Asus RT-AX86U $458 (Was $569) Delivered @ Wireless1.
Review by Dong Knows Tech.
Asus RT-AX86U Wi-Fi 802.11ax Router $458 (Was $569) Delivered @ Wireless1
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Twix on 13/08/2020 - 14:27 wireless1.com.au (509 clicks)
Last edited 13/08/2020 - 14:30 by 1 other user
Last edited 13/08/2020 - 14:30 by 1 other user
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What's the problem with the AC88U?
Bugs in Asus firmware. The Linux kernel based on which they developed the firmware is way too old, and there's a bunch of bugs lying in different modules of the system. Some may never experience a bug but a certain amount of users do, that's also why one of main purposes of Merlin firmware is to "fix the bugs". Besides, the functionality of QoS is just awful. It either doesn't work, or work too hashly not complying to the standard you set up, or triggered bugs and stopped working out of no reason and you need to change other irrelevant settings to make it work again (sounds ridiculous huh? but it works). What's worse is this is not only caused by firmware but also hardware to blame as well. That's a long story to tell and long story short, I'm tired of it.
Another reason is AX88U is still based on Broadcom solution. Back to 5 years ago we might have no other choice but things have changed a lot. Now we have Qualcomm being a strong competitor in high-end router market (in mid and low end it's not the case). It has better performance and much lower TDP brought by more advanced semiconductor process, making Asus no longer the one and necessary choice.
Why not? What brand router are you changing to?
Now I'm using RAX120 by NetGear. Simply amazing.
@gfunk zero: Yeah I saw the listing before and I think that's nothing more than a gimmick. For the reason God-knows-why this RAX120 is very hard to find in Australia with stock. But if you're really instresting in it, here is a link that looks feasible with fairly good price. And if you want it right now, you can find it here but with more cost of course.
I bought AX88U for $370 last year Black Friday deal and it's been awesome since. However this one is actually all around faster in term of performance as it spots 2.5Gbps port it allows for over 1Gbps WiFi. The AX-88U is limited by the 1Gbps port so even if it's actually capable of higher speed it plainly can't.
Other than that the internal hardware is very much similar.
OP, did you just saw my post on Whirlpool and posted this lol ?
No I was browsing Dongs reviews and checked best Oz pricing.
No I was browsing Dongs
I got different search results
saw a post? I think you meant soar
Is it better to get the Asus Zen AiMesh system?
XT8 or XD4?
Not sure. Just curious.
My set of AC67U is more than fine for non gaming usage.
Amazon US is selling for 270 USD delivered, works out to be 377 AUD
Are there any differences between US and AU stock?
Do you mean 270 USD + the 10% GST , everybody forgets the 10% GST, its been 2 years now !
I got my AX88U for $376.30 during Bing Lee Black Friday sale last year… Although AX86U has an 2.5Gbps port which AX88U doesn't.
2.5G WAN is no use until NBN bring out a new NTD.
It's a LAN/WAN port so it doesn't have to rely on NBN. It could be awesome for your LAN.
Also that allows the AX86U to deliver faster single client WiFi 6 speed via 5Ghz. The AX88U is capable of 1.6Gbps over 5Ghz but that's only to two separate clients. Through a single client it's hard limit by the 1Gbps port.
Man I'm so tired of waiting for a deal on the AC86U, makes me wanna just go for this one…
It's selling under 300 in China and they even have a Gundam version.
300 AUD ? Even buying direct from JD.com will cost you more than AU $400 as you have to pay 10% GST at checkout.
Around 1380 to 1599 (~300) on taobao.
where did u see that price?, im seeing 1899 - 1999
which is better ? Netgear AX8 or Asus AX88U ?
I have both.
Equally excellent products.
How do you find the AX86U wifi range compared to the AX88?
Got the AX3000 for ~ $350 from Kogan.
This one seems better.if you're going to buy it consider ebay.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Asus-RT-AX86U-AX5700-Dual-Band-W…coupon expires 17/08/20. but you save $15.50 overall
Total is $442.50
For me it's showing $458 on ebay. What's the code?
yeah sorry about that i'll edit my post, its for “Eligible Customers”.
Isn't the Unify Dream Machine a better buy at $499 ?
Each have their pros and cons. Overall both are fairly good.
for gaming ?
No real difference for gaming. Pick a good ISP.
Any recommendations for a router around the $200 range?
Wifi 5 or 6?
I would say Wifi 5 as it is mainly used for the NBN and FTTC
Deco M5.
Asus AC68U
Thanks for that, i did see that but not currently on sale as its been under $170 in the past when i checked yesterday and the current router has died, so needs a replacement, but will definitely keep it on my list.
There seems to be a 3% cash back available - which would bring the price down to $444.26
If we are not really gamers, is there a benefit in spending this much on a router (instead of something half the price), for a large family with the usual streaming devices, netflicx, IOT connected devices, web meeting apps and general use?
Is a gaming router more stable than a non-gaming one?
The benefit of this Asus router is wifi AX and your electronics need a wifi AX chip in them to get the most speed advantage. You can get something half price that performs fairly well.
A gaming router is not more stable than a non gaming router.
Fair enough, sounds like it's not worth paying for a gaming router unless you're going to use if for what it was designed for!
What routers are on your shortlist?
@Twix: I was contemplating the TP-Link Wi-Fi 6 AX1500 that's $160ish but then read the amazon reviews which had a few people complaining about reliability.
Coming from my plagued with problems Netgear Nighthawk R8000, I just want something that is stable and works…. After fiddling and rolling back fw (a few of us in the TP link post have the same router and issues with it) I finally have it almost working properly now, except for some reason my Nest hub Max drops wifi frequently (my other home mini and nest mini remain connected) and also webex meetings don't work well (have to resort to phone hotspot). All other platforms like zoom, google meet, adobe connect, MS Teams work w/o problems. I've just about given up on this router.
@highon2str: ASUS routers are supported much longer and quite frequent update. My AC68U is still being supported, I use it as a Node in AIMesh mode.
Gaming is just a label, it doesn't do much if at all. While WTFast does work in my case for FFXIV by improving pung slightly and makes it better during server congestion (FFXIV just dropped patch 5.3 on Tuesday and server imploded), 99% of the time there's no real difference.
It is however a really good router. I bought the AX88U which is very similar in term of hardware, just missing the 2.5Gbps port, and its performance is great. Granted I also have 1Gbps HFC NBN with ABB, if you don't have very fast internet you can do with routers a lot cheaper.
Seen AX88U for $477.49 a month ago…
However as a 5 years' user of AC88U I wouldn't be buying high-end router from Asus any more.