AC86U or AC88U?

[Sean]

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to decide between these two models. I had been running the trusty AC68U, but I have been itching for an upgrade and the AC88U and AC86U are at the top of the list.

I have a 1,400 sqft home, so reaching all the corners of my house probably won't be too much of an issue for either. I understand that the 86U has the superior CPU, giving it an edge in the VPN department as well as maybe Adaptive QOS and AiProtection. While I do utilize openVPN, I only connect to the LAN, not both WAN and LAN. I also use Adaptive QOS and AiProtection. I won't be using the USB attached storage option - I currently use a Synology NAS.

Right now I use a switch behind the 68U because I have more than 4 devices hardwired, which gives the AC88U the edge with it's 8 ports.

I might try AiMesh down the road with the AC68U as a node at some point, so I'm guessing the AC86U would be better in this regard with it's beefier CPU.

With all that being said, is one model preferred over the other at this time? Is there maybe some features that I might not know about that gives one an edge over the other? The AC88U is a couple years old, and that worries me a tad, but the same can be said about the 86U being so new - who knows if it has hardware revisions down the road or other quirky things with the hardware/software. Not to mention failure rate for either...

Any guidance is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[RMerlin]

The RT-AC86U is a few months old by now, I'd consider it mature at this point.

RT-AC86U has a much better CPU than the RT-AC88U, but only 4 Ethernet ports. WIfi coverage should be quite similar.

Considering the price difference, the RT-AC86U is currently a better purchase.

 

[Sean]

The RT-AC86U is a few months old by now, I'd consider it mature at this point.

RT-AC86U has a much better CPU than the RT-AC88U, but only 4 Ethernet ports. WIfi coverage should be quite similar.

Considering the price difference, the RT-AC86U is currently a better purchase.

Thank you for the response, RMerlin.

I am able to get either, brand new, at the same price of $199 at the moment. I might also flash the model I end up choosing with Asuswrt-Merlin; do you prefer one over the other in that regard? Thanks again.

 

[maxbraketorque]

In my testing of both units, the 86U has the edge on wireless performance.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ac68u-vs-ac3100-vs-ac86u-wifi-testing.43055/

 

[RMerlin]

Thank you for the response, RMerlin.

I am able to get either, brand new, at the same price of $199 at the moment. I might also flash the model I end up choosing with Asuswrt-Merlin; do you prefer one over the other in that regard? Thanks again.

I'd get the RT-AC86U because of its CPU. I don't use the extra ports (it's more practical for me to put everything on a separate switch), and I don't care about the 2.4 GHz band being 3x3 instead of 4x4.

The RT-AC86U has a few software limitations that the RT-AC88U doesn't have (like you can't enter more than about 40-50 DHCP reservations), but that's not something that bothers me.

 

[Sean]

I'd get the RT-AC86U because of its CPU. I don't use the extra ports (it's more practical for me to put everything on a separate switch), and I don't care about the 2.4 GHz band being 3x3 instead of 4x4.

The RT-AC86U has a few software limitations that the RT-AC88U doesn't have (like you can't enter more than about 40-50 DHCP reservations), but that's not something that bothers me.

Thanks again, RMerlin. I will likely go with the AC86U.

 

[Sean]

In my testing of both units, the 86U has the edge on wireless performance.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ac68u-vs-ac3100-vs-ac86u-wifi-testing.43055/

Thanks for linking that thread - very informative and helpful.

 

[Sébastien GEOFFROY]

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ac68u-vs-ac3100-vs-ac86u-wifi-testing.43055/

Here are some additional comparisons between the AC68U and AC86U. In this case, the routers were placed in the AP location in the downstairs portion of my house. As with my original testing, each router was tested by itself, and the routers were configured as identically as possible to each other. Sorry, I didn't have time to measure speeds, but still some interesting data. RSSI and signal quality are both slightly better for the AC86U, but link rate is much better for the AC86U at lower signal strength. Channel 157 was already determined to be the best U-NII-3 channel for the AC68U. I did a bit of testing, and it seems that channel 153 is probably the best for U-NII-3 on the AC86U.

---
But max chanel availble here is 112

 

[maxbraketorque]

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ac68u-vs-ac3100-vs-ac86u-wifi-testing.43055/

Here are some additional comparisons between the AC68U and AC86U. In this case, the routers were placed in the AP location in the downstairs portion of my house. As with my original testing, each router was tested by itself, and the routers were configured as identically as possible to each other. Sorry, I didn't have time to measure speeds, but still some interesting data. RSSI and signal quality are both slightly better for the AC86U, but link rate is much better for the AC86U at lower signal strength. Channel 157 was already determined to be the best U-NII-3 channel for the AC68U. I did a bit of testing, and it seems that channel 153 is probably the best for U-NII-3 on the AC86U.

---
But max chanel availble here is 112

You'll need to experiment as I did. Its not hard, but it does take some time.

 

[Smokindog]

I'm not trying to argue with anything said above but for me the first question is about what you need and why. What speed/bandwidth is offered by your ISP and what do you plan to subscribe to? What is your use case for your clients? How many simultaneous users? Do you need to support outward facing services (VPN)? While it's nice to talk about the Corvette vs the Ferrari vs the Viper, if you're only getting groceries the VW will meet your needs

I find for home use that I can get by with older models with a long track record that can be had for a fraction of the cost and I lose no functionality but that's ME and YMMV! I've got 100/100 service and cover a long tall house. I'm retired now but officed out of my home for years (including VOIP phone and constant conference calls). For the past 3-4 years I was using AC66's/AC68's and have never had throughput issues problem. Before that it was RT-N16/N66

I recently picked up some refurb AC3100's to begin to retire the AC66's (actually I'm installing them in my niece's new place or I probably wouldn't have changed anything)!!!!

I get the urge to be on the bleeding edge but at 1/2 the cost of new (or less) those older routers start to look pretty attractive True, you won't get the latest features and gizmos so if that's your goal, go for it. I'm not judging, just trying to level set I'd ride that AC68 for another couple years until the next generation is well established. Invest that money in the meantime and double it so you get your upgrade for free

 

[maxbraketorque]

As long as VPN isn't a key requirement, and the square footage of the accommodations isn't too large, an AC68U is fine. However it is a more than six year old router, and its not unreasonable to assume that ASUS will EOL it pretty soon, probably to replace it with the AC86U.

 

[Smokindog]

As long as VPN isn't a key requirement, and the square footage of the accommodations isn't too large, an AC68U is fine. However it is a more than six year old router, and its not unreasonable to assume that ASUS will EOL it pretty soon, probably to replace it with the AC86U.

Just last week they published security updates for the AC66 and N66 so I'm counting on more years on these and the 68's!