ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 Wireless-AC5300 Tri-Band Gaming Router Reviewed

[ng4ever]

Whats the difference between this one in this thread and the normal ASUS RT-AC5300 please ?

 

[RMerlin]

Whats the difference between this one in this thread and the normal ASUS RT-AC5300 please ?

A lot.

There's not much in common beside the wifi radio. CPU, RAM, firmware, features - everything else is different.

 

[ng4ever]

A lot.

There's not much in common beside the wifi radio. CPU, RAM, firmware, features - everything else is different.

Which is better please ?

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 or ASUS AC5300?

 

[sfx2000]

Which is better please ?

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 or ASUS AC5300?

One is the future - GT-AC5300 is the new SoC and Broadcom SDK... not much 3rd party support at the moment, but that can change...

The other is the Past and Present - RT-AC5300 - well known older SoC, and the SDK is close enough to support with the 3rd party forks...

I can't suggest how to spend money here...

 

[ng4ever]

One is the future - GT-AC5300 is the new SoC and Broadcom SDK... not much 3rd party support at the moment, but that can change...

The other is the Past and Present - RT-AC5300 - well known older SoC, and the SDK is close enough to support with the 3rd party forks...

I can't suggest how to spend money here...

Thanks for being honest!

 

[sfx2000]

Thanks for being honest!

Asus has a good reputation for supporting their flagship router/AP's over the long term - most of the issues that have been reported by the community, and even performance concerns in the very objective review here on SNB - those can and will be addressed on the GT-AC5300...

The big challenge right now is the pricing - but it's the same challenge to some degree with the RT-AC5300...

I'm not in the target market for either of these devices, so that does allow me some degree of objectivity as well, and as a long term forum member, I'm completely aware of Asus long-term approach.

 

[ng4ever]

If the place I want to buy from only has the ASUS AC5300 would that be ok to get?

Or is it stupid to invest in old tech ?

 

[wye]

@RMerlin
Any chance to get AsusWRT support for the GT? Is it a big effort - will it take a long time?

 

[Skyler LaVey]

If the place I want to buy from only has the ASUS AC5300 would that be ok to get?

Or is it stupid to invest in old tech ?

Depends on price point. What’s the price difference?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[thiggins]

Whats the difference between this one in this thread and the normal ASUS RT-AC5300 please ?

Read the review.
The hardware is different. Feature wise, there isn't much different and what is different doesn't work very well right now.

 

[RMerlin]

@RMerlin
Any chance to get AsusWRT support for the GT? Is it a big effort - will it take a long time?

I assume you mean Asuswrt-Merlin, because the router already runs Asuswrt. If so, then it's highly unlikely at this time.

 

[wye]

@RMerlin
Yes I meant Asuswrt-Merlin, sorry about that.

I really appreciate your efforts on it, I've been running it on N66U for so many years now.
Finally I'm ready to upgrade the router and the firmware is the only downgrade I feel I'm making

Since its the first 64bit CPU, I assume it will take a while. I'm just curious if you are even considering adding support for it or will you skip it entirely?

 

[RMerlin]

I'm just curious if you are even considering adding support for it or will you skip it entirely?

Can't say for sure, because it will depend on too many things, such as whether or not Asus will move all other models to the same 382 codebase or not. So for now, assume that I won't support it.

 

[ducrider]

Read the review.
The hardware is different. Feature wise, there isn't much different and what is different doesn't work very well right now.

Tim - First just wanted to say great review. I noticed you didn't discuss the MU-MIMO as much on this review as you did on the RT-AC5300. Any difference or still the same problems?

I just purchased a RT-AC5300, as I was experiencing issues using a mesh setup (Netgear Orbi 3 Pack from Costco). My ISP provides 350Mbps, which I could get when connected to the main router, but was only pulling 70Mbps at best when connected to each satellite. I was also experiencing a large number of disconnection issues and having to restart my router 3-4 times a week.

I just installed the RT-AC5300 yesterday and found that at my furthest point away (125-130 feet away) I was still getting ~325Mbps (that's through multiple walls, lathe and plaster at that...). Quite impressive if you ask me.

