Do you guys feel any difference between AX86U and Pro?

[follower]

I don't feel any except Placebo.

 

[Smokey613]

Short answer….. No!

 

[bbunge]

I feel the AX86U Pro is a bit quicker than the AX86U. May be just my wishful thinking, though.

If it is a toss up for you go with the Pro as it will, in time, get more features such as VLAN configuration. I bought the Pro when my AX86U was having some issues and Asus gave me a RMA to sent it in for "repair" (they gave me another AX86U under warranty). I had planned to send the Pro back and use the returned router but my CFO was pleased with the way the home network was running and gave me permission to keep the AX86U Pro. I have the AX86U running as an AiMesh node with Ethernet backhaul.

 

[Smokey613]

I am utilizing the Beta firmware and have 2 vlans configured. So far, I am really liking it.

 

[d5aqoep]

The non-pro version's SOC is 4 years old and reaching end of timely firmware updates. (It appeared in RT-AX88U in Jan 2019) It will also not get latest Broadcom sdk so feature wise it will stay on same 388 firmware hence forth.

Merlin has said it that even though the SOC speed is slight increased, there are many under the hood improvements

Edited for clarity.

 

[follower]

I feel the AX86U Pro is a bit quicker than the AX86U. May be just my wishful thinking, though.

If it is a toss up for you go with the Pro as it will, in time, get more features such as VLAN configuration. I bought the Pro when my AX86U was having some issues and Asus gave me a RMA to sent it in for "repair" (they gave me another AX86U under warranty). I had planned to send the Pro back and use the returned router but my CFO was pleased with the way the home network was running and gave me permission to keep the AX86U Pro. I have the AX86U running as an AiMesh node with Ethernet backhaul.

You feel? Are you a psychic something?

 

[Tech9]

The non-pro version is 4 years old

No, RT-AX86U isn't 4-years old yet. FCC date is Feb 12, 2020. It was available for purchase later. RT-AX86S is FCC certified Jul 27, 2021.

 

[follower]

The non-pro version is 4 years old and reaching end of timely firmware updates. It will also not get latest Broadcom sdk so feature wise it will stay on same 388 firmware hence forth.

Merlin has said it that even though the SOC speed is slight increased, there are many under the hood improvements

4 years? How? I bought AX86U when it came out. It was 2020.
Amazon
Date First Available July 30, 2020

 

[d5aqoep]

4 years? How? I bought AX86U when it came out. It was 2020.
Amazon
Date First Available July 30, 2020

I mean the SOC in it first appeared in RT-AX88U which released in Jan 2019. That is more than 4 years.

 

[L&LD]

And that SoC was in development for at least two years before that... The actual tech is more than half a decade old. Even if it is still current, with the SDK locked at the level when the model was first available, it is a poor choice today.

 

[follower]

And that SoC was in development for at least two years before that... The actual tech is more than half a decade old. Even if it is still current, with the SDK locked at the level when the model was first available, it is a poor choice today.

It doesn't matter. Pro is replacing normal version now. Pro is cheaper. My point is I have both of them, but I don't feel any difference at all.

 

[L&LD]

Of course, it matters. Old tech is old tech, eventually, it catches up with you and you need to move on. You may not feel any difference (and I may not either if I tested a 'pro'), but that doesn't mean it won't be noticeable in someone else's environment.

And for the record, the latest 'pro' models, aren't.

 

[Smokey613]

Other than the vlan support in the Beta firmware, it’s about the same performance as the AX-86U I ran for a little while.

 

[RMerlin]

The 200 MHz CPU difference will be noticeable if you use a VPN at high speed, or you run advanced features with a fast Internet connection that may become bottlenecked by the CPU.

 

[Tech9]

In other words the difference can only be seen at around AX86U limits.

 

[Smokey613]

I hope Merlin can eventually work his magic on the Beta version once it gets released to the normal firmware channel.

Having Merlin’s firmware with the Beta VLAN capabilities would be a great solution… for an Asus.

 

[L&LD]

RMerlin doesn't work on beta (or otherwise) firmware from Asus.

He needs the GPL drop to do his magic.

 

[Smokey613]

RMerlin doesn't work on beta (or otherwise) firmware from Asus.

He needs the GPL drop to do his magic.

That is what I meant. Hopefully Asus will incorporate the Beta features into their next release and then release the GPL to RMerlin.

 

[TexasFlood]

If I was buying today and the price was similar I'd strongly consider the pro model. I bought my RT-AX86U approximately a year and 5 months ago. It's been a good router and I'm not overly concerned about losing firmware updates as Asus has been good in that regard, in my history buying their routers. My old RT-N66U was released in late 2011. The last firmware release was in mid 2020 I believe.

There seems to be a sweet spot with Asus routers. Too early and suffer through growing pains. Too late and support starts to wane although it typically continues for a reasonably long time.

 

[iFrogMac]

If I was going to buy again, I'd consider the 88U Pro over the 86U Pro, with the new hardware, it would probably be more of an upgrade to justify the cost. It would also give me more LAN ports on the router directly.

Right now though, the 86U is working as needed. Plus I want to hold onto it because I got the Gundam edition which makes it unique over the standard model. None of the new models seem to have a special edition of any kind currently.