Buying a RT-AC68U now or wait?

[Muyfa666]

As the topic states, would it be a good idea to get a RT-AC68U now, or should I wait for the RT-AC87U (do we know anything about a release date BTW?).

What are the peaks of the 87U? My routing needs are very basic home user, but I have plenty of units, both wireless and wired and I need great performance and rock solid stability.

I have a Netgear R7000 now and while the performance is great, the stability is worthless.

I also had my sight on Linksys WRT1900AC, but it seems way to expensive...

 

[thiggins]

You think the RT-AC87U will be cheap?

Can you say some more about the stability problems on the R7000?

 

[joegreat]

My routing needs are very basic home user, but I have plenty of units, both wireless and wired and I need great performance and rock solid stability.

I have a Netgear R7000 now and while the performance is great, the stability is worthless.

Hi,

If you look for speed and stability go for the Asus RT-AC68U with Merlin's firmware. I think there is no router on the market with a better price/performance/stability ratio!

Waiting for new routers will lead you nowhere: You risk that the price will be high, the performance poor and the stability not there! Why? Because new products are not always mature! Go for an already matured ones!

With kind regards
Joe

PS.: If you do not need AC speed, you definitly should go for the ASUS RT-N66U with Merlin firmware! You will never ever get better wireless range and rock solid stabilty for such a low price with another router!

 

[Muyfa666]

You think the RT-AC87U will be cheap?

Can you say some more about the stability problems on the R7000?

No, of course I expect the RT-AC87U to cost alot, but money isn't really the problem as long as I get a reliable product.

I have had lots of problems with the R7000. No network printer access, dropping performance, router not accepting GUI password, no access to GUI whatsoever.

I have lots of open tickets with Netgear, but I really don't have my hopes up for this anymore.

Are there anything really special about the RT-AC87U that could be worth waiting for? Also, are there any word on release date? If it's just around the corner I'd rather wait, but if we're still talking months, I'm gonna need something sooner.

Hi,

If you look for speed and stability go for the Asus RT-AC68U with Merlin's firmware. I think there is no router on the market with a better price/performance/stability ratio!

Waiting for new routers will lead you nowhere: You risk that the price will be high, the performance poor and the stability not there! Why? Because new products are not always mature! Go for an already matured ones!

With kind regards
Joe

PS.: If you do not need AC speed, you definitly should go for the ASUS RT-N66U with Merlin firmware! You will never ever get better wireless range and rock solid stabilty for such a low price with another router!

This is what I'm asking for; are the RT-AC68U considered really stable and mature then? I read some ppl have problems with it? Sure, there's always gonna be problems, but is the general word that this is good stuff?

 

[jayboyyyy]

yes it is stable. not every firmware that has been released is stable. I just recently upgraded to merlin's newest firmware. But prior to that my router was up and running for 60 something days with no reboot and no issues. I decided not to upgraded after i got on a solid fw. then right before i was about to the newest release had major bugs. So then i waited a while longer for those to get worked out.

basically, there is a stable FW version for the router that runs perfectly. For some people's needs, that version might not be the newest version. Especially if you will just use the router for a router. There has only been one FW that has been released that you might even notice the router not running correctly. Assuming you checked your logs.

 

[TonyH]

I have a Netgear R7000 now and while the performance is great, the stability is worthless.
I also had my sight on Linksys WRT1900AC, but it seems way to expensive...

Hi,
First, new routers will come out with their own basketful of issues, so waiting will never end. I have R7000 and it is very solid. I am on Kong's latest dd-wrt beta r29033 but I suggest you to try r29000M B4 you decide to switch router. AC68U has design flaw regarding USB3 port. WRT seems good hardware but it needs matching good software(firmware). Another reason I like dd-wrt is accessing the router via Telnet or ssh. R7000 stock f/w lacks that feature. When you say stability is bad, do you need frequent reboot? does it crash? WlFi drop outs?(this is an issue between client device and router radio) dd-wrt has two versions, one with Broadcom older driver, one with new. I strongly suggest you to try them. Flashing back and forth is cinch. BTW, I run R7000 oc'd to clkfreq=1200,800, no
heat problem. Slight speed gain.

 

[jerry6]

Have to agree , my ac 66 is no better in fact signal range and strength not as goo as the n66 . Only place is beter is close by AC clients , once 20 ft away and a wall or 2 n 66 clobbers it

 

[Muyfa666]

Hi,
First, new routers will come out with their own basketful of issues, so waiting will never end. I have R7000 and it is very solid. I am on Kong's latest dd-wrt beta r29033 but I suggest you to try r29000M B4 you decide to switch router. AC68U has design flaw regarding USB3 port. WRT seems good hardware but it needs matching good software(firmware). Another reason I like dd-wrt is accessing the router via Telnet or ssh. R7000 stock f/w lacks that feature. When you say stability is bad, do you need frequent reboot? does it crash? WlFi drop outs?(this is an issue between client device and router radio) dd-wrt has two versions, one with Broadcom older driver, one with new. I strongly suggest you to try them. Flashing back and forth is cinch. BTW, I run R7000 oc'd to clkfreq=1200,800, no
heat problem. Slight speed gain.

