Asus N66 vs AC68

[knubbze]

My trusty RT-N16 just died 2 months out of warranty, so it's time to replace it.
My first thought was the RT-N66, but before rushing out and buying one, I had a look at the current Asus lineup and the AC-68 doesn't cost much more than the N66 at Amazon UK at the moment. Looking at the specs, the USB 3 port of The AC68 would be useful, as I have an external USB 3.0 2.5" HDD that I'd like to connect and share on the network. However, I currently only have 'N' devices, and was wondering if the AC68 does 'N' wifi as well as the N66?

Are there any known issues with either router? I saw a mention in another thread of there being some sort of issue with the USB 3 port on the AC-68, but no details were specified; could someone please elaborate on this?

Finally, I've just seen a couple of threads about a new version of the AC-68, called the AC-68P, which apparently has a faster CPU and better wireless range, but it doesn't appear to be available in the UK yet. Should I hold off and wait for this new version to become available?

Thanks in advance ☺

Sent from my Nokia 3310 using Tapatalk

 

[bbb0777]

My trusty RT-N16 just died 2 months out of warranty, so it's time to replace it.
My first thought was the RT-N66, but before rushing out and buying one, I had a look at the current Asus lineup and the AC-68 doesn't cost much more than the N66 at Amazon UK at the moment. Looking at the specs, the USB 3 port of The AC68 would be useful, as I have an external USB 3.0 2.5" HDD that I'd like to connect and share on the network. However, I currently only have 'N' devices, and was wondering if the AC68 does 'N' wifi as well as the N66?

Are there any known issues with either router? I saw a mention in another thread of there being some sort of issue with the USB 3 port on the AC-68, but no details were specified; could someone please elaborate on this?

Finally, I've just seen a couple of threads about a new version of the AC-68, called the AC-68P, which apparently has a faster CPU and better wireless range, but it doesn't appear to be available in the UK yet. Should I hold off and wait for this new version to become available?

Thanks in advance ☺

Sent from my Nokia 3310 using Tapatalk

I've had both the N66 and AC68, and prefer the AC68.

Actually, the AC68 does N devices a bit better than the N66. There's an article on this website showing similar results with other AC routers paired with N adapters.

In terms of range, unmodified, the N66U can go a bit further - but only with old, outdated firmware. With latest firmwares, in my situation, the AC68 was a bit better range. And if you're up for some simple modding, the AC68 can have *much* longer range.

The 68P will have a 25% faster CPU yes, but here are some benchmarks someone ran on the N16, N66, and AC68

Benchmarks. I don't know how to format this properly but:

• Model memory pi Total
• AC68 1.19 3.29 7.3
• N66U 1.98 5.23 13.6
• N16 2.47 6.75 17.7

Seemingly your N16 is working OK - well the N66u is a bit faster, and the AC68 is more than twice as fast as the N16u, so that should be more than enough, right? Though if no rush, sure you could wait.

Edit: Oh, two stupid things I prefer as well: The N66 has an annoying stand that barely connects, while the AC68s is built in. Also, the AC68 has a handy button to turn all the LEDs on/off. Small things, but both mean physically - the 68 feels nicer.