AX56u/58u or AC86U?

[Tech9]

No, there are two reasons only:
- re-using older equipment
- no AX speeds needed to clients they serve

I'm going to ask again - What technology is needed for 2 people with up to 10 devices?
You know already RT-AC68U can do over Wi-Fi >400Mbps throughput to common 2x2 AC client.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

No, there are two reasons only:
- re-using older equipment
- no AX speeds needed to clients they serve

I'm going to ask again - What technology is needed for 2 people with up to 10 devices?
You know already RT-AC68U can do over Wi-Fi >400Mbps throughput to common 2x2 AC client.

perhaps the Phicomm K3C AC1900 Dual-Band MU-MIMO Gigabit Router will work.

 

[Tech9]

perhaps the Phicomm K3C AC1900 Dual-Band MU-MIMO Gigabit Router will work.

Yes, it will work. Add Asus, Asuswrt-Merlin + support as requirements. What's the model?

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

Yes, it will work. Add Asus, Asuswrt-Merlin + support as requirements. What's the model?

Perhaps RT-AC56U with @john9527 Johns fork on it.

 

[Tech9]

Perhaps RT-AC56U with @john9527 Johns fork on it.

Could be, your choice. I would spend $100 for my parents in a blink of an eye for a new 2020 RT-AC68U V3 with current Asuswrt firmware, AiProtection, Adaptive QoS, etc. No custom firmware needed, comes with 2-year warranty. In my parent's house the ISP is 150/15 cable, for example, with 180 channel cable TV bundle. There is also a VoIP home phone, they prefer to have it. This is what they need. My parents are not hardcore gamers, as far as I know. I would prefer something tested reliable that covers the needs/requirements. We all have different approach, obviously.

 

[Tech9]

Good conversation, @SomeWhereOverTheRainBow. May be helpful for someone to make a decision. I'm serious, I don't see it as an argument.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

Could be, your choice. I would spend $100 for my parents in a blink of an eye for a new 2020 RT-AC68U V3 with current Asuswrt firmware, AiProtection, Adaptive QoS, etc. No custom firmware needed, comes with 2-year warranty. In my parent's house the ISP is 150/15 cable, for example, with 180 channel cable TV bundle. There is also a VoIP home phone, they prefer to have it. This is what they need. My parents are not hardcore gamers, as far as I know. I would prefer something tested reliable that covers the needs/requirements. We all have different approach, obviously.

For this instance, I like the john-fork set it up and forget about it approach. Firmware that has been tested for long term support and stability. Aiprotect and Adaptive QoS would be negligible in this case use since it is no more than 10 devices with no real complex necessities. For Ai-Protect, mom and dad don't need a router calling home to trend micro for extra protection. Traditional QoS would be sufficient if it was absolutely needed.

 

[Tech9]

For Ai-Protect, mom and dad don't need a router calling home to trend micro for extra protection.

This is a different conversation. TrendMicro is not calling home to steal data from your mom and dad. It's collecting non-personalized data only. Every antivirus software is doing exactly the same, including Windows Security in Windows 10 computers, far more popular than TrendMicro engine running devices. Every phone in our hands is doing exactly the same, some far more intrusive in personal space. If you have concerns about TrendMicro, I believe @RMerlin is the right person to ask.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

This is a different conversation. TrendMicro is not calling home to steal data from your mom and dad. It's collecting non-personalized data. Every antivirus software is doing exactly the same, including Windows Security in Windows 10 computers, far more popular than TrendMicro engine running devices. Every phone in our hands is doing exactly the same, some far more intrusive in personal space. If you have concerns about TrendMicro, I believe @RMerlin is the right person to ask.

oh no concerns with trend micro but for mom and papa use case it would not be needed. They would want the protections on their individual devices instead of being bothered by the over head produced from the router placing itself in front of each individual packet.

 

[Tech9]

but for mom and papa use case it would not be needed.

Well, any newer technology Asus AX router comes with it anyway, if you go with technology argument. I would leave it running. In my tests it does not affect the speed up to about 600Mbps on AC68U hardware and up to about 750Mbps on AC86U hardware. See, even you stated talking about what mom and dad really need. I don't know what more "modern" parents have and use, but mine have 2 TVs, 2 Windows laptops and 2 phones, plus LG Washer and Dryer with Alexa. My mom doesn't want to hear about Alexa.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

Well, any newer technology Asus AX router comes with it anyway, if you go with technology argument. I would leave it running. In my tests it does not affect the speed up to about 600Mbps on AC68U hardware and up to about 750Mbps on AC86U hardware. See, even you stated talking about what mom and dad really need. I don't know what more "modern" parents have and use, but mine have 2 TVs, 2 Windows laptops and 2 phones, plus LG Washer and Dryer with Alexa. My mom doesn't want to hear about Alexa.

On the RTAX88U it drops gig speeds down to 600 ish. And my mom listens to the greatest hits from her age music on alexa

 

[RMerlin]

I don't know (or care) about CPU time, but I just know that the RT-AX86U (4 core 1.8GHz CPU) is noticeably more 'capable' in my network use than an RT-AC86U (2 core 1.8GHz CPU).

Unrelated to the router's CPU.

 

[L&LD]

What is the difference then, if not the CPUs?

 

[RMerlin]

What is the difference then, if not the CPUs?

More modern wifi SoC, newer Broadcom SDK. If you use USB sharing, then having twice the RAM also makes a difference as more RAM can be allocated for caching, with fewer needs to dynamically free some of it as other processes might need RAM.

 

[RangerZ]

@L&LD , What exactly do you mean by "responsiveness" and how do you measure it?

What are "WiFI environmental differences"?
I tend to think that the device will perform no worse now then it did in 2015, possibly better with newer firmware.

 

[Volt]

MBreviews published a new review where they compare RT-AX56U and RT-AX55U and where you can view the throughput chart for RT-AX56U (but for 80 MHz only) and compare it to the similar chart for RT-AX58U. Looks like RT-AX56U (surprisingly!) provides better speeds and on average much better throughput than AX58U. And that's using a 80MHz channel!

Another thing that surprised me is that even though AX55U and AX56U use the same SoC and WiFi modules, AX56U shows significantly higher speeds. I wonder what other factors affect speed in this case (different antenna configuration? RAM?).

 

[RMerlin]

AX56U shows significantly higher speeds. I wonder what other factors affect speed in this case (different antenna configuration? RAM?).

There could be differences in amp and filter quality, as the RT-AX55U tries to be a lower cost alternative.

 

[RangerZ]

There also is a comparison with the RT-AX68U, which looks like the device may be slightly faster, but highly erratic.

 

[ArchDevil]

Thanks for all the responses.
I ended up picking a second handed AC68U for 60$, Installed Merlin and been solid for 1 month without any issues.

 

[Tech9]

Thanks for the update. AC68U is older, but very reliable model. Good choice.