Frequent reboots, crashes, wifi dropouts - Yes.

This is however with OEM firmware. I think that a OEM firmware needs to be at least stable, but the R7000's are not.

I have tried DD-WRT Kong, but while it has many good functions, I'm having a hard time getting used to it. I should have to use a third-party firmware just to get basic functions and stability.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
I am dabbling with dd-wrt since the days of WRT54G, LOL! Telnet, ssh access to router is big +1 feature. I rolled some f/w from OpenWRT for a few routers as well.....

 

[Muyfa666]

I meant "shouldn't". Hah.

 

[roscolo]

As the topic states, would it be a good idea to get a RT-AC68U now, or should I wait for the RT-AC87U (do we know anything about a release date BTW?).

Go with the RT-AC66U. You can pick one up for $150 - $169 now, and reading through the forums and people's problems/complaints with the RT-AC68U, the RT-AC66U is the better option. My RT-AC66U has been up and running for over a year now rock solid and stable using Asus firmwares. Highly recommend.

 

[jim769]

My opinion, the 66u is a great router but the 68u is better.

 

[Muyfa666]

The RT-N66U seems like a great router, but I do like the less cluttered AC connections where they are supported.

I also want USB3, so RT-AC66U is off the table. I'm leaning towards RT-AC68U FTM... I know Merlins work, and his firmware is really user friendly and very stable. Asus also releases their firmware very frequently, which is great.

I also like the look of the new Linksys one, but it hasn't got the great reviews I wanted it to get for that price...

 

[IAAI]

I recently chatted with Asus networking support ,asking for the ETA of AC87U . He replied "u mean ac68u" at that point i knew he doesn't know what i was talking about
Had to send him this link to explain lol

http://pcdiy.asus.com/2014/01/rt-ac87u-the-ultimate-router-4x4-mu-mimo-ces-2014/

I would suggest AC68U + Merlin's Build



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Muyfa666]

Ok, I went ahead and ordered the RT-AC68U. Seems like the best choice ATM. Gonna go all Merlin on it's a$$... ;-)

 

[jim769]

Ok, I went ahead and ordered the RT-AC68U. Seems like the best choice ATM. Gonna go all Merlin on it's a$$... ;-)

Good luck.. You will like the 68U !!!

 

[Muyfa666]

I think so too.

 

[fawiek]

Asus RT AC68U not that great?

Hi folks.
Just joined, bare with me plz!

I just picked up the Asus RT AC68U to replace my outgoing router. Note, the outgoing router is the WD N750 dual band.
The WD router worked well, but I noticed the signal dropping substantially when in my backyard, which is about 50 ft away--passing through some drywall and a brick exterior wall.
My internet connection is stable at 50/10 using Bell Canada.

A speedtest with the WD router yields a result of about 30mb/s (speedtest.net) with the 2.4ghz and about 43mb/s with the 5ghz band.

In comparison, the Asus RT AC68U yields a result of about 28mb/s with the 24ghz and 37mb/s with the 5ghz band. Note, both results kept all else constant with the only change being the router. The placement of the routers were the same, the same laptop and distance were also the same. Note, the distance for these tests were to my living which is about 25 ft away. Also, I live in a two story house and the router is located in the second floor, central in the house.

I was under the impression this router (not cheap!!) would give a result better than what I've noticed. The distance has increased somewhat, but the actual speed (according to speedtest.net) seems to be slower than my 2 yr old middle grade WD router. Also, I have a hard wired PC connected to the router which yields the full 50/10 result.
I have the latest firmware installed to date.

I was contemplating installing the Asus Merlin firmware for this router. Any ideas or suggestions? On Asus's website http://www.asus.com/Networking/RTAC68U/ they claim the TurboQAM technology will enable it to be up to 3 times faster using N etc.... I understand the use of the word UP TO, but holyS*** that price just doesn't seem worth it. IF the only benefit I've noticed is a further WIFI reach, then I'm better off buying a used router and configure as another access point.

What are your thoughts?

I have not installed Merlin just as yet...
Thanks!

 

[Pierino]

I had a wd n750 also, briefly. It's an atheros unit which might be one of the difference. I also had t in the same location that my rt-ac68u occupies and it was worse than the asus.
Also try different channels. I don't know why but on the ac68u the best channel for me on the 2.4 ghz was the best as it was the less crowded one also.
The wd n750 was better on channel 9 even though it was more crowded.
I tried every channel and it gave the best range and speed but still no where as good as the asus.
Use inssider and experiment with channels and keep the 2.4ghz at 20mhz width.

Turbo qam from what I understand only helps if you have compatible clients.

Try RMerlin's fw. Nothing to lose no penalty I going back and forth.

 

[Muyfa666]

I have to agree. Merlins firmware is great, and if you don't like it, just revert to OEM. No harm done.