ASUS Blue Cave AC2600 Dual-Band Wireless Router Reviewed

[arthurlien]

the name change seems believable with different chip manufacturers. CTF might be a broadcom specific term

CTF is broadcom.

 

[RMerlin]

I notice that the NAT Acceleration function in Blue Cave is called "PPA (Protocol Processing Accelerator)", not "CTF" I usually see in other ASUS router, is that any different?

Broadcom SDK platform has CTF, Broadcom HND has Packet Runner, Intel has PPA, and Qualcomm has FE/Fastpath. Each manufacturer has their own technology.

 

[av566788]

Broadcom SDK platform has CTF, Broadcom HND has Packet Runner, Intel has PPA, and Qualcomm has FE/Fastpath. Each manufacturer has their own technology.

I found that the CTF and PPA seem like have different limitation. For instance, in my old AC68u (C1 version), the bandwidth limiter function will not affect CTF, but Adaptive Qos will disable CTF in AC68u. In Blue Cave, just the other way around. Unfortunately, I need bandwidth limiter more than Adaptive Qos, so I switch back to my AC68u and return the Blue Cave.

I'm also kind surprised that if the nat acceleration is disabled, AC68u (the previous generation router) has better performance than Blue Cave. My ISP provides FTTH 300/100 Mbps internet connection. Without nat acceleration, I can still get almost 200Mbps download and 100Mbps upload from AC68u, but can only get around 110~120Mbps from Blue Cave....

 

[RMerlin]

I found that the CTF and PPA seem like have different limitation. For instance, in my old AC68u (C1 version), the bandwidth limiter function will not affect CTF, but Adaptive Qos will disable CTF in AC68u. In Blue Cave, just the other way around. Unfortunately, I need bandwidth limiter more than Adaptive Qos, so I switch back to my AC68u and return the Blue Cave.

I'm also kind surprised that if the nat acceleration is disabled, AC68u (the previous generation router) has better performance than Blue Cave. My ISP provides FTTH 300/100 Mbps internet connection. Without nat acceleration, I can still get almost 200Mbps download and 100Mbps upload from AC68u, but can only get around 110~120Mbps from Blue Cave....

The rt-ac68 CPU is almost twice as fast as the BlueCave one.

Sent from my P027 using Tapatalk

 

[escape75]

I found a BIG issue with my blue cave ...

"NAT traffic is processed by CPU" when WAN Mac is cloned,
"PPA (Protocol Processing Accelerator) is enabled" with cloning disabled.

I hope this can be fixed with a firmware upgrade!

 

[sanke1]

My RT-AC88U + Blue Cave in mesh node have been working flawlessly without crashes or throwing out my wifi devices for more than 30 days. I am starting to feel uneasy about it. Something doesn’t compute in ASUS land.

 

[jjackson]

ASUS' Blue Cave Dual Band AC2600 Wireless Router doesn't do much to promote Intel's reputation as a Wi-Fi router technology supplier.

Read on SmallNetBuilder

Hi. First off want to say thanks for the info & reviews here. Love the site, and look forward to learning as much as "dumb retail" can .

However, after reading a review I am more confused than ever which to buy.

In the market for a new router (my current one is a Valet lol and believe it or not it's rock solid and can stream Netflix w/o hiccup 2 floors up).

However, I think it's time to upgrade , more security etc.

This blue cave is on sale at bestbuy for $90. But that Phiacomm that ranks higher is same price. Which do I buy? Or, another?

Thank you.

 

[thiggins]

I'm not sure Phicomm is in the U.S. market long term if that matters to you.

 

[Cyn]

Hi. First off want to say thanks for the info & reviews here. Love the site, and look forward to learning as much as "dumb retail" can .

However, after reading a review I am more confused than ever which to buy.

In the market for a new router (my current one is a Valet lol and believe it or not it's rock solid and can stream Netflix w/o hiccup 2 floors up).

However, I think it's time to upgrade , more security etc.

This blue cave is on sale at bestbuy for $90. But that Phiacomm that ranks higher is same price. Which do I buy? Or, another?

Thank you.

If you use google express, you get extra 20% off your first order! I ordered my Blue Cave in the morning. Going to test it out and see how it performs, worst case I'm switching to a TP-Link. But performance wise its good but not many reviews on the internet though.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm not sure Phicomm is in the U.S. market long term if that matters to you.

I'm not certain that Intel is moving forward with that platform in the SOHO market - whether the MIPS based chipset here, or the PUMA5/6 chips

 

[jjackson]

I'm not sure Phicomm is in the U.S. market long term if that matters to you.

I'm not sure if this matters, should it? Does this mean they won't honor anything like a warranty or return if it breaks?

The Phicomm has impressive #'s and inexpensive, is it easy to setup? Will it work out-of-box or do I have to be an IT expert to get it running?

 

[jjackson]

If you use google express, you get extra 20% off your first order! I ordered my Blue Cave in the morning. Going to test it out and see how it performs, worst case I'm switching to a TP-Link. But performance wise its good but not many reviews on the internet though.

