Best Gaming Router Advice

[Tech9]

That will give you the right kind of traffic smoothing as well as the highest chance of getting all of your 500Mb fiber.

With no hardware acceleration those cores max out at 350Mbps, @Trip.

 

[Trip]

With no hardware acceleration those cores max out at 350Mbps, @Trip.

I figured as much, but that's about as good as you're going to get for single-threaded QoS on almost any MIPS/ARM based all-in-one, and honestly about as much as anyone really needs, gaming most definitely included. I realize that's not a perfect answer, but at least here, lowest-latency/jitter is more valuable than full WAN utilization, and gaining back that 150Mb or so probably wouldn't contribute all that much to preventing would-be bloat or spiking. Again, I know it's far from perfect, but I think the Asus will suffice here.

 

[Tech9]

I believe he should be fine with no QoS on 500Mbps fiber line. Experiments with QoS only if needed.

 

[Trip]

500Mb does seem to be a QoS tipping point. Coupled with the naturally low latency of fiber itself, you may be correct. I'd be interested to see the OP report back on his results, QoS off versus on.

 

[Kingp1n]

I had to RMA my RT-AX88U and I just got an email from Asus that they will replace it with another model (upgrade) since they're out of stock for the AX88U. I'm not sure if they will provide me with a list to choose from but what would be consider the next model upgrade? Should I ask for the Gt-ax11000 (Or even better the AXE) as an upgrade or the RT-AX86U? I wouldn't mind getting the gaming router since I already have an AX86U. I'm hoping the AXE will get RMerlin support but it's too early to tell.

 

[Sav4]

So which router did you guys go?

 

[Kingp1n]

So which router did you guys go?

Im currently using the GT-AX11000 but the AX86U has gotten really great reviews and for the price, you can't go wrong.

 

[Sav4]

Im currently using the GT-AX11000 but the AX86U has gotten really great reviews and for the price, you can't go wrong.

What is your latency like compared to your old router? Is your wifi range better?
GT ax11000 RT ax86u and ax88u are all about the same price atm

 

[Kingp1n]

What is your latency like compared to your old router? Is your wifi range better?
GT ax11000 RT ax86u and ax88u are all about the same price atm

Before the AX11000 I was using multiple asus routers in aimesh mode. I got rid of them and now I'm only using the one router as the main router without any hiccups. The signal goes from basement and all around the house without any dead spots. I use the 5G1 band for streaming devices and 5G2 specifically for gaming devices. The latency has improved but I don't have any metrics to provide but I never lag at all. I'm also using FlexQoS and have setup the gaming & streaming rules within Flex.

All other devices (Nest devices/Alexa/Mobile phones) get set to use 2.4ghz band.

 

[Sav4]

Before the AX11000 I was using multiple asus routers in aimesh mode. I got rid of them and now I'm only using the one router as the main router without any hiccups. The signal goes from basement and all around the house without any dead spots. I use the 5G1 band for streaming devices and 5G2 specifically for gaming devices. The latency has improved but I don't have any metrics to provide but I never lag at all. I'm also using FlexQoS and have setup the gaming & streaming rules within Flex.

All other devices (Nest devices/Alexa/Mobile phones) get set to use 2.4ghz band.

Nice I have been leaning towards that for the gaming features as that and streaming are important to me. I do have various smart lights etc so was going to use my old RT ac68u to take the load off the main router .
Did you use a RT ax86u?

 

[Kingp1n]

Nice I have been leaning towards that for the gaming features as that and streaming are important to me. I do have various smart lights etc so was going to use my old RT ac68u to take the load off the main router .
Did you use a RT ax86u?

At least for me, my home setup forces me to do alot of wireless connection vs hardwired (to include wireless gaming which is a big no-no).

My main router at the time (AX88U) crapped out and forced me to use the AX86u as the main router. This was a blessing in disguised as it forced me to use the AX86U as the main router vs in aimesh mode. Previously I had tried both (AX88U and AX86U) as the main and didn't notice a big differences for running all devices smoothly, so I kept the AX88 as the main until it broke on me.

The AX86U worked well but I would notice slight lag while gaming and streaming while sharing the 5G band (similar to the AX88U), and it just wasn't perfect.

I noticed using another router in aimesh mode (wirelessly) wasn't the answer unless you have the aimesh connected "wired" to the main router. That's the key. Wireless aimesh will not work well since at the end of the day the aimesh router is still connecting wirelessly to the main router and in-turn other devices are now connecting wirelessly x2 haha. I shopped around and I noticed using 1 strong router with 3 separate bands made the difference for me. I'm able to identify/manage where I want my devices to go thru...some to 2.4ghz/some to 5G1 and all gaming devices to 5G2. You can setup how you like but all devices run smoothly without any lag/issues.