AX86U Pro vs AX88U vs AXE7800

[glens]

And if you live in a country with only one 5GHz 80MHz wide non-DFS limited power channel available and all the rest in non-guaranteed DFS the theoretical perfect idea becomes severely limited by practical use factors. What is fundamentally flowed is the assumption everyone on this forum lives in the USA, gets Amazon US prices and availability and needs to pay for all theoretical possibilities, just in case. This extra port is $100 more for @bludge, for example. Do they need it really?

Theoretically, your reply is sound. But at least in /my/ geographical situation (my) theory proves to be a consistent (thus far) good reality. I apologize for having such a "limited" experience.

 

[Tech9]

Understood. I own properties in different geographical locations and what is possible in one place is not possible in another. Wi-Fi planning is very different.

General information about Wi-Fi channels availability in different regions:

List of WLAN channels - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The "new" 6GHz Wi-Fi band is even more restrictive per region. About 2/3 of the population of the Earth can't use it at the moment. Not approved, not available.

 

[glens]

I own properties in different geographical locations and what is possible in one place is not possible in another. Wi-Fi planning is very different.

Understood. It's rather a shame that, evidently, Asus' websites don't provide info / specs / instruction which actually pertain to the given locale, thereby alleviating misunderstanding and false expectation.

 

[Tech9]

They sell specs and want money. On the consumer market it's easy. So called "tri-band" routers with split 5GHz band are available in Europe, for example. What's available as Wi-Fi channels though is up to 200mW lower 36-48 range and all DFS mid range. Upper 149-157 range is not available. In some places they are unusable. You may get a (*) somewhere in specs at best and a fine print under. Didn't read it and/or don't know - your problem. This is how it works, unfortunately. It's a business.

 

[glens]

Perspective.

$ per day incoming is /one/ (the "easy") metric, but actually informing and helping customers is another which helps ensure future $. Gotta be cheaper in the long term than the cost of advertising, but I guess nobody's looking further than their computer screen anymore.

 

[NXIL]

Gotta be cheaper in the long term

It seems that for many corporations, the "long term" does not matter, just this quarter or next, for bonuses/payouts/stock option, etc.

 

[glens]

Seen it happen many times where the end of the period is approaching so management forces overtime to be able to ship extra orders from /next/ period, then when next period starts there's no work readily available. So they paid half again as much for labor to make the product, then they lose more money paying for non-productive labor. But their bonuses are a few dollars more at the moment. Pure insanity.

 

[maxbraketorque]

...

I would say that 88uPro and AX6000 and 86U Pro are all so similar that any would be an excellent choice, and price/sales/design or desk space factor might be the most important factors.

...

Aren't these three all virtually hardware identical?

 

[Paliv]

Aren't these three all virtually hardware identical?

The big difference being the AX86U Pro only has one 2.5Gb Ethernet port as opposed to 1 wan and 1 lan on the other two.

 

[glens]

Then the difference between the GT and 88 Pro is the former has an additional USB port (and requires less shelf space, but its antennas are more garish - but it gots AURA LEDs!).

 

[Tech9]

but it gots AURA LEDs!

And EVA Edition too!

 

[maxbraketorque]

The big difference being the AX86U Pro only has one 2.5Gb Ethernet port as opposed to 1 wan and 1 lan on the other two.

Yep. That's part of the reason I went with GT-AX6000 at my home where I have a wired multgig network with a NAS to backup every device.

And EVA Edition too!

I can't believe that ASUS charges so much for the EVA edition. I keep thinking that those are going to be harder to sell than a regular GT-AX6000, and at some point, Amazon is going to drop the price to <$200.

 

[Tech9]

I can't believe that ASUS charges so much for the EVA edition.

Around here it was cheaper than regular version at one point, in open box condition. Some units didn't pass the WAF test.

 

[richardeid]

RT-AX88U Pro has 2x 2.5GbE ports, 4-stream 2.4GHz radio, 4-stream 5GHz radio, 1x USB port. Larger footprint flat design.
RT-AX86U Pro has 1x 2.5GbE port, 3-stream 2.4GHz radio, 4-stream 5GHz radio, 2x USB ports. Smaller footprint vertical design.

You are more interested in Wi-Fi 6 performance and it usually means on 5GHz band. The performance will be about the same. Both routers have the same CPU, RAM and 5GHz radio with the same SDK firmware and Broadcom drivers. The 4th antenna on RT-AX86U Pro is internal, but with the same dBi as external antennas. If you don't need 2x 2.5GbE ports - this is the more compact model, popular around, Asuswrt-Merlin supported. Usually cheaper as well.

I see comparison articles and posts but yours summed up the differences that matter to me the most so I appreciate that. The question I have goes back to the AC models and possibly the N series but my memory isn't what it used to be. It could just be me not paying enough attention. Currently it appears that ASUS still offers some sort of support for the AC86U. Or at the very least it's still listed on their products page all the way at the bottom. They're selling it so I assume they're offering at least a minimum level of support on it. The AC88U isn't there, though. Even the AC68U is there.

With that, given the 88U is the higher end of all these models, why is it that ASUS offers longer term support on the "lesser" model? I swear there was something like this with the N66U or...man I can't even remember like 10 years back.

 

[Tech9]

Currently it appears that ASUS still offers some sort of support for the AC86U.

All AC-class models are End-Of-Life now. No more support unless emergency fix is needed.

With that, given the 88U is the higher end of all these models

No, RT-AC86U (2017 model) is actually newer and faster router than RT-AC88U (2015 model).