Advice on router, either GT-AX6000 or RT-AX86U PRO

[bubbacleaner]

Hi friends,

I'm in the process of changing ISP provider (going from 100 Mbit/s to 1000 Mbit/s) and as part of this process I will remove my ISP provider router and buying a proper one.

My home and usage situation:

Two people in the household. A NAS running a media server which is running 24/7. Usually there are two video streams running in the household at the same time (me and the missus watching separate things). The home is roughly 90 square meters, and the router will be situated in the office which is kiiiinda in the middle of the home. I've got switches in two of the rooms which are gigabit-able, but no additional AP's in the home.

I've looked at both the GT-AX6000 and the RT-AX86U Pro (roughly the same price) but are struggling to find out which is better for me, for now and also the best future-proof since I'm not looking to upgrade the router in the near time. I'm assuming the interface and features are (roughly) the same (?), which means I'm just looking at which router can offer me the best speeds and signal strength.

Also open to other routers as well if there are others out there who fit my usage situation.

 

[Tech9]

Two people in 90 square meters home with Gigabit ISP and a new monstrous Gaming router sounds like paying for something you will never use. The described usage fits perfectly in 100Mbps ISP and with basically any home router with good enough coverage, even the ISP provided one.

Both routers you are looking at have about the same hardware inside with the same capabilities. One is marketed for gamers with RGB lights. If you really want to spend the money - get whatever comes cheaper on sale. Make sure your wife is okay with big size devices with large sticking out antennas.

I would get RT-AX86U Pro for more compact size.

 

[MDM]

I've looked at both the GT-AX6000 and the RT-AX86U Pro (roughly the same price) but are struggling to find out which is better for me

GT-AX6000
Since it has 2 x 2.5G ports (so there are not the same).

 

[bubbacleaner]

Two people in 90 square meters home with Gigabit ISP and a new monstrous Gaming router sounds like paying for something you will never use. The described usage fits perfectly in 100Mbps ISP and with basically any home router with good enough coverage, even the ISP provided one.

Both routers you are looking at have about the same hardware inside with the same capabilities. One is marketed for gamers with RGB lights. If you really want to spend the money - get whatever comes cheaper on sale. Make sure your wife is okay with big size devices with large sticking out antennas.

I would get RT-AX86U Pro for more compact size.

Thank you - the ISP provided router in this case would cost about 85 USD and is from Huawei, which I have some privacy concerns about. If there are any other, cheaper, routers than the ones I listed that you can recommend I'll gladly listen. I'm mostly looking for futureproofing (in case I wanna upgrade later on) and solid security features.

 

[Clark Griswald]

+1 GT-AX6000
This is a good time to locate a sale, since Asus has started releasing their RT-BE96U Forum Link

 

[Tech9]

I'm mostly looking for futureproofing

There is no much futureproofing with home routers. Your requirements are basically covered by any home router starting from $100 on your old 100Mbps ISP line. After all the upgrades your Internet experience won't change much. You and your wife will be watching videos the same way and websites will work the same way. At the moment you only invest in higher numbers speedtest. Your mobile devices have nothing to do with Gigabit speeds, 2.5GbE ports on a router will be useless for you perhaps for years. By the time you may need the "features" your new futureproof router will be obsolete or on End-of-Life list. The home routers market is pushing for Wi-Fi 7 already.

which I have some privacy concerns about

Your new Asus router will share data with 3rd party company TrendMicro for all main features available on it. You have to agree to data sharing before you start using AiProtection, Adaptive QoS, Traffic Analyzer, Apps Analyzer, Apps Parental Controls, Web History, etc. Something you have to know about before purchasing. Not mentioned in advertisements. TP-Link HomeCare and Netgear Armor are similar features.

It's all your choice what you are going to do, but make sure you have a good explanation why you have spent few hundreds of dollars on a Gaming router and why you are perhaps going to pay more for your ISP plan every month. Your wife may ask. She may not see the improvements you are hoping for.