My question is this - What other routers have you seen similar range from? I have an RT-AC66U, but didn't get this range from it (hence why I used the Orbi at first). I'm contemplating returning the RT-AC5300 for the GT-AC5300, as I have roughly 20 devices connected to my network that are streaming video or online gaming. Just curious if I really need to shell out close to $400 for this kind of performance.

Thanks!

 

[ducrider]

Hello?

 

[eJC]

I just purchased a RT-AC5300, as I was experiencing issues using a mesh setup (Netgear Orbi 3 Pack from Costco). My ISP provides 350Mbps, which I could get when connected to the main router, but was only pulling 70Mbps at best when connected to each satellite. I was also experiencing a large number of disconnection issues and having to restart my router 3-4 times a week.

I just installed the RT-AC5300 yesterday and found that at my furthest point away (125-130 feet away) I was still getting ~325Mbps (that's through multiple walls, lathe and plaster at that...). Quite impressive if you ask me.

My question is this - What other routers have you seen similar range from? Thanks!

@ducrider, First thanks for the feedback on the Orbi. I had a friend interested in it and will pass on your experience. With regards to range differences, what I've read (I own the GT-AC5300) is that there is little difference in coverage/range between the RT-AC5300 and the GT-AC5300. Apparently there is some active component in the GT-AC5300 that may allow for slightly better coverage particularly at the edge of coverage areas, but it is a marginal improvement and not significant. I can't comment on this directly.

I would say if you are happy with the coverage you are getting from the RT-AC5300, you probably wouldn't be excited by any minor coverage improvement from the GT-AC5300, considering you'd probably pay close to a $100 premium for that improvement.

 

[thiggins]

Tim - First just wanted to say great review. I noticed you didn't discuss the MU-MIMO as much on this review as you did on the RT-AC5300. Any difference or still the same problems?

I have not been testing MU-MIMO until I put a new over-the-air process in place.

My question is this - What other routers have you seen similar range from? I have an RT-AC66U, but didn't get this range from it (hence why I used the Orbi at first). I'm contemplating returning the RT-AC5300 for the GT-AC5300, as I have roughly 20 devices connected to my network that are streaming video or online gaming. Just curious if I really need to shell out close to $400 for this kind of performance.

Use the Router Ranker to look at range sub-ranks. If you want to look at the Charts The 45 dB value is used for 2.4 GHz range and 30 dB value for 5 GHz.

 

[ducrider]

@ducrider, First thanks for the feedback on the Orbi. I had a friend interested in it and will pass on your experience. With regards to range differences, what I've read (I own the GT-AC5300) is that there is little difference in coverage/range between the RT-AC5300 and the GT-AC5300. Apparently there is some active component in the GT-AC5300 that may allow for slightly better coverage particularly at the edge of coverage areas, but it is a marginal improvement and not significant. I can't comment on this directly.

I would say if you are happy with the coverage you are getting from the RT-AC5300, you probably wouldn't be excited by any minor coverage improvement from the GT-AC5300, considering you'd probably pay close to a $100 premium for that improvement.

Thanks eJC!

I'm curious how the extra CPU and RAM would benefit (if at all) in my situation (since I'm frequently connecting multiple devices, some of which are streaming video).

I also read that Merlin isn't planning on providing a firmware option for the GT version (he has one for the RT version). Not that I'm currently using his firmware, but it's an interesting point at least.

I'm not doing anything too crazy with my network, but being able to manage bandwidth limitations by each device (not just assigning them a priority group) is something that I'm interested in. My main concern is maintaining connection with a high throughput while connected at long distances from the router while multiple devices are connected. If extra CPU and RAM would make a big difference in that, then it's something I'd consider shelling out some extra cash for.

Thanks!

 

[ducrider]

I have not been testing MU-MIMO until I put a new over-the-air process in place.

Use the Router Ranker to look at range sub-ranks. If you want to look at the Charts The 45 dB value is used for 2.4 GHz range and 30 dB value for 5 GHz.

Ok thanks Tim!

 

[RMerlin]

Extra CPU and RAM only really makes a difference for VPN or USB disk sharing, or if you have an Internet connection faster than 300 Mbps and need to use a feature that is not compatible with NAT acceleration.