Thanks for heads up on "google express" I'll check into it before I purchase. Pls let me know how you like the Blue Cave, din't make a purchase yet but I will make a decision over next few weeks. I'd like to keep my cost around $100 or less. Hoping more deals show up on Cyber Monday.

Also, if any you guys/gals would like to make a recommendation, I'd definitely would appreciate & consider it!

 

[RMerlin]

I'm not sure if this matters, should it? Does this mean they won't honor anything like a warranty or return if it breaks?

The Phicomm has impressive #'s and inexpensive, is it easy to setup? Will it work out-of-box or do I have to be an IT expert to get it running?

My main worry would be firmware support. No idea what Phicomm's track record is with these.

 

[ricky124]

My main worry would be firmware support. No idea what Phicomm's track record is with these.

I bought the Blue Cave during the Best Buy special. Presently, it outperforms my previous two in one, the SBG6782-AC Surfboard Cable Modem & Wi-Fi Router. I just bought another Asus router called the RT-ACRH17 (AC1700). The ACRH17 is a router that I can not recommend, as it disconnected multiple times a day. It seemed to work well for about two weeks and then the system log started showing disconnects. Asus Tech support wanted more detail, send the log to them and troubleshoot it. As much as I love technology, I want it to work for me, not the other way around. Anyhow, the Blue Cave has a been a trooper and the system log shows no disconnects thus far. I have had no issues with it and I am hoping this continues. Granted, I am the consumer type that it is geared towards, as I will not mess with setting except maybe the security ones. I also contemplated the Phicomm but like the reviewer of this site mentioned, we don't know what this brand is like. Asus may not make every router as great as some of it's leading ones but I believe has history and a level of reliability I can expect to continue. I have my Blue Cave paired with a CM700 by Netgear.

 

[Cyn]

I bought the Blue Cave during the Best Buy special. Presently, it outperforms my previous two in one, the SBG6782-AC Surfboard Cable Modem & Wi-Fi Router. I just bought another Asus router called the RT-ACRH17 (AC1700). The ACRH17 is a router that I can not recommend, as it disconnected multiple times a day. It seemed to work well for about two weeks and then the system log started showing disconnects. Asus Tech support wanted more detail, send the log to them and troubleshoot it. As much as I love technology, I want it to work for me, not the other way around. Anyhow, the Blue Cave has a been a trooper and the system log shows no disconnects thus far. I have had no issues with it and I am hoping this continues. Granted, I am the consumer type that it is geared towards, as I will not mess with setting except maybe the security ones. I also contemplated the Phicomm but like the reviewer of this site mentioned, we don't know what this brand is like. Asus may not make every router as great as some of it's leading ones but I believe has history and a level of reliability I can expect to continue. I have my Blue Cave paired with a CM700 by Netgear.

Finally someone with the Blue Cave! How is your one performing in the case of heating? The bottom of my blue cave seems to be over heating most of the time and I have a fear if it will affect the performance and then stop working after a while.

 

[ricky124]

I had never thought of touching the bottom of the Blue Cave. To the touch the inner circle feels warm and the bottom is warmer but not hot by any means. I placed my hands under the Blue Cave for about five seconds and it does not burn, just warm. I have the blue light of the ring set to low but now that you have pointed this out, I think I will just turn it off. I know this may not make much difference as far as heat is concerned but doing it anyway. My previous modem-router combo had been always warm to the touch like this one but only in certain areas. The top of the blue cave has very little heat if any, may be just a tiny bit. I am not an expert but the router seems warm as was the one I had before.

 

[Cyn]

I had never thought of touching the bottom of the Blue Cave. To the touch the inner circle feels warm and the bottom is warmer but not hot by any means. I placed my hands under the Blue Cave for about five seconds and it does not burn, just warm. I have the blue light of the ring set to low but now that you have pointed this out, I think I will just turn it off. I know this may not make much difference as far as heat is concerned but doing it anyway. My previous modem-router combo had been always warm to the touch like this one but only in certain areas. The top of the blue cave has no heat difference, may be just a bit. I am not an expert but the router seems warm as was the one I had before.

So I'm not alone on this one! I have the blue light turned off as well but still the router feels warm. The top of mine seems to be not affected and generally normal. I am no expert on this as well but just don't want to have a burned router after couple of months.

 

[ricky124]

The Best Buy website says the router has a 2 year warranty of labor and parts. At least if it burns, someone will replace it . In two years, I will have likely started to replace this router with an AX one, which is my hope, that's why when I saw it for the special price, I bought it.

 

[Cyn]

Thats actually true, in two years when Black Friday comes along, can get another router for the same amount. I was considering returning because of the heat but I guess I'll keep it because its quite good for me as well. Just doesn't play nice of USB reading since its quite slow.

 

[Cyn]

The Best Buy website says the router has a 2 year warranty of labor and parts. At least if it burns, someone will replace it . In two years, I will have likely started to replace this router with an AX one, which is my hope, that's why when I saw it for the special price, I bought it.

By any chance did you check if Samba works for you?