ASUS N66U and AC56U

[tarmdjur]

External antennas will give you better range on n66.

Ac56 router has more horsepower to handle havier lan traffic.

If you want both, you'll have to go with ac68 router.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...rk-knight/1226-asus-rtac56u/1235-asus-rtac68u

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...rk-knight/1226-asus-rtac56u/1235-asus-rtac68u

 

[quantum28]

I appreciate all the discussion around this. There seems to be varying opinions on the subject of range. Would there be more of a consensus on which router I should get? I don't have 802.1ac devices, only N. With prices being equal, would the dark knight be the right one? I have 2 NAS, 2 media players, and 4 devices (laptop, tablet, mobile etc) that's the reason I thought the simultaneous LAN load would be a factor and therefore considered the AC56U.....

 

[quantum28]

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...rk-knight/1226-asus-rtac56u/1235-asus-rtac68u

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...rk-knight/1226-asus-rtac56u/1235-asus-rtac68u

Oops didn't see this post. Will take a look when I get back to a desktop/laptop.
Thanks

 

[KGB7]

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...rk-knight/1226-asus-rtac56u/1235-asus-rtac68u

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...rk-knight/1226-asus-rtac56u/1235-asus-rtac68u

Firmware 1663 was used on ac68 router, which is the worst firmware to this date. I and others on this forum, have stated several times that the WiFi signal is much lower with new 1663 firmware. This why I went back to using Merlin's 374.41 firmware; better WiFi range and better speed.

 

[quantum28]

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...rk-knight/1226-asus-rtac56u/1235-asus-rtac68u

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...rk-knight/1226-asus-rtac56u/1235-asus-rtac68u

Ok, this might be a silly question -- does downlink profile equate to range?




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[dlandiss]

Ok, this might be a silly question -- does downlink profile equate to range?

Indirectly, yes. Attenuation is the measure of signal loss -- it can be caused by distance, but also by what other materials might be in the way. Wet wood, for example, has more attenuation than glass.

In a free field, attenuation follows the inverse square law, so each doubling of distance would quarter the received power. That would be 6dB added attenuation.

Another way to look at it is that while the 5GHz radios of the two AC-class routers may have greater throughput at close range, the N66U beats them as you get farther way (or put more walls in between).

Hope this helps!