AX8 vs. AX12 (rax120 and 200) Range?

[Arsenalfc74]

I live in a new build house that whilst not huge does have metal stud walls and I do see occasional drops in speed and signal upstairs and despite having a 300mb internet connection Netflix, Amazon and YouTube will buffer quite often in one the bedrooms.

I currently have the AX8 which on paper should be more than big enough for my house. As the house is pre-wired with Cat 6 I am looking at moving to mesh but really for the size (circa 1100 sq ft) mesh should not be necessary, I did order an Asus RT92U twin pack which I am yet to set up but am wondering if one of the AX12 models might give me slightly better range than the AX8?

 

[jsz]

RAX80 and RAX200 use broadcom designs. The difference between the 80 and 200 is that one is tri band (2x 5G chips for congestion) and one isn't.

The RAX120 is a qualcomm design with two 4x4 chips wired together to create a "8x8" 5G radio. The range according to NETGEAR marketing goes further, but I don't exactly know if that's true. You can expect different performance aspects since it comes from a different vendor and OEM manufactuers. Throughput over wireless is apparently better on this design, but I'm not sure how much that matters for real world wifi at 300mbps.

The AX92 (broadcom) twin pack when configured together is an AC mesh router. It uses the AX chips for a wireless backhaul. You can only connect via AC if using these two as intended in its wireless modes.

- Other option is WIRED backhaul if the ASUS software allows. This might be the most optional solution for you as it should allow access to 3 bands when hard wired like a mesh AP system and would be my recommendation if your whole house is wired.

You can actually go cheaper in terms of mesh if you really wanted to take advantage of your homes wiring, but like you said.. its 1100 sq feet.. I would just order an AC86U or GT-AC2900 single unit and call it a day, but I'm not sure about interference in your area or if you live in a home, townhome or apartment. You don't really need over a single point/router for under 2500 sqft typically.

MY GT-AC2900 covers my entire 1850 sqft home with good dba signals (5 bars at furthest point) and 480mbps "wired speed" over wireless when theres non congestion, but that's the typical speed all day long. Might drop to 450-460 but its rare.

 

[Arsenalfc74]

Thanks. wired backhaul with the Asus is tricky as the master unit needs to be in an under the stairs cupboard which is where the wiring to each room all originates, hardly the best place to put any router. I'd almost need 3 units, one in the cupboard with the wifi switched off (which I do not think is even possible in a mesh setup) to feed the cat 6 wiring and 2 other nodes, which feels like overkill.

The RAX120 may improve slightly and maybe that would be enough but I could be talking diminishing returns here in the end.

 

[owlyn]

I live in a new build house that whilst not huge does have metal stud walls and I do see occasional drops in speed and signal upstairs and despite having a 300mb internet connection Netflix, Amazon and YouTube will buffer quite often in one the bedrooms.

I currently have the AX8 which on paper should be more than big enough for my house. As the house is pre-wired with Cat 6 I am looking at moving to mesh but really for the size (circa 1100 sq ft) mesh should not be necessary, I did order an Asus RT92U twin pack which I am yet to set up but am wondering if one of the AX12 models might give me slightly better range than the AX8?

Why not just get a Netgear extender like the EX7700 or the EAX20?

 

[psychopomp1]

I'm also in a fairly new home with metal studs and the RAX200 works a treat. It easily provides full wifi coverage in my 4 bedroom, detached, 2 storey home. I'm on BT's 330/50 FTTP service btw.

 

[Arsenalfc74]

I am returning the Asus, wired backhaul was a non-starter given all of my wiring originates under the stairs, also having briefly tested the asus the handover just did not work well even after tweaking the roaming number devices would still connect to the weaker signal and not switch.

Going to try the RAX120, the RAX80 is close so hopefully the 120 will make the small difference needed in that upstairs bedroom.

 

[nolimits76]

Just a thought, but if you aren't happy with where the wiring dumps then you could install a gigabit switch and run one new line to a more optimal location for the router.