 

[Clark Griswald]

True- many of the features are not going to be used immediately within your setup, but that's the itch. The isp speeds are always going faster, so why not upgrade for uses such as vpn, streaming while out, etc. The 2.5GbE is a great way to speed up your LAN.
The Wife Factor - Happy Wife = Happy Life! I upgraded our main router from AC86U to GT-AX6000, and the change was a more robust network, which allowed me to now run OVPN and WG on the router. The 6000 is also more capable of dealing with our DS-918+ as a NAS and PLEX Server.
Bottom Line- Why go cheap on such an important piece of your network (see The Wife Factor)?

 

[Tech9]

There is always something better in terms of hardware capabilities. How many active devices two people may have in use though? My guess is up to four. How many of the devices need Gigabit speeds? My guess is none. What is the return of investment then? In reality very low to straight waste of money. Video stream with UHD quality is about 30-40Mbps. Websites works the same >50Mbps. Are they going to get better on Gigabit or faster? What exactly is going to get better with 2.5GbE WAN/LAN for two users? I have posted this example before - how much coffee can you drink in the morning?

 

[bubbacleaner]

Thank you both for your inputs.

I think I've settled on staying on 100 Mbit for now - although I will change ISP provider for a couple of other reasons. I would like to get my own router at this point, preferably one with Gigabit support in case our housing society ever gets their thumbs out and gets Gigabit into the apartment complex, which means I could get it for basically free. That said, I am looking for a router to get me through the next few years. I don't need to be at the forefront of technological advances, just solid stuff that I can tweak to my liking. To put it in perspective, I can't even update the firmware on my current router, nor see connected devices. I don't think the firmware has been updated since I got the router in 2015 which really feels unsafe.

I'll keep looking.

 

[Diablo99]

Thank you both for your inputs.

I think I've settled on staying on 100 Mbit for now - although I will change ISP provider for a couple of other reasons. I would like to get my own router at this point, preferably one with Gigabit support in case our housing society ever gets their thumbs out and gets Gigabit into the apartment complex, which means I could get it for basically free. That said, I am looking for a router to get me through the next few years. I don't need to be at the forefront of technological advances, just solid stuff that I can tweak to my liking. To put it in perspective, I can't even update the firmware on my current router, nor see connected devices. I don't think the firmware has been updated since I got the router in 2015 which really feels unsafe.

I'll keep looking.

Just buy your own good ASUS RT-AX86U Pro router..
Update the Fw & don't use TrendMicro it.

 

[Kingp1n]

Serious question....Is TrendMicro really that bad? I've been using Adaptive QoS and AiProtect without issues for years!!!

 

[Tech9]

That said, I am looking for a router to get me through the next few years. I don't need to be at the forefront of technological advances, just solid stuff that I can tweak to my liking.

Tweaking to your liking depends on your knowledge. If you want easy - Asuswrt-Merlin supported router, RT-AX86U Pro will be a good choice for about $220. It's compact size, new model, will be supported for at least few years from now. If you want more advanced - Dynalink DL-WRX36 running OpenWrt, ongoing development, only $80 hardware and good quality Qualcomm. I don't know what country are you in, Amazon US prices. I don't think you need to tweak much on your router though.

Serious question....Is TrendMicro really that bad?

It's not bad, but collects data in exchange of services. Some users find how it works only after purchasing the routers. Similar to Antivirus programs running on your PC. Similar to all Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc services. TrendMicro advantage when running on the router is collecting data for an entire network at once. Just another data collecting company on your list. They are collecting not user identifying data, but usage statistics. What some people may not be comfortable with is web history statistics.

 

[Clark Griswald]

Casa Griswald has AiProtection active, since initial switching to Asus/RMerlin, and we have not experienced any issues. My thought, of all the "data collectors" out there, at least TM is allowing the option to use/not their product, and we use TM as an extra layer of protection.
Clark "Belt and Suspenders" Griswald

 

[Tech9]

without issues

have not experienced any issues

Was there a question about AiProtection issues somewhere in this conversation?

 

[Clark Griswald]

@Tech9
Question from Kingp1n

You quoted
Tech9 Post

 

[Tech9]

I only commented to how it works. Good or bad, with or without issues... up to the user to test and decide.