RT-AC88U

[Gitsum]

So I see ASUS has the new 88U product page up and Merlin has added support for it in his firmware. Not sure when it will be available but I am excited to get one. I'm assuming it does NOT have a Quantenna chipset in it so that should be the end of that mess.
https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AC88U/

 

[RMerlin]

So I see ASUS has the new 88U product page up and Merlin has added support for it in his firmware. Not sure when it will be available but I am excited to get one. I'm assuming it does NOT have a Quantenna chipset in it so that should be the end of that mess.
https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AC88U/

BCM 47094 CPU, with a pair of BCM4366 radios.

 

[VANT]

one bcm4366 have both radios 2.4 and 5GHz ? I read that on specs....So why 88u have two bcm4366 ?

 

[RMerlin]

one bcm4366 have both radios 2.4 and 5GHz ? I read that on specs....So why 88u have two bcm4366 ?

One chip per band, a chip cannot handle both bands at the same time.

 

[snakebite3]

One chip per band, a chip cannot handle both bands at the same time.

What is this WTfast that's included with the router? Does it have an option in the FW? what kind of subscription is it and does it expires?

 

[RMerlin]

What is this WTfast that's included with the router? Does it have an option in the FW? what kind of subscription is it and does it expires?

I don't know anything more than what's on Asus's product page, and what's on WTFast's own website.

 

[charlie2alpha]

I don't know anything more than what's on Asus's product page, and what's on WTFast's own website.

I got curious so I went to check their page. Sounds like a load of crap to me, but that's just my personal opinion...

 

[snakebite3]

I got curious so I went to check their page. Sounds like a load of crap to me, but that's just my personal opinion...

There're mix reviews. I'm not sure if works or not. It does sounds like snakeoil.

 

[RMerlin]

I got curious so I went to check their page. Sounds like a load of crap to me, but that's just my personal opinion...

I suspect it might help mostly for people connecting to oversea game servers, as these might provide with better routes than what their ISP uses. But someone in the US connecting to a US-based game server, I doubt it.

I will eventually give it a try with that one online game I play. My average ping time is between 90 and 150 ms, as the game server is quite some distance away. Will be easy to see what kind of latency difference it makes. I just need to wait for the feature to be fully implemented however (it's not complete yet in 9177).

 

[charlie2alpha]

I suspect it might help mostly for people connecting to oversea game servers, as these might provide with better routes than what their ISP uses. But someone in the US connecting to a US-based game server, I doubt it.

I will eventually give it a try with that one online game I play. My average ping time is between 90 and 150 ms, as the game server is quite some distance away. Will be easy to see what kind of latency difference it makes. I just need to wait for the feature to be fully implemented however (it's not complete yet in 9177).

That sounds like a VPN solution for games. The usage case would be rare as most major mmo games have various server spread out in geographical regions, for example LOL and Blizzard's DIablo III have different servers to choose from depending on region. I play both of these games when I have some free time and I get around 90-120ms usually. But hey, if such services exists, someone is buying!

 

[Gitsum]

Merlin, do have an ETA on availability in the USA for this router?

 

[RMerlin]

Merlin, do have an ETA on availability in the USA for this router?

No. Asus only said it should ship during Q4, so that means at some point before the end of the year - and they didn't specify where those shipments would begin. On at least one occasion they did the initial launch in Asia (it was for the RT-AC87U if my memory's right).

 

[sfx2000]

I suspect it might help mostly for people connecting to oversea game servers, as these might provide with better routes than what their ISP uses. But someone in the US connecting to a US-based game server, I doubt it.

I will eventually give it a try with that one online game I play. My average ping time is between 90 and 150 ms, as the game server is quite some distance away. Will be easy to see what kind of latency difference it makes. I just need to wait for the feature to be fully implemented however (it's not complete yet in 9177).

WTFast - Looks like it's a value-add package - Windows .Net Framework 3.5 based... not much use to Mac, iOS, Linux, Android folks...

 

[RMerlin]

WTFast - Looks like it's a value-add package - Windows .Net Framework 3.5 based... not much use to Mac, iOS, Linux, Android folks...

Which is the idea behind the router-based client. It will work with any type of device, regardless of the device's OS - the client will be on the router.

 

[sfx2000]

Which is the idea behind the router-based client. It will work with any type of device, regardless of the device's OS - the client will be on the router.

If they've ported it over from .NET/C# to something that runs on a smaller memory footprint with an ARM core - that would be interesting... but honest, I've been there more than a few times with 3rd party companies promising exactly what WTF (how appropriately named, lol) is trying to do with embedded devices...

Generally though, between IEEE and IETF, things just generally do what they do on the internet..

To me though - there may be some benefit to the SW bundle running on a WinXX personal computer, and there, the router is just moving packets...

 

[sfx2000]

So regarding the 3rd add-on - I'm more keenly interested in the RT-AC88U and RT-AC3100 devices - outside of the X-Stream variants and the Quantenna experiment - these two are likely going to be the big players in 2016 - some folks might find the RT-AC5300 interesting, but my gut tells me that the 88U/3100 devices are the right place to be...

 

[RMerlin]

So regarding the 3rd add-on - I'm more keenly interested in the RT-AC88U and RT-AC3100 devices - outside of the X-Stream variants and the Quantenna experiment - these two are likely going to be the big players in 2016 - some folks might find the RT-AC5300 interesting, but my gut tells me that the 88U/3100 devices are the right place to be...

They both look like solid devices, and the AC88 has been doing great for me so far. The big question will be what the pricing will look like, compared to the competition's Qualcomm's AC2600 products.

 

[sfx2000]

They both look like solid devices, and the AC88 has been doing great for me so far. The big question will be what the pricing will look like, compared to the competition's Qualcomm's AC2600 products.

True, true... but gazing into the crystal ball, prices will have to come down a bit - most folks will not tolerate a $250USD product on the shelves...

2016 will be interesting - my guess is that the RT-AC88U is in the right place for many here - depends on how open it will be...

 

[RMerlin]

True, true... but gazing into the crystal ball, prices will have to come down a bit - most folks will not tolerate a $250USD product on the shelves...

2016 will be interesting - my guess is that the RT-AC88U is in the right place for many here - depends on how open it will be...

I expect the price to be above that of the RT-AC87U, especially as this model will have more Ethernet ports, and sport a faster CPU.

 

[Puppa]

BB in the US has the RT-AC87R/U on clearance now. I thought that was interesting, since not even the RT-AC68U is on clearance yet. Perhaps the RT-AC88U will be a replacement for that one at the same price point?? We can hope...