Best Asus - Merlin Supported - VPN Router

[CDB1870]

Hi,

I am still a router novice and looking for some advice about what router to buy. My requirements are:

• Asus brand and has Merlin Firmware support
• Support at least 80 Mbps when connected to OpenVPN
• Most up to date - does this mean the AX range?
• Price is not necessarily a deciding factor
• Lets me use my AC-88U as an Access Point with or without AIMesh

Apologies if duplicated but I could not find a similar thread.
Many thanks

 

[RMerlin]

RT-AX86U, RT-AC86U and RT-AX88U are all good options, as they have hardware-accelerated AES support.

 

[CDB1870]

Many thanks - Love your Firmware!

 

[MvW]

Based on availability, due to the shortage of chips, a RT-AC86U (which is the oldest in the range @RMerlin suggested, might be your best bet. I'm using it for a few months now and I love it. I see no need to upgrade to an AX model for the foreseeable future. I get speeds of >300Mbit easily (which is the max of my subscription) and VPN speeds upto 150Mbit, which is nearly threefold the speed compared to my previous RT-AC68U router, which now servers as an AIMesh Node with ethernet backhaul.

 

[Tech9]

RT-AX86U, RT-AC86U and RT-AX88U are all good options, as they have hardware-accelerated AES support.

One more - RT-AX68U as low cost AX option. BCM4906, same as RT-AC86U.

 

[Tech9]

RT-AC86U... and VPN speeds upto 150Mbit

Good router, but may need cooling in warm places. It can do >150Mbps OVPN. I've got 225Mbps in my tests. Impressive for a home router.

 

[L&LD]

From what I have read, the RT-AX68U is not an option if the RT-AX58U is available. Too many tradeoffs on the supposedly 'better' ('AX68U) model and seems to be even more expensive too.

 

[Marin]

RT-AX86U, RT-AC86U and RT-AX88U are all good options, as they have hardware-accelerated AES support.

Doesn’t AX11000 have AES-NI too?

 

[Tech9]

Doesn’t AX11000 have AES-NI too?

Yes, same CPU as AX88U/AX86U with AES.

 

[L&LD]

@Marin, yes. And with the dubious benefits and all of the downfalls of the 'tri-radio' marketing that entails.

 

[RMerlin]

Doesn’t AX11000 have AES-NI too?

Yes, but I can't recommend it because it's way overpriced for a home router.

 

[RMerlin]

From what I have read, the RT-AX68U is not an option if the RT-AX58U is available

The RT-AX68U has AES acceleration, but the RT-AX58U doesn`t. So for his specific needs, the RT-AX58U is not an option.

I didn't recommend the RT-AX68U because I couldn't remember what CPU it had, or what its availability was. Been working on too many different models lately... I worked on another (still unreleased) model last week, so I'm having a hard time keeping them all separated in my brain at the moment.

 

[Marin]

Yes, but I can't recommend it because it's way overpriced for a home router.

I completely understand, thank you.

 

[CleverLime]

Yes, but I can't recommend it because it's way overpriced for a home router.

What if AX11000 has a similar price to AX88U? AX86U cannot be found in stock.

Which would be better?

 

[Tech9]

AX86U cannot be found in stock.

I would wait until it becomes available. Router upgrade is rarely urgent.

 

[CleverLime]

I would wait until it becomes available. Router upgrade is rarely urgent.

It's kind of urgent, as I need a router at the new apartment as soon as possible, and the current one is still at my current place for the next month

 

[Smokindog]

The AX88U was both available and "on sale" last week for $290. If you need something right away then this was the time to pull the trigger in today's market IMO.

While I detest BestBuy it looks as though they still have it for $300. I've been very pleased with the AX88U.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-ax6000-dual-band-wi-fi-6-router/6321916.p?skuId=6321916

 

[RMerlin]

The GT-AX11000 is nearly 40% more expensive than the RT-AX88U here at Amazon Canada (about 200$ CAD more).

 

[CleverLime]

Here

The AX88U was both available and "on sale" last week for $290. If you need something right away then this was the time to pull the trigger in today's market IMO.

While I detest BestBuy it looks as though they still have it for $300. I've been very pleased with the AX88U.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-ax6000-dual-band-wi-fi-6-router/6321916.p?skuId=6321916

The GT-AX11000 is nearly 40% more expensive than the RT-AX88U here at Amazon Canada (about 200$ CAD more).

Here, AX88U is 400$ and AX11000 is 479$. I don't mind the extra 79$ if AX11000 is better and more future proof.

 

[CDB1870]

Thanks all. I went with the AX88U and I am running 386.2_2. When I run the VPN Client - OpenVPN I see my download speed drops by an average of 13% and upload speed drops by an average of 8%. I am happy with the performance but are my numbers 'normal'?