmware has QOS features (i.e. vlan tagging for prioritizing gaming or streaming clients). The GUI is easy to use/understand and you can tweak it under the hood (custom scripts) without breaking the firmware.
Merlin has even more features and keeps the same GUI UX.
One drawback (of my model) is you need to use SMB1 for Windows file sharing if you use the USB3 port to add a thumb drive or other external drive as a free “NAS lite”. They can use NTFS, just not format them.
The monitoring views can tell you utilization and even protocols/services. You can turn off monitoring once you’ve got an idea of how to tune (or not) your router for your clients.
I do not but what is your planned use case? In general 2.4GHZ gives the best range and enough speed however if you are in a packed location and limited area like an apartment getting off 2.4GHZ might be worth it.
And in general asus rog is good stuff. But might also be better served by network extenders… Really depends on what you are trying to “fix”
The ROG product line is really oriented to gaming features. Unless you’re a pro gamer and dedicating/prioritizing your home network for it, it’s overpriced anx overkill.
There are still 2.4ghz devices - notably wireless printers and older cellphones (kids, roommates, visitors, etc).
Asus makes some good routers, regularly patches their firmware, has really good alternative firmware (Merlin), and a good feature set with a usable GUI.
Look for a deal on an RT-AC68R/U or 88, IMO.
I’m looking for something that supports ax (wifi 6), as we have several laptops that have this, and my kids are avid gamers. The router needs to support about 20 devices all told, and it’s between this and the Netgear rax120 and rax200. This is already really a lot of $, but the Netgear models are 50-150 more. Ouch! I’m more familiar with Netgear since I’ve had several of their routers, but I wondered if anyone here has used this Asus…
Thanks all! I welcome any other input
@robson Costco has some of the new WiFi6 routers and extenders. You might want an extender that still supports legacy b/g/n devices if you choose a router that only supports 5ghz ac/6.
Note that your whole network will throttle to the slowest device on the AP. That’s why you want separate AP names for 2.4GHz and 5Ghz.
@robson probably care more about response time for the gaming but honestly I’d use ethernet for fixed devices especially if you have 20 some total. But I know running cable is not always an option for everyone. Running one to each floor for a network extender can help.
There are definitely reasons to split to separate access points. But that does complicate things. Usually not to much because once you’ve logged a device in you’re probably done.
Would also matter how many of the 20 would be actively in use at once because then you need to look at antennas and total throughput…
Really happy with the UniFi Dream Machine. One kid is a PC gamer and he’s happy.
I have had an Asus (RT-AC68R) for several years. Rock solid. Still gets security updates. Asus has a unified firmware, so updates for one router updates for all.
The firmware has QOS features (i.e. vlan tagging for prioritizing gaming or streaming clients). The GUI is easy to use/understand and you can tweak it under the hood (custom scripts) without breaking the firmware.
Merlin has even more features and keeps the same GUI UX.
One drawback (of my model) is you need to use SMB1 for Windows file sharing if you use the USB3 port to add a thumb drive or other external drive as a free “NAS lite”. They can use NTFS, just not format them.
The monitoring views can tell you utilization and even protocols/services. You can turn off monitoring once you’ve got an idea of how to tune (or not) your router for your